ARHU158R

first semester freshmen in the College of Arts and Humanities. Where do you live, work, study, and spend free time? Who gets to "use" specific places and why? What can the histories of places reveal to us about life in the modern world and how do they challenge powerful assumptions about the American experience? Drawing from history, literature, and art history, we will examine our relationships to American places-- to its "built environments"-- ranging from shopping malls, factories, and fast-food restaurants to impoverished neighborhoods, gentrifying downtowns, college campuses, suburban skate parks, and perhaps, through a research project, your home town.