|
ID I |
City of Angels, City of Quartz |
Los Angeles is less about bricks and mortar and more about metaphor. George Allen, the former football coach of the Washington Redskins, often said: "The future is now." Los Angeles is the future of the global urban city. One analyst has stated:
|
As the global capital of illusion, L.A. is naturally the capital of the easy metaphor, too. It is Babylon and Dogpatch and Iowa-by-the-Sea. The boudoir of fantasy on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams and the rest of the mean streets, and the inspiration of quotes, like that of Raymond Dasman in the Destruction of Californi , who sought in vain "any good reason why the city of Los Angeles should have come into existence." |
Our goal for the semester is to try and place Los Angeles into some context. Who and what is Los Angeles? Why is Los Angeles so different from other large United States cities?
CLASS PARTICIPATION
You should have completed all the readings before each class and be prepared to discuss the material in class. Class participation will be 10% of your grade. Each week you should post a comment or question on the readings to the Web-crossing. The Web-crossing is organized by reading assignments. There are envelopes for the exams and the papers.
Texts:
Mike Davis, City of Quartz
William L. Kahrl, Water and Power
Kling, Olin and Poster (eds.), Post Suburban California
Raphael J. Sonenshein. Politics in Black and White
Waldinger and Bozorgmehr (eds.), Ethnic Los Angeles
Assignment #1
Due September 24, 1998
Mike Davis in City of Quartz alludes that Los Angeles is a metaphor. In both "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and "Get Shorty," metaphor and illusion are dominant.
Knowing what you know (not as much as you would like to know), why are metaphors and illusion so important in defining Los Angeles? Is Los Angeles a physical state or a state of mind'?
Limit your response to two double spaced typed pages. Give credit where appropriate in using source material.
Assignment #2
Due October 15, 1998
Los Angeles exists in the midst of a desert. The physical landscape of Los Angeles is equal in importance to its culture. Take a section of Los Angeles - the San Fernando Valley, the High Desert., Moreno Valley, etc. - and show how the infusion of water transformed the area.
For this essay. it would be helpful to use census data. The Metropolitan Water District, DWP and Edison along with municipal data would be helpful. This essay should be equally evaluative and data driven.
Limit your remarks to no more than five double spaced pages.
Assignment #3
November 5, 1998
For most of its history, Los Angeles failed to acknowledge that it had a rich and varied ethnic ancestry. In the recent past Los Angeles has become the new Ellis Island for immigrants coming to the United States.
Take one ethnic group that is now a part of the urban landscape and do a demographic analysis of that group from 1950 to the present. In addition to your demographics profile, do an analysis of their political, economic and social assent over the past fifty years. Use data from the Department of the Census and from local jurisdictions in your analysis.
This is a research paper. First, present the data. Then you can interpret the data. Limit the body of your paper to seven typed pages.
Assignment #4
Due December 8, 1998
Political reforn-i has been a part of the culture of Los Angeles for the past 100 years. What has ret'orm done to "politics" in Los Angeles'? Who is important in shaping the region's agenda and who is not important in the process?
This is both a research and reflective essay. Limited to five pages of text.
READING LIST
|
Week I |
Davis, City of Quartz, Prologue, Chapter 1 |
|
Week II |
Davis, City of Quartz, Chapters 2-3 |
|
Week III |
Davis, City of Quartz, Chapters 4-5 |
|
Week IV |
Davis, City of Quartz, Chapter 5 |
|
Week V |
Kahrl, Water and Power, Chapters 1-3 |
|
Week VI |
Kahrl, Water and Power, Chapter 4-5 |
FALL BREAK
|
Week VII |
Kahrl, Water and Power, Chapters 6-7 |
|
Week VIII |
Waldinger & Bozorgmehr, Ethnic Los Angeles, Chapters 1-4 |
|
Week IX |
Kahrl, Water and Power, Chapters 14-15 |
|
Week X |
Kling, Olin & Poster, Post Suburban California, Chapters 1-3 |
|
Week XI |
Kling, Olin & Poster, Post Suburban California, Chapters 5, 7-8 |
THANKSGIVING
|
Week XII |
Sonenshein, Politics in Black and White, Chapters 1-7 |
|
Week XIII |
Sonenshein, Politics in Black and White, Chapters 8-13, 15-16 |
|
Week XIV |
Summary |