Slumming in New York

''Slumming in New York gracefully weaves together reformist tracts, sociological studies, and realist and naturalist fiction at the turn of the last century. It is rigorously interdisciplinary in its literary, historical, and sociological approach to novels, social tracts, ragtime and jazz, minstrel shows, vaudeville and Yiddish theater, and the 'slumming' that took place across the boundaries of race and class in New York City.'' Katherine Joslin, author of Jane Addams, a Writer's Life ''Slumming in New York surveys late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American realist and naturalist texts that focus on various New York City slums and ghettoes. In this fascinating study of an important genre of American literature, Dowling is especially sophisticated in his reversal of the usual concepts of 'outsider' and 'insider' narratives. His treatment of the concept of space(s) is innovative and insightful and will be useful to those interested in urban studies and the literature of New York City.'' James R. Giles, author of The Naturalistic Inner-City Novel in America