Los Angeles

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SOCI 100, Assignment #2, Fall 2022 Due: Monday, December 5, by 2 p.m. (see submission directions below) LOS ANGELES AND THE AMERICAN DREAM: INTO THE CITY WRITING PROMPT: Throughout this class, we have explored the themes of stratification, contradiction and reinvention in Los Angeles – and connected these themes to the ongoing transformation of space and place. While this course has utilized L.A. as a metaphor for America, we have also highlighted the history of individual neighborhoods, communities, and places to illustrate some of the particular issues and tensions of urban and suburban transformation. Now, it’s time for you to get out into LA and see this in action. For this second paper assignment, you will write an essay that focuses on one field site in Los Angeles of your choice. The paper should address a current issue, phenomenon, or class topic in your chosen site. To do this, you will synthesize some research on the area (newspapers, books, USC library resources, other media) and your own in-person observations. This gives you the flexibility to explore a specific place and course theme that piques your intellectual curiosity: redevelopment/gentrification, demographic change, architecture and the built environment, environmental justice, etc. Based on your research, how have other authors and media sources addressed your chosen field site and issue? And, how do you view this place through your own observations and fieldwork experience? ASSIGNMENT STEPS FOR FIELD EXPERIENCE: The first step in this paper is to choose a field site to do your fieldwork. Possible choices include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Old Historic Broadway Theater District • Union Station to Chinatown • The Downtown Arts District • Little Tokyo • Cornfield to Chinatown • Watts Tower • Boyle Heights in East LA • The LA River • Plaza Mexico in Lynwood, CA

• Koreatown • Leimart Park

http://www.leimertparkbeat.com • ThaiTown (by Hollywood Boulevard) • The Grand Central Market downtown • MacArthur Park (on a Sunday afternoon) • Huntington Park (either the downtown or

Cottage Street where La Montana was) • Bruce’s Beach (Manhattan Beach) • Echo Park or Highland Park

If you would like to study a place not listed above (or, say, go to a cultural event – not at USC – as your field experience), ask your TA for approval. Alternatives are highly encouraged but please screen with your TA. The second step in this paper is to find and read relevant academic texts and/or media representations of the place (LA Times or magazine articles, videos, books, documentaries, interviews, websites, etc.) to gain important background information about your particular field site. These can include readings we have assigned for the course (for example, many of the reserve articles discuss some of these places and the themes they raise; there’s also a great book called A People’s Guide to Los Angeles that’s worth buying and sharing but is also available online through the USC library and will be available on Blackboard as well) but you should find at least three or more additional sources. Wikipedia and Google ARE NOT acceptable sources. The third step in this paper is to prepare for your field site visit. Before visiting the field site, use the academic and media representations of your field site to develop a key set of investigatory questions that will help you to thoughtfully explore and navigate your chosen site. Developing a solid set of field site questions will guide you through the observation process and will also help you to craft a strong thesis/main argument. That is, go into your fieldwork with some central issue or set of issues to frame your observations. Perhaps there is a recent L.A. Times article that leads you to ask further questions on the matter. Or, maybe the Christopher Hawthorne articles inspire

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you to explore similar issues of how the built environment shapes public life and social interaction. By going into your field site without some guiding concern, you run the risk of walking away with nothing substantive from your time there. [Your TAs will work with you to review and refine your framing questions.] The fourth step in this paper is to visit your field site; while it is quite acceptable to go with friends, groups should not exceed three or four people as your own crowd will change the meaning of the place. Recall that the preparatory readings were about how the site was represented by various authors; it’s now your chance to represent, describe, and analyze the meaning of the place. This is an active process: write down the date and time of your observations, and take field notes on the physical and social landscape which include specific factual details, sensory interpretations, personal feelings while conducting fieldwork, and nuanced language to describe your field site. You can choose to document your experiences through photographs and video footage, or interview relevant persons to supplement your overall fieldwork experience. Your field site visit should total approximately two hours – don’t move quickly but rather get a rhythm of the place changing around you [You can, if you wish, do two one-hour visits, perhaps at different times]. We encourage you to take public transportation to at least some of these sites; you’ll find that will provide its own set of observations. The fifth step in this paper is to analyze your field notes and to determine what you actually discovered there versus the academic and media representations you read to prepare. Make sure you thoroughly analyze how your field work findings compare with those representations of your field site. Please provide provide critical insights and analysis, not just a factual summary or opinion about your topic. Identify an overarching thesis or narrative that can tie together the paper’s different argumentative and observational threads. PAPER ORGANIZATION: Your paper should have the following sections (I’ll walk through an example in class):

I. Introduction. State a thesis or argument, and tell your reader what materials and ideas you will use to argue your case.

II. Academic and Media Representation. Describe how authors represent your field site, or how your field site is a representation of the themes in their work.

III. Fieldwork. Describe what you actually did when you went to your field site. First person is acceptable and preferable. Analyze how your findings concur with or differ from those represented in the academic and media representations you studied – and how those findings address your questions and some of the main themes of the course.

IV. Conclusion. Summarize your main points effectively. The paper should be approximately 1500 words (not including bibliography); the acceptable range is 1400-1600 words. You must cite at least three sources in your essay (more is better); we encourage you to include course readings (it will actually help you tie it in better to course themes). You are also encouraged to use what you have learned in lectures to support your arguments or sharpen your points. Directions: Double-space your paper, with 12 point font and 1 inch margins. Words in your bibliography do not count in the limit. Your paper is a standard piece of expository prose (paragraphs rather than bullet points, etc). Proofread your work. Submission guidelines: You must submit your work electronically no later than Monday, December 5 at 2 p.m.; no hard copy is necessary. Label your electronic submission with YOUR last name, first initial, SOCI_100, and essay number (example: WongK_AMST_101_Essay_2.doc). LATE WORK will not be accepted without a written, legitimate excuse such as a doctor’s note. Be aware that your work will be run through TurnItIn. Citations: Follow guidelines presented in the first assignment (available on Blackboard).