Contact Spaces of American Culture—Globalizing Local Phenomena

Twelve papers address a multiplicity of issues in American social and cultural life, with the authors prompted by editors Eckhard (Institute of Art History and Cultural Studies, U. of Technology in Graz, Austria), Rieser (American studies, U. of Graz, Austria), and Schultermandl (American studies, U. of Graz) to be guided in their contributions by the notion of "contact spaces," defined as (global and local) "spaces with/in American culture where an idea of Americanness emerges through a concrete form of contact on the one hand and through its mediated representation on the other." Topics include trade zone encounters in Karen Tei Yamashita's Tropic of Orange, contested landscapes of gentrification in the American inner city, settlement houses (independent living programs for youth who "age out" of foster care) as contact spaces in the city, the globalization of the National Basketball League, hip-hop culture as a medial contact space, and smashed windows in the film "Do the Right Thing" and the Battle of Seattle as challenges to the spatial order. Distributed in the US by ISBS. Annotation c2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)