Assignment: Walking Tour Project Guidelines
Overview: Your final project for this class is a digital walking tour and 8-10 page accompanying essay. This assignment is scaffolded, meaning it is made up of a series of smaller assignments that are are due in phases throughout the semester. This assignment is worth 30% of your course grade.
Requirements: There are four phases to this assignment:
1) A proposal--write 1-2 paragraphs explaining your choice of walking tour theme and location. You can either choose a place-based walking tour, where you find 4-6 locations to examine within an approximately 1 mile piece of the city (anywhere in the 5 boroughs--for example, A Harlem Renaissance Walking Tour; DJ Kool Herc's South Bronx; Change over time in Astoria), or you could choose a thematic walking tour, where you study 4-6 locations that are located farther apart but have some kind of broader connection to each other (for example, Nature in the City; LEED-certified architecture in New York; religious spaces in Manhattan). Your proposal should list your location or theme choice, why you chose it, some possible places you might include, and what knowledge someone would gain by taking your walking tour
2) An annotated bibliography--a list of 5 sources, 3 of which must be primary sources, cited accurately according to whatever official format you prefer and then featuring 2-3 sentences per source about what information is in it, how it fits in with your other sources, and how it is useful to your project.
3) A progress report--write 1 page about how your project is going. What have you done so far, what will you do next? What interesting information did you learn, and/or what challenges have you faced? Note it's okay if you're having problems with the project or need advice; the purpose of the progress report is to demonstrate that you've been working on it and to give me a chance to help you troubleshoot, if necessary. It doesn't have to be perfect!
4) The Final Project--a Powerpoint featuring photos you took of your locations, interspersed with primary sources that help explain the history and importance of your locations (this might include historical images of the locations you chose, or scans of historic documents that relate to them). Images and documents in the Powerpoint should include captions and citations. (*I'll share a sample of this later in the semester)
In addition, an 8-10 page paper which is essentially a more formally written script of the walking tour you would give if you were giving the walking tour. Introduce the theme or site, take the reader through your locations, and ultimately explain the significance of the route you've chosen--how does it help us understand New York? How does it confirm or challenge material we've discussed in class?
Handing It In: Each component is due via email by 5 p.m. on the due date. Title your email with your name and the particular component you're handing in; for instance, I'd write "Katie Uva--Walking Tour Proposal." Attach all the written material as a Word doc.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.