Untimely ruins : an archaeology of American urban modernity, 1819-1919 /
American ruins have become increasingly prominent, whether in discussions of urban blight and home foreclosures, in commemorations of 9/11, or in postapocalyptic movies. In this highly original book, Nick Yablon argues that the association between American cities and ruins dates back to a much earli...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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Chicago :
University of Chicago Press,
[2010]
Chicago : [2009] |
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| Summary: | American ruins have become increasingly prominent, whether in discussions of urban blight and home foreclosures, in commemorations of 9/11, or in postapocalyptic movies. In this highly original book, Nick Yablon argues that the association between American cities and ruins dates back to a much earlier period in the nation s history. Recovering numerous scenes of urban desolation from failed banks, abandoned towns, and dilapidated tenements to the crumbling skyscrapers and bridges envisioned in science fiction and cartoons Untimely Ruins challenges the myth that ruins were absent or insignificant objects in nineteenth-century America. The first book to document an American cult of the ruin, Untimely Ruins traces its deviations as well as derivations from European conventions. Unlike classical and Gothic ruins, which decayed gracefully over centuries and inspired philosophical meditations about the fate of civilizations, America s ruins were often untimely, appearing unpredictably and disappearing before they could accrue an aura of age. As modern ruins of steel and iron, they stimulated critical reflections about contemporary cities, and the unfamiliar kinds of experience they enabled. Unearthing evocative sources everywhere from the archives of amateur photographers to the contents of time-capsules, Untimely Ruins exposes crucial debates about the economic, technological, and cultural transformations known as urban modernity. The result is a fascinating cultural history that uncovers fresh perspectives on the American city This is an extended meditation on the meanings of American ruins which explains why they are distinctive, what they reveal, and how they matter |
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| Physical Description: | 1 online resource (416 pages) : 76 halftones 1 online resource (xiii, 380 pages) : illustrations, maps |
| Format: | Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 295-362) and index |
| ISBN: | 0226946630 0226946649 0226946657 9780226946634 9780226946641 9780226946658 |
| Access: | Restricted for use by site license |