Question for Essay 2

One feedback that I get from students in the online classes--pretty much every term--is that the Discussion Questions are the ones they liked the most.  As much as I too like how wonderfully educational those discussion opportunities are, well, we can't have too much of a good thing :-) 

Ok, seriously, the fall term calendar restricts us a lot.  As a student, I felt that the fall term ought to end with Thanksgiving itself--the week-plus after the event always felt like a drag.  Now that I am a faculty, this calendar issue does not affect me much, but I sense similar sentiments in students, fall term after fall term.  So, in order to make sure that students stay encouraged enough to demonstrate their understanding of the materials, I cut down on DQs the online classes ..... Let me know if you have other ideas .....

So, Essay 2.

One idea we have clearly established from the first week itself: urban geography is about change.  The changes come in many different flavors--including telecommunications that we looked at last week.  (Later, I will post my comments on your responses to the final DQ, which was on telecommunications.)
We have also established the link between economics and cities.

The question then pops up: does the slicing up of this delicious urban economic pie result in any systematic patterns of social groups across the urban space?
Turns out that there are many different interpretations to this and, as you may have come to understand by now, academic explanations rarely converge on a bottom line, and confuse the life out of everybody--students in particular :-)

Your task for Essay 2 is to respond to the following prompt:

Could it be the case that if we do observe patterns of social groups across urban spaces, well, it is not anything new; that is how humans have always lived?  Could it be that we see now is nothing but a cumulative effect of processes--past and ongoing--and these effects are no different than they were in the past?

All the resources that are listed for weeks five through eight of the term will help you think through this, and will help you articulate your thesis.
In addition, you need to get at least one other authoritative reference to support your arguments.  This reference can be an article in a "scholarly journal", or a publication from a think-tank, or an analytical report in a newspaper, .... the bottom-line is that the source should be credible and considered authoritative enough.

As you write the essay, and definitely after you finish it, compare it with the rubric that I will use to evaluate your essays.  This way, you can then amend your essay if appropriate. And keep in my mind my feedback on your first essays and the general feedback to the class also. 

And when you are all done, email your essay as an attachment tome--not to the class.

The deadline?  As stated in the contract for this class, your first essay is due before 8:00 am on November 17th.

It does not mean that you cannot ask me questions.  feel free to check with me as you progress along with the essay--my job is not to "test" you but to help you understand the issues and to also assist you in articulating that understanding you have gained.