For students of this semester’s Baltimore and The Wire class, a course meant to introduce undergraduates to the complex urban issues raised in the seminal HBO show, a better teacher is hard to come by than the show’s creator, David Simon.
On Monday, November 22nd, Simon gave a special lecture to students of the class in the Mason Hall Auditorium. He spoke of his work in making the series, which along with some of his other works highlights many of the issues facing Baltimore.
Baltimore and The Wire is a new class concept developed by Dr. Peter Beilenson, faculty at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. The class seeks to take concepts explored in The Wire and introduce students to local public leaders actively tackling those challenges within the city.
“I wanted to raise the question to students who are new to Baltimore that there is no single reason for many of the ails that affect the urban areas or institutions of Baltimore,” said Beilenson.
“The issues in The Wire may seem relatively distant, it’s just something on TV. So this is why we wanted the students, early in their college career, to go out and visit some of these institutions to understand the complexity and discuss how to comprehensively address the problems.”
In his lecture, Simon touched on the power of The Wire when used in such an academic context.
“It’s very gratifying to have the wire land in academia, because at first it didn’t land anywhere. We had very few viewers, but HBO was kind enough to keep it on the air.
“We were making an argument, an economic argument as much as political. I was grateful that we had a chance to say what we wanted to say,” said Simon. “We wanted to show an America at the end of empire. That was our theme.”
Simon’s lecture was well liked among the students, many of whom eager to participate in the question and answer session immediately following. However, Simon’s message could not be described as generally encouraging.
When asked whether his outlook for the future was at all optimistic, Simon responded: “To be honest, there is nothing that makes me optimistic about the future of the country . . . We’re watching the oblivion of a second-rate power.”
One of the recurring themes of his lecture was the destructive nature of the War on Drugs. “The Drug War is a war on the middle class, it may not have started out that way, but that is what it has become.
“It is an immoral and destructive force of American life.”
He also touched on what he saw as fundamental economic problems that lead to situations like inner-city poverty and the inability of city institutions to manage effectively.
“We have an incredible tolerance for pure capitalism to be the cure of everything. [In the show] we wanted to depict an America that was consistently making the wrong decisions.”
It was on that note that Simon ended a semester full of engaging with the show and the issues it raised regarding urban policy.
Many saw the class as an opportunity to expand their knowledge of Baltimore and the difficulties it faces.
“The class has been great, very practical,” said freshman Thomasina Anane. “From the policy perspective, many of the people we’ve met have brought effective change. This class brings a kind of encouragement and shows us how to fix the different problems in the future, or even now.”
Many saw the class as an opportunity to expand their knowledge of Baltimore and the difficulties it faces.
“I’m from California, but I had seen many episodes of The Wire. So I wanted to learn more about what’s going on within the city and the various dynamics, like the corner boys and other interesting elements,” said Andy Scott, a sophomore Public Health major.
The class had a strong foundation in Professor Beilenson, former Baltimore City Health Commissioner. He brings years of experience in working with some of Baltimore’s most difficult issues to the class.
His goal is to teach students how to think like policy-makers.
“I’ve encouraged them to think in comprehensive ways, as if they were a mayor, a councilperson or a health commissioner.”
He wanted to impart a message for all students, even those not entering the field of policy or public health.
“No matter what career you choose, as an attorney, investment banker, etc., look at what you do and how it impacts society. “Exactly what David Simon was talking about.”
Throughout the semester, Beilenson arranged for a number of local activists and leaders to come into the class and share their thoughts and experiences.
Some of the guests have included Ed Norris, former city Police Commissioner; Kurt Schmoke, former mayor; and Dr. Andres Alonso, CEO of Baltimore Schools.
“All the speakers have brought totally different perspectives. It made the class more interesting and more interactive,” said sophomore Michael Ragheb.
Sophomore Eli Levitt felt the class was well structured. “It’s been great with the specific speakers talking about their experiences and personal efforts in each of the class topics, culminating at the end of the year with David Simon himself.”
The problems may seem daunting but many agree that The Wire effectively highlights the complexity of many of these issues. From there, the academic world can disseminate and dissect.
Others have caught on. Beilenson pointed out that the class concept had spread to other academic institutions now offering similar courses, including Harvard Law School and Duke University.
