Discussion Questions

History Question

Cohen's discussion of the development of suburban areas is based on a case study of New Jersey. She stated in the introduction that the trends associated with New Jersey's development were in fact national and could have been located anywhere. (8) Does New Jersey stand as an adequate case study of the national experience? Much of the New Jersey references are in suburban New York City/Newark can we assume the court battles, private development, and racial tensions that occurred there happened generally throughout the United States? What is the significance of the urban/suburban character of the narrative?

Historiographical Question

There were two historiographical issues that I thought were quite interesting. I believe that usually the development of mass consumer culture has been associated with the post-war period, so what is the significance of Cohen placing the evolution as far back as the late 19th century and the more rapid change that occurred during the Great Depression and WWII? Specifically the African-American development as a consumer purchaser, how does this fit in with what we know generally about the civil-rights struggle? Also in reference to my history question, the examination of the court cases that came out of New Jersey are a different approach, usually focus is on federal court decisions, what does Cohen's focus add to the historiography of urban development and consumer culture?