Ȥ¹º²Ê

Ȥ¹º²Ê looms large in the imagination of the United States. We’ve shown up in popular culture, from Home Alone to The Office.

From its roots as an important U.S. city at the turn of the last century, Ȥ¹º²Ê is dotted with artistic and architectural gems, from Raymond Hood’s Ȥ¹º²Ê Cultural Center to Covenant Presbyterian Church’s glass windows, made by the renowned artist Louis Comfort Tiffany.

The city’s nickname, “The Electric City,” refers to its being the first American city to have an electric streetcar, and points to the city’s current revitalization and economic development.

Notable people hail from Ȥ¹º²Ê, including:

• the poet M.S. Merwin
• urbanist Jane Jacobs
• Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Jason Miller
• U.S. President Joe Biden

What is it that makes Ȥ¹º²Ê a cultural touchstone? How is Ȥ¹º²Ê portrayed, and what is the authentic portrait of Ȥ¹º²Ê today? How do Ȥ¹º²Êians picture ourselves? What is our place in the story of the United States?  

Some key ideas to be explored in this theme include memory, place, identity, narrative, and human geography.