Dr. Andrew Wood Office: HGH 210; phone: (408) 924-5378 Email: wooda@email.sjsu.edu Web: http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/wooda

"In cities like Los Angeles, on the bad edge of postmodernity, one observes an unprecedented tendency to merge urban design, architecture and the police apparatus into a single comprehensive security effort."

- Mike Davis, City of Quartz

After 1945, it appeared that government had secured its role at the center of American society. Yet, during the sixties, our faith in the state collapsed. As Joel Garreau and Mike Davis observe, communities no longer follow the centralized visions of federal planners; they sprout along the cracks left by corporate enclaves and superhighways. Public parks and town squares similarly grow less and less important as television draws us inward from our front porches.

Readings: Holland, Garreau, Davis

Notes: Garreau and Davis

Off-campus webpages

Bruce E. Gronbeck, Musings on the Emptiness and Dreariness of Postmodern Critique

Mary Ann Sullivan, Frank Gehry's Frances Howard Goldwyn Regional Branch Library

Note: These pages exist outside of San Jose State University servers and their content is not endorsed by the page maintainer or any other university entity. These pages have been selected because they may provide some guidance or insight into the issues discussed in class. Because one can never step into the same electronic river twice, the pages may or may not be available when you request them. If you have any questions or suggestions, please email Dr. Andrew Wood.