Race and Urban Space in Contemporary American Culture

This innovative book looks at representations of ethnic and racial identities in relation to the development of urban culture in postindustrialised American cities. The concept of "urban space" organizes a series of themes that structure chapters on white paranoia and urban decline; memories of urban passage; the racialized underclass; urban crime and justice; and globalisation and citizenship. The book focuses on a range of literary and visual forms including novels, journalism, films (narrative and documentary), and photography to examine the relationship between race and representation in the production of urban space. Texts analyzed include writings by Tom Wolfe (The Bonfire of the Vanities), Toni Morrison (Jazz), John Edgar Wildeman (Philadelphia Fire), and Walter Mosely (Devil in a Blue Dress). Films covered include Falling Down, Strange Days, Hoop Dreams and Clockers. Provocative and absorbing, this interdisciplinary treatment of urban representations engages contemporary theoretical and sociological debates about race and the city.