This is a podcast that I produce at USC, this edition features Raphael Bostic, Sarah Mawhorter, Brettany Shannon, David Sloane, and Tess Thorman
We chose the book A Neighborhood That Never Changes, by Japonica Brown-Saracino. My guests explored how nostalgia and authenticity play a role in how people move into, and out of, neighborhoods.
In the book Brown-Saracino studies residents in four neighborhoods, redefines types of newcomers and how they interact with the standing neighborhood and neighbors. This ethnography, while not the easiest read, has much to say to for anyone interested in the places they live. Place matters – what happens when you move into a place? What happens to the “feel” and “physicality” of the neighborhood? Who else does your decision affect?
The podcast is on iTunes as well, you can listen here or download.
Next Month …
I’m excited about next month’s pick, On Such a Full Sea by Chang-Rae Lee . This is one of my favorite novels, set in an unsettling near future. This brilliant novel will begin a two month-long look at how envisioning the future is necessary to thinking about the present, and in our line of work, planning for a better future. I planned to be a discussant on this edition – this is a favorite read from last year, but it turns out that I’ll be away for a bit and have to miss it. But you’ll get to meet Jeremy, our amazing student who graduates this year – his last hurrah.