Lessons from the Stacks: Hogtown, NYC

In the 19th century, free-roaming pigs were a common and controversial part of everyday life in New York City. Were they a nuisance—or an economic lifeline?

Join NYPL’s Center for Educators and Schools for a workshop that explores , a free curriculum guide that uses the city’s 19th-century “pig wars” to explore urban life, public health, class conflict, and governance. Educators will dig into archival materials that reveal how everyday struggles over animals, space, and sanitation reflected broader debates about who the city was for—and who had the power to shape it.

Participants will learn how the history of trash and conflicts over its disposal can reveal much about the history of people: what they consumed and used, how these patterns have changed over time, and what they thought of as the responsibilities of city government. 

Eligible NY State educators can receive 1.5 CTLE credit hours for participating in this session. Light snacks will be provided.

This workshop is part of Lessons from the Stacks, a multi-part professional learning series that invites educators to explore New York City and U.S. history through NYPL’s collections. Each session explores a different resource from NYPL’s curriculum guides, which highlight various historical case studies using primary sources from the Library’s research collections.

Educators are encouraged to attend multiple sessions to build a broader picture of how archival materials can support historical thinking, research, and classroom inquiry across topics and time periods.

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PUBLIC NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER

AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDING | Programs are photographed and recorded by the New York Public Library. Attending this event indicates your consent to being filmed/photographed and your consent to the use of your recorded image for any all purposes of the New York Public Library.

PRESS | Please send all press inquiries (photo, video, interviews, audio-recording, etc) at least 24-hours before the day of the program to [email protected]. Please note that professional video recordings are prohibited without expressed consent.

ACCESSIBILITY | You may request ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or CART (Communication Access Real-Time Translation) captioning service by emailing [email protected] at least two weeks in advance of the event.

This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs.

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Host or Publisher The New York Public Library