120691 PS Proseminar Cultural and Media Studies (2020S)

“New York is the city of opportunity, they say” (39) reads a line in E.B. White’s essay Here is New York (1949). Similarly, the chorus of Alicia Keys’ and Jay-Z’s famous song Empire State of Mind (2009) starts with the lyrics “In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there’s nothing you can’t do.” These hopeful depictions of the Big Apple are just some of the many different visions of the city that allegedly never sleeps. Representing (among other things) a place of possibility or the perfect melting pot but also symbolizing vulnerability and isolation, the vibrant metropolis stands at the center of many stories, both fictional or non-fictional. The city itself and the stories emerging from and about it are a testament to its long history and the many political, social, and cultural influences shaping its narratives.

In this class, we will look at a selection of representations of New York City by studying a wide variety of cultural texts depicting various historical periods. Following the spatial turn in cultural studies, we will uncover how the city is produced in cultural texts, how the city contributes to the construction of cultural identities, and how this influences the creation of an American cultural imaginary. Among others, we will explore the cultural significance of urban spaces through the lens of the myth of the American Dream in films such as Second Act (2019), try to read P.T. Barnum’s American Museum as a heterotopia, and study the ways in which NYC functions as a place of identification in Hip Hop music. We will look at the Harlem Renaissance, explore the post-9/11 city in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Jonathan Safran Foer) and study queer (urban) spaces by taking a look at the movie Carol (2015).

At the end of this course, students will be able to critically analyze various media representations and the role New York City in American culture via methods such as visual and discourse analysis and close reading. Students will also have gained theoretical understanding of New York City in its cultural and historical context though secondary readings from the fields such as American studies, urban theory, and media studies.