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Alexander Nakhleh
Dr. Harrison
Honors 1000 Sec 514
2 December 2015
Reflective Essay
Honors 1000 : The City is a course that I, like all other Wayne State Honors College
Freshmen, was required to take. In its analysis of Detroit, and the citys existence as a readable
text, the class did not so much resemble a typical classroom-only course, but rather a discourse
that focused not on current Detroit, but on the multifaceted history of Detroit, its successes and
its shortcomings, and how a combination of these have affected the path that Detroit has taken
and the long road Detroit has still to take to success. The course not only attempted to explain
these paths to us, but also exposed us to new places, new ideas, and new ways of thinking and
processing information.
One of the best ways to learn is to experience the subject matter for ones self, and
therefore to learn about Detroit we had to go and experience it for ourselves. As part of the class
curriculum, we observed Diego Rivieras mural in the Detroit Institute of Arts that reflected his
vision of the future and the resolution of the Great Depression, visited Eastern Market and
experienced a small, vibrant local industry. In addition, we saw Charlie Chaplin's Modern
Times at Redford Theatre, and a performance of The Great Gatsby. These experiences helped
to expand my worldview, encouraged me to do my own research, and as a result, formulate more
educated opinions rather than accepting the most prominent or simple opinions and answers. The
venues we sampled in the class paint a picture very different from the negative light the media

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has spotlighted on Detroit. While Detroit is still a troubled area, it is not merely a car factory, but
rather has its own beauty, its own cultural artifacts, and its own history.
While in the classroom, we were exposed to this said history, giving me a view of Detroit
past its automotive pedigree. We were introduced to ideas outside of my personal fields of study
(engineering and illustration) such as social space, urban science, and human psychology such as
Fishers Democratic Social Space and Dean Herrons Burger King Effect. In addition, the
class encouraged me to apply the ideas we learned to real world situations and circumstances,
such as analyzing the ways of seeing that led to the differences between historical eras in our
history such as how the decreasing importance of the city caused by postwar wealth contributed
to the creation of suburbs. Furthermore, our research papers acquainted us with the university
library system, and gave us an introduction on how to do proper research and finding reputable
information a skill that will be needed time and time again throughout my run at college. Our
first research paper gave us a glimpse into the worldview of an early 20th Century immigrant, and
our second paper gave us a chance to get back out into Detroit, and see the ideas that shaped the
history of a given city sight.
Overall, Hon 1000 was a very involved course that helped me develop both myself and
my analysis skills, using Detroits history as a background for the application of these skills. As a
result, not only did I learn to interconnect interdisciplinary information, but with Detroit as a
background, I was able to begin to relate these ideas with our history. While Americans may be a
designer people who left behind the past for new opportunities, hopefully with my newfound
understanding of Detroits history, I can relate to the past, and become more free to act in the
future.