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Welcome to a unique academic experience. “City of Angels: A Multidisciplinary Study of Los Angeles” examines the city’s essence and identity through the great works and lives of its writers, scholars, artists, filmmakers, historians, journalists, visionaries, and just plain folk. By studying LA’s history, architecture, environment and ethnicity, the last of which has earned it the identification as the American multicultural Mecca of the Twenty-first century, this course focuses on LA as one of the truly unique “wonder” cities of the world. It attempts, ultimately, to explain how Los Angeles, whose history has been built on contradictory poles of myth and reality (from the Spanish “sacred expedition,” the Yankee boosters’ “paradise found,” and even its seductive Mediterranean climate, to its earthquakes, overpopulation, wildfires, gangsters, bad cops and riots), reflects both the promise and betrayal of the American dream. After the city’s two huge population booms of the 1880s and 1920s, caused by a series of spectacular technological advances and sleazy backroom deals, the myth of El Dorado started to fade. The great Depression, refugees from genocidal tyranny in Europe and the American South, and victims of illness from the harsh climates of the East and Midwest, combined with the city’s unregulated growth, all helped produce the literary, cinematic and artistic anti-myth representation of a dystopian Los Angeles of the 1930s and 40s. Writers like Chandler, Fante, Fitzgerald, Huxley, Cain, West, Mann and Waugh all proclaimed the decline of modern civilization as evidenced by the physical and moral corruption of this once utopian paradise of Southern California. Equally interesting, however, is the proposition that the Los Angeles myth is not yet extinct, attested to today by the world’s greatest migration of outsiders into one city since New York at the dawn of the last century. Though the orange groves themselves are virtually extinct, its Arcadian nature nearly spoilt, the city still seemingly offers multitudes the illusion of life as rapture in a place “somewhere over the rainbow.” Perhaps the myth is now forever embedded in LA’s historical consciousness. Yet while still an engine for peoples’ dreams of prosperity, the myth exists in direct opposition to LA’s ubiquitous realities: poverty, violence, and natural disasters. As the urban paradigm for the 21st Century, does Los Angeles present an ill-fated marriage of fantasy and reality, of good and evil co-existing in a great cosmopolitan stew? As many literary, cinematic and just plain realistic visionaries have warned, is LA aimlessly headed toward self-implosion as it bloats and sprawls like the belly of the beast? As the above indicates, there is much to discuss when discussing Los Angeles. The “Course Description,” “Course Objectives,” and “Course Schedule” give a more detailed sense of the various texts, on-site excursions, and other resources we use to platform that discussion. In sum, “City of Angels” is an essential tool for students who want to understand the city and region’s “big picture,” and it is a fascinating course for outsiders who want to understand the nation’s most interesting and symbolically resonant city.
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Los Angeles Research SourcesNewspapers & Magazines OnlineThe Daily News L.A. newspaper containing sections for local news, L.A. Life, Entertainment and it is based out of the San Fernando Valley. City
Beat The
alternative Web site for Los Angeles and
the nation. News, features, fashion LACC CITY NEWS Stay in touch with YOUR Campus news at Los Angeles City College. L.A. Weekly L.A. Alternative Newspaper -- Subscription Hotline (800) 405-2123 LA Wave Newspaper The Los Angeles Wave, founded in 1912, is the largest group of community newspapers in Los Angeles. Highly recognized for quality news, 1.2 million people choose us every week. Our reach goes north to the Hollywood Hills, south to Carson, east to Whittier, and west to Culver City. We are proud to be a part of the most diverse and eclectic neighborhoods in the greater Los Angeles area. L.A.Independent News A good source for local Los Angeles news. The Los Angeles Times L.A.'s most popular daily newspaper. A great research source. However, you can also search L.A. Times' archives for free at the Los Angeles Public Library - Electronic Neighborhood link listed. below. Los Angeles Downtown News For Everything Downtown LA Frontiers Magazine News California Gay Biweekly magazine based out of Los Angeles. Findarticles.com FindArticles.com is a vast archive of published articles that can be accessed for free. The site is constantly updated and contains articles dating back to 1998 from more than 300 magazines and journals. LibrariesCalifornia State Library 914 Capitol Mall, Sacramento, CA 94237-0001 (916) 654-0183 County of Los Angeles Public Library Books, Research & Learning. Digital Book Index Digital Book Index provides links to more than 145,000 full-text digital books from more than 1800 commercial and non-commercial publishers, universities, and various private sites. More than 100,000 of these books, texts, and documents are available free, while many others are available at very modest cost. The Getty Research Institute Research Library The Research Library at the Getty Research Institute focuses on the history of art, architecture, and archaeology with relevant materials in the humanities and social sciences. (310) 440-7390 The Huntington Library 1150 Oxford Road, San Marino, CA 91108 (626) 405-2100 Internet Public Library On-line library LACC
Martin Luther King Jr. Library YOUR own campus library.
