The purpose of this guide is to gather a broad range of resources related to Philadelphia that might be of use in studying the area around a particular school. Suggestions are welcome.
Philadelphia: A 300 Year History by
In this book, the first comprehensive history of Philadelphia to be written in nearly three-quarters of a century, the reader will discover a rich and colorful portrait of one of America's most vital, interesting, and illustrious cities. Philadelphia: A 300-Year History traces the political, artistic, physical, and social evolution of the city and illumines its very special spirit---how it has changed in response to the demands of three centuries, and how, in many fascinating respects, it has remained the same as it was in William Penn's day.
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Compete or Close by
In districts from Chicago to New York to Washington, DC, neighborhood public schools are being forced to compete with charter schools for students and resources, often under the threat of school closure. In Compete or Close, Julia A. McWilliams provides a compelling ethnographic study of one such school, a neighborhood high school in Philadelphia--a district where rising privatization and chronic underfunding cast these common tensions into sharp relief. The book poses two questions: What strategies do schools deploy to minimize market risk and signal their value to stakeholders--district administrators, funders, parents, and students? And how do these strategies conflict with the schools' mission to serve all children? An astute and compassionate observer, McWilliams paints a devastating portrait of a neighborhood public school under siege, in which educators are panicked by the threat of closure and determined to survive at all costs. McWilliams's book is a powerful indictment of the role of competition in American education today and offers empirical evidence and a theoretical understanding of the mechanisms through which market forces may conflict with the preservation of education as a public good.
Contested Image by
Thomas Eakins' 1875 painting, The Gross Clinic, the Rocky Statue, andthe Barnes Foundation are all iconic in Philadelphia for different reasons. But around the year 2000, this painting, this sculpture, and this entire art collection, respectively, generated extended--and heated--controversies about the "appropriate" location for each item. Contested Image revisits the debates that surrounded these works of visual culture and how each item changed through acts of reception--through the ways that viewers looked at, talked about, and used these objects to define their city.Laura Holzman investigates the negotiations and spirited debates that affected the city of Philadelphia's identity and its public image. She considers how the region's cultural resources reshaped the city's reputation as well as delves into discussions about official efforts to boost local spirit. In tracking these "contested images," Holzman illuminates the messy process of public envisioning of place and the ways in which public dialogue informs public meaning of both cities themselves and the objects of urban identity.
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