CSP 21 Sunshine and Noir: Los Angeles Cultural Studies

This course will consider how Los Angeles has been represented in a cross section of 20th century literature, film, music and popular culture. We will examine contradictory visions of the metropolis as a land of promise and peril where issues of space, race, and class intersect to create an urban culture in which conflict and cooperation exist in productive tension.  Primary texts in the various media will be supplemented and contextualized by secondary readings in social history and cultural theory. Cultural events in greater Los Angeles may be incorporated if appropriate opportunities come up.