Reference (323) 953-4000 ext: 2406 Los
Angeles Public Library
Access a number of catalogs, databases, photo
collections and more. Central
Library Research CentersCenter for the Study of Los Angeles Research Collection. The Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles Research Collection collects papers of public officials, post-World War II developers, late-twentieth-century Los Angeles reformers, and prominent Catholic families. Chicano Studies Research Center - UCLA One of the first centers in ethnic studies. History Resources for California Historical societies address list. Historical Society of Southern California A chronology of L.A. History available here, as well as, history links and photo galleries. Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research 6120 S. Vermont Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90044 (213) 759-6063 City WorksCity of Los Angeles Historical facts, current events and issues in L.A., also, the Census Reports are available at this site. L.A.P.D. Online The official website of the Los Angeles Police Department Office of the City Clerk Links to City Ordinances, Historical Information, Election Results etc. MuseumsCalifornia African American Museum 600 State Drive Exposition Park Los Angeles, CA 90037 (213) 744-7432 Chinese American Museum El Pueblo de Los Angeles 125 Paseo de la Plaza, Suite 400 Los Angeles, California 90012 (213) 485-8567 Japanese American Museum 369 East First Street Los Angeles, California 90012 (213) 625-0414 La Brea Tar Pits Ice Age fossils in the heart of Los Angeles, 5801 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036 (323) 934-PAGE (7243) Museum of Tolerance Provides a unique and provocative experience that challenges visitors to become witnesses to history, confront the dynamic of intolerance that is still embedded in society today. Simon Wiesenthal Plaza, 9786 West Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90035. General Information 310-553-8403 Peterson Automotive Museum Museum showing the impact of the automobile on Los Angeles. The Southwest Museum 234 Museum Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90018 (213) 730-9696 TV StationsKCET "Life and Times" This series offers coverage of education, politics, government, criminal justice, race relations, the economy, environment, demographics, science, culture, local history, arts, film and authors, and other topics of interest. Misc.Angeleno Stories Short Fiction, poetry, photos, etc. from local artists and writers. Charles Bukowski A Tribute to A FORMER LACC STUDENT and A Great Los Angeles American Writer 1920-1994. Italian Los Angeles: The Italian Resource Guide to Greater Los Angeles Website A guide to Italian resources in the greater Los Angeles area, from markets, restaurants, businesses, arts and artisans, to cultural, educational institutes and associations, to festivals and celebrations, historical sites, human resources, bibliography, and more! . LAAvenue.com Features Los Angeles History Archives, Live Cam, Picture tours, and LA Weather Reports. LA Stories Submit your own LA story here! LA Walking Tour Walking tour map of Los Angeles, provided by Department of Geography at USC. List of Notable Women in LA A short list of notable women throughout Los Angeles History, provided by the Los Angeles Almanac. Los Angeles Almanac Click here for L.A. News, L.A. Traffic, L.A. Weather, L.A. Seismic Activity, and an A-Z Index about Los Angeles. Los Angeles Conservancy 523 W. Sixth St., Suite 1216, Los Angeles, CA 90014 phone (213) 623-2484 Event Hotline (213) 480-4219 Los Angeles: Past, Present, Future L.A. yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Murders & Crimes in Los Angeles A sampling of the major scandals, murders, and crimes the citizens of Los Angeles have had to endure. Old Los Angeles Postcards Click here to view old post cards of Los Angeles. This site features postcards from Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Venice, the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake and more. Shotgun Freeway Review Review of L.A. Documentary - Shotgun Freeway. STAND BY ME Sometimes... especially in Los Angeles... we just need someone to Stand By.... This video begins in Los Angeles (Santa Monica) but the sentiment is far reaching, across cultures...goodnight and good luck.... Streetgangs.com Learn about gangs in Los Angeles at this site. Taylorology The unsolved 1922 murder of silent film director William Desmond Taylor, but there is reprinted material on, and interviews with, other silent stars including Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Mabel Normand, Olive Thomas, Blanche Sweet, William S. Hart, Lillian Gish, Harold Lloyd, Rudolph Valentino, Mary Pickford, Gloria Swanson, Clara Bow, and many others. |
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