LIT & FILM OF THE BOROUGHS

Greater New York—the municipality that consolidated the five boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island—was officially established on New Year’s day in 1898.  While the change had been supported by a large majority of the boroughs’ residents in an 1894 referendum, there remained considerable controversy about the enterprise, even by its sponsors.  The city has managed to stave off succession movements since then; however, the boroughs remain resistant to economic, legislative, and cultural consolidation. In this course we will study depictions New York life, from the middle of the 20th century--a time of significant social and political turmoil in many boroughs, particularly around issues of race and religion--and into the 21st.  How do New York’s boroughs themselves become tropes in the fiction and film and television about them?  What characterizes the nostalgia and anxiety about city life in these representations?  Finally, what can an examination of these questions tell us about the ways New York has changed as a locus for imaginative work in the 21st century?

Projects for this course will include short critical responses to course materials, a guided walking tour of a micro-neighborhood in NY (5 blocks or less), and a research essay on a film, play, or TV show made and set New York.

PLEASE NOTE: All digital materials will be available through Courseworks.