Doc Chat, Research at NYPL

Doc Chat Episode Thirty-Nine: Picturing the Subway in 1970s New York by Julie Golia, Curator of History, Social Sciences, and Government Information, Stephen A. Schwarzman BuildingDecember 16, 2021

On December 2, 2021, Doc Chat glimpsed the subway of the 1970s through the eyes of one photographer.

Alen MacWeeney subway photograph
Alen MacWeeney, Black Woman Through Graffiti Window is Caught Unaware By Camera: Crowded Group in Car, Woman in Fur Coat and Wool Hat Looks at Camera, 1977-1979; NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5038756

A weekly series from NYPL's Center for Research in the Humanities, Doc Chat pairs an NYPL curator or specialist and a scholar to discuss evocative digitized items from the Library's collections and brainstorm innovative ways of teaching with them. In Episode Thirty-Nine, NYPL curator Julie Golia and Kim Phillips-Fein, Professor of History at New York University, explored a collection of evocative photographs of the New York City subway system in the 1970s by Alen MacWeeney, discussing what the images reveal about the city during a decade of crisis and transformation.

A transcript of this episode is available here.

Below are some handy links to materials and sources suggested in the episode.

Episode Thirty-Nine: Primary Sources

Julie and Kim examined the following images: 

Alen MacWeeney subway photograph
Alen MacWeeney, Two Women - One Asleep, Other in Tweed Cape: Darkened Tracks, 1977-1979; NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5038726.
Alen MacWeeney subway photograph
Alen MacWeeney, 145th Street: Angry Man on Platform, 1977-1979; NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5038688.
Alen MacWeeney subway photograph
Alen MacWeeney, Four People on Platform - Train Conductor in Cap, Man in Sports Hat - Train Passing: Woman with White Headscarf, Frightened Little Girl, Hispanic Man in Check Coat - Seated, 1977-1979; NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5038748.
Alen MacWeeney subway photograph
Alen MacWeeney, Two Black Women, One in Black Coat, Other in Window Pane Check Coat, both in White Hats: Blonde White Woman in Fur Coat holding Package, 1977-1979; NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5038698.
Alen MacWeeney subway photo
Alen MacWeeney, Woman with Eyes Closed and White Gloves by Emergency Door: Graffiti, 1977-1979; NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5038696.
Alen MacWeeney subway photograph
Alen MacWeeney, Indian Woman in Scarf, Lex Ave: Spanish girl in Leather Jacket, 1977-1979; NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5038730

You can peruse all 43 images from this series on NYPL's Digital Collections. 

Episode Thirty-Nine: Readings and Resources

Jeff Chang, Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation (St. Martin's Press, 2005). 

Kim Phillips-Fein, Fear City:  New York's Fiscal Crisis and the Rise of Austerity Politics (Metropolitan Books, 2017). 

Alen MacWeeney, Irish Travellers: Tinkers No More (New England College Press, 2007). 

www.alenmacweeney.com (Alen MacWeeney's website)

Tony Silver and Henry Chaifant, Style Wars (documentary, 1983, 2004).

Join the Doc Chat Conversation

Doc Chat episodes take place on Zoom every Thursday at 3:30 PM. Check out upcoming episodes on NYPL's calendar,  and make sure you don't miss an episode by signing up for NYPL's Research newsletter, which will include links to register. A video of each episode will be posted on the Doc Chat Channel of NYPL's blog shortly after the program. There you can also explore videos and resources for past episodes. See you at the next Doc Chat!

View all posts by Julie Golia