The Written Suburb: An American Site, An Ethnographic Dilemma (contemporary Ethnography Series)

"A subversive and postmodern work about the town of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. The book considers Wyeth country—what kind of place it is and how it is constituted. . . . Dorst asks questions about how the place represents itself to itself and to tourists."—__Lingua Franca__ "A subversive and postmodern work about the town of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. The book considers Wyeth country—what kind of place it is and how it is constituted. . . . Dorst asks questions about how the place represents itself to itself and to tourists."—__Lingua Franca__

Chadds Ford, an upscale suburb in southeastern Pennsylvania, devotes a lot of energy to creating a historical identity. Numerous institutions participate in this task, including museums, a land conservancy dedicated to the preservation of its historical landscape, and the Historical Society, which is responsible for an annual community celebration. Larger institutions related to regional tourism and suburban development generate a steady flow of texts about Chadds Ford in the form of glossy travel magazines, pamphlets, brochures, and gallery displays.

"A subversive and postmodern work about the town of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. The book considers Wyeth country—what kind of place it is and how it is constituted. . . . Dorst asks questions about how the place represents itself to itself and to tourists."— Lingua Franca "A subversive and postmodern work about the town of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. The book considers Wyeth country—what kind of place it is and how it is constituted. . . . Dorst asks questions about how the place represents itself to itself and to tourists."— Lingua Franca Contents Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction: Postmodernity as an Ethnographic Dilemma 1. Chadds Ford Souvenirs 2. Some History 3. Chadds Ford as a Site of Postmodernity: Veneers, Vignettes, and the Myth of Tradition 4. Chadds Ford Days: Living History and the Closed Space of Postmodern Consumption 5. An Allegory of Museums: A Comparative Reading ofTwo Gallery Displays Conclusion: Self-Estrangements References Index