One of the pressing challenges of the 21st century is understanding the cultural dynamics of urban life. What is distinctive about urban culture? Urban culture is an indigenous form of concepts created in densely populated spaces with intersections informed by social-economic, racial, spatial, and gender identities. Historically, urban American culture is largely grounded in multicultural and multiethnic interactions and experiences.

 

However, since the late 1960’s, urban culture has largely been defined and informed by the African American experience. As a result, urban has become a term racialized and synonymous with African Americans; more recently, it has become a reference for ethnic and racial minorities.

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Marketing initiates in various industries have co-opted the term to reflect a multiracial demographic and has openly utilized it when conducting business. My research interests examines the roots of urban teen culture by looking at urban history which intersects with immigration, migration, and social history. When examining culture, the portals of my analysis extend into various fields, including but not limited to: sociology, communications, gender and media studies. The images on my homepage are examples that reflect of the lens of my research.