John Winthrop, Puritan leader and first governor of Massachusetts, famously described the British colony in the New World as a "city upon a hill." Winthrop's city established "a model of the American national imagination" (Bercovitch) and epitomized an exceptionalist narrative that imagined "the eyes of all people [...] upon" the Puritans. American cities have since often been associated with the future; however, this future has not always been defined by technological superiority and wealth, with actualizing the seemingly unlimited potentials of the New World. Indeed, post-apocalyptic American cities seem to permeate the popular imagination just as much as optimistic portrayals of American cities.

In this seminar, we will discuss representations of various post-apocalyptic American cities. While introductory lectures will trace these representations to the early days of the American national project, our focus will be on cultural artifacts produced since the early twentieth century. We will (largely) progress chronologically through various media.

See the "preliminary information" announcement and the schedule for my current plans for this seminar. If anyone would like to discuss a particular "text" or topic that's not accounted for, please reach out to me.