2026-09-20T07:19:01Zhttps://dspace.mit.edu/server/oai/requestoai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/177022022-01-13T07:54:44Zcom_1721.1_7582com_1721.1_7581col_1721.1_131023
Lawrence Vale.
Whitlow, Annis, 1979-
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning
n-us-pa
2005-06-02T18:18:59Z
2005-06-02T18:18:59Z
2004
2004
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/17702
56410273
Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2004.
Includes bibliographical references.
Discourses about the construction of identity, the politics of identity, and the role of design in controlling human behavior and expressing power have thus far been confined to separate realms of inquiry. This thesis will examine where these discourses intersect and how their intersection plays out in society as old conceptions of race and identity are challenged by demographic shifts and new immigrant populations. Festivals, as spatial expressions of identity that image city spaces, provide an important perspective on this topic. Philadelphia, as a former capital city that continues to struggle with race and identity in its politics, acts as a compelling backdrop for my case studies. The Mummers Parade and the Odunde Festival are two New Year's celebrations that mediate racial/political and ethnic/cultural identities for the city's white and black populations respectively. This thesis considers both festivals from their historical context and compares their current form in terms of spatial and non-spatial indicators (route, demographics, funding, and organizational structure). From this analytic framework emerges a picture of how political identities are constructed spatially, how the process of identity construction both challenges and reinforces the dominant political structure, and how the process can bridge political differences and maintain them.
by Annis Whitlow.
M.C.P.
107 p.
6689789 bytes
6873410 bytes
application/pdf
application/pdf
eng
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.
http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582
Urban Studies and Planning.
The racial politics of urban celebrations : a comparative study of Philadelphia's Mummers Parade and Odunde Festival
Thesis
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<Abstract>Discourses about the construction of identity, the politics of identity, and the role of design in controlling human behavior and expressing power have thus far been confined to separate realms of inquiry. This thesis will examine where these discourses intersect and how their intersection plays out in society as old conceptions of race and identity are challenged by demographic shifts and new immigrant populations. Festivals, as spatial expressions of identity that image city spaces, provide an important perspective on this topic. Philadelphia, as a former capital city that continues to struggle with race and identity in its politics, acts as a compelling backdrop for my case studies. The Mummers Parade and the Odunde Festival are two New Year's celebrations that mediate racial/political and ethnic/cultural identities for the city's white and black populations respectively. This thesis considers both festivals from their historical context and compares their current form in terms of spatial and non-spatial indicators (route, demographics, funding, and organizational structure). From this analytic framework emerges a picture of how political identities are constructed spatially, how the process of identity construction both challenges and reinforces the dominant political structure, and how the process can bridge political differences and maintain them.</Abstract>
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