Topics in Anthropology (290-0-1)

Topic

American Suburbs: Race, Class, & Placemaking

Instructors

Ana L Aparicio
847/491-5132
1810 Hinman Ave. #212

Meeting Info

Parkes Hall 212: Tues 2:00PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

This course will explore U.S. suburbia through an anthropological lens. In addition to the study of the history of suburban development and sprawl, this course examines ethnographies, film, and popular media to explore major themes related to suburban landscapes: the construction of the American suburb in the national imaginary; the relationship between the city and the suburb; race and racial formation; class and mobility; gender and generation; and shifting demographics, politics, and labor in contemporary suburbs.

Teaching Method

Seminar

Evaluation Method

Class participation, writing assignments, final paper

Class Materials (Required)

Main texts:
1) Cheng, Wendy. 2013. The Changs Next Door to the Diazes: Remapping Race in Southern California. MN: University of Minnesota Press. 978-0816679829
2) Heiman, Rachel. 2015. Driving After Class: Anxious Times in an American Suburb. CA: University of California Press. 978-0520277755
3) May, Kirse Granat. 2001. Golden State, Golden Youth: The California Image in Popular Culture, 1955-1966. NC: University of North Carolina Press. 978-0807853627

Class Materials (Suggested)

Recommended texts: other course texts available on the class Canvas page and/or in the NU library