Landscapes of Desire by William Alexander Mcclung

Landscapes of Desire by William Alexander Mcclung

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Summary

Offering an account of the visions that drove the period of Anglo dominance in the Los Angeles region, from about 1850 to about 1985, this study explores two competing mythologies: one of a found natural paradise, the other of an empty space inviting development.

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Landscapes of Desire by William Alexander Mcclung

To those of us who look at Los Angeles and see no sense at all, this text offers a vivid account of the particular visions that drove the period of Anglo dominance in the Los Angeles region, from about 1850 to about 1985. William McClung's essay, supported by illustrations, shows that Anglo settlers and developers wanted nothing more than to make sense of their surroundings, but that their two dominant paradigms were at war with each other. Anglophone Los Angeles, McClung says, has tried strenuously to reconcile two competing mythologies of place and space: one of an acquired Arcadia - a found natural paradise - and the other of an invented Utopia - an empty space inviting development. The collision between these two underlying ideals is still present in the ambivalence at the heart of the city's and region's understanding of themselves.
William Alexander McClung is Professor of English, Emeritus at Mississippi State University and author of The Architecture of Paradise: Survivals of Eden and Jerusalem (California, 1983) and The Country House in English Renaissance Poetry (California, 1977).
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9780520218277
ISBN 10 0520218272
Title Landscapes of Desire
Author William Alexander Mcclung
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Hardback
Publisher University of California Press
Year published 2000-03-29
Number of pages 297
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.