DiverCity – Global Cities as a Literary Phenomenon: Toronto, New York, and Los Angeles in a Globalizing Age (Lettre)

Based on the structured analysis of selected North American novels, this work examines global cities as a literary phenomenon (»DiverCity«). By analyzing Dionne Brand's Toronto, »What We All Long For« (2005), Chang-rae Lee's New York, »Native Speaker« (1995), and Karen Tei Yamashita's Los Angeles, »Tropic of Orange« (1997), Melanie U. Pooch provides the connecting link for exploring the triad of globalization and its effects, global cities as cultural nodal points, and cultural diversity in a globalizing age as a literary phenomenon. Thus, she contributes to a global, interdisciplinary, and multi-perspectival understanding of literature, culture, and society. Contents Acknowledgements 1. Introduction 2. Globalization and Its Effects 2.1 Mapping Globalization 2.2 Global Consensus 2.3 Global Controversies 3. Global Cities as Cultural Nodal Points 3.1 Urban Studies 3.2 Cultural Nodal Points 3.3 Toronto, New York, and Los Angeles 4. Cultural Diversity in a Globalizing Age 4.1 Concepts of Identity 4.2 Postcolonial Discourse 4.3 Intra, Inter, Multi, and Trans 4.4 The Melting Pot, Salad Bowl, and Canadian Mosaic 5. The Poetics of diverCity 5.1 The Poetics of Narrative 5.2 The Poetics of Place 5.3 The Poetics of Code-Switching 6. Dionne Brand’s Toronto, What We All Long For 6.1 The Global City of Toronto 6.2 Toronto Imagined: The World in a City 6.2.1 Polyphonic Murmuring 6.2.2 Converging Threads 6.2.3 Mapping the World in a City 6.2.4 Counter-Cartographies 6.2.5 Time-Space Discrepancy 6.2.6 Longing and Belonging 6.3 Interim Conclusion 7. Chang-rae Lee’s New York, Native Speaker 7.1 The Global City of New York 7.2 New York Imagined: A City of Wor(l)ds 7.2.1 The Strangest Chorale 7.2.2 False Speaker of Language 7.2.3 Amiable Man 7.2.4 The Immigrant City 7.2.5 Interethnic Imagination 7.3 Interim Conclusion 8. Karen Tei Yamashita’s Los Angeles, Tropic of Orange 8.1 The Global City of Los Angeles 8.2 Los Angeles Imagined: The World City 8.2.1 HyperContexts 8.2.2 The Polyglot 8.2.3 The Global 8.2.4 ElastiCity 8.2.5 These Lines 8.3 Interim Conclusion 9. Conclusion Works Cited Based on the structured analysis of selected North American novels, this work examines global cities as a literary phenomenon (»DiverCity«). By analyzing Dionne Brand's Toronto, »What We All Long For« (2005), Chang-rae Lee's New York, »Native Speaker« (1995), and Karen Tei Yamashita's Los Angeles, »Tropic of Orange« (1997), Melanie U. Pooch provides the connecting link for exploring the triad of globalization and its effects, global cities as cultural nodal points, and cultural diversity in a globalizing age as a literary phenomenon. Thus, she contributes to a global, interdisciplinary, and multi-perspectival understanding of literature, culture, and society. Diversity,Global City,Globalization,Culture,Literature,Los Angeles,New York,Toronto,City,British Studies,Literary Studies