HIS 217: History of New York City at John Jay College
3 credits · Fall 2026
History of New York City (HIS 217) at John Jay College has 2 ways to take it in Fall 2026. 0 of 2 sections have an open seat right now.
The professor is: Gregory Umbach.
Compare them below, check the days and times, and add the course to your schedule.
Requirements
Prerequisite: ENG 101
About this course
As early as 1640, 18 different languages were spoken in New Amsterdam; today, Jamaica Hospital provides interpreters in 180 languages. This course tracks the ways peoples from around the planet settled in New York and how they constructed a city of spectacular diversity. New York's different nationalities, races, religions, and classes didn't always agree, but their clashing and fusing generated a cosmopolitanism that made the city a site of dramatic cultural production and political innovation. Gotham's economic arrangements became equally complex over the centuries, adding functions to its original seaport base and ultimately producing today's diverse mix of finance, media, marketing, manufacturing, entertainment, and tourism, among many others. New York City is arguably the most complex human construction ever created, and students in this course will learn how it got to be that way.
Professors for HIS 217 at John Jay, Fall 2026
- Gregory UmbachChill Rank 5 of 5: Brutal?
2 sections · 0 open · ★ 2.7 (45) · difficulty 4.6/5 · 39% would take again
Ordered chillest first. A Chill Rank compares a professor with other CUNY professors on Rate My Professors difficulty, rating and would-take-again; it needs at least 3 ratings. How it works
HIS 217 sections, times and seats
Seat status as of Oct 4, 5:31 PM ET. Seats can change between refreshes. How fresh is this?
Chill Rank compares professors using Rate My Professors reviews, from Chill to Brutal. What each rank means
Questions about HIS 217 at John Jay
- Who teaches HIS 217 at John Jay in Fall 2026?
- Gregory Umbach is listed for Fall 2026. Each name links to a page with their Chill Rank and Rate My Professors numbers.
- Is HIS 217 at John Jay hard?
- It depends on the professor. Across the 1 professor with a Chill Rank, students on Rate My Professors give an average difficulty of 4.6 out of 5. The Chill Rank above compares them directly.
- What if a HIS 217 section is full?
- Try another section, join the waitlist in CUNYfirst if there is one, or ask the department. You can also watch a full section and get an email when a seat opens; you still enroll yourself in CUNYfirst.