Gentrification in the contemporary African-American novel

master's thesis

• Author: Katja Cupar
• Mentor: Sven Cvek (mentor)
• Committee member: Jelena Šesnić (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Hrvoje Tutek (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; (Department of English language and literature); Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2024-09-25, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; Philology; Anglistics

Abstract

Gentrification is a well-documented and researched phenomenon in sociology which is also a recurring theme of contemporary African American novels. Since its emergence in America, many have speculated what and who could be the singular culprit of gentrification. In reality, it is a layered and complex process that encompasses different financial, social and political issues which can bring upon positive and negative changes to the city in question. This thesis takes three different contemporary African American novels - The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears (2007) by Dinaw Mengestu, Caul Baby (2021) by Morgan Jenkins, and Halsey Street (2017) by Naima Coster and analyses their unique takes on gentrification by incorporating concepts Loretta Lees introduced in her work “A reappraisal of gentrification: towards a ‘geography of gentrification’”: the emancipatory city, the revanchist city and the new middle-class. The mentioned concepts will be used to discuss the approach the authors use to portray not only gentrification, but also its impact on family, relationships, the community and both sides of the spectrum – the gentrifiers and the gentrified

• Keywords: gentrification; literature; America; race; class
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:131:942606
• Study programme: Title: English Language and Literature (double major); specializations in: Linguistics, Literature and Culture, Translation, TEFL; Course: Literature and Culture; Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra engleskog jezika i književnosti (magistar/magistra engleskog jezika i književnosti)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Access restricted to students and staff of home institution
• Created on: 2024-09-26 08:39:16