Vanport, Oregon, was an artificial city created during WWII to house workers in the wartime industries. The settlement was swept away in 1948 by a flood of the Columbia River and never rebuilt. Recently, however, Vanport has been rediscovered and today is being celebrated as a model community in which diversity has flourished. This research seminar will trace the history of Vanport by looking at the larger framework that has enabled the city. We will discuss, amongst other things, the Great Migration, race relations in the U.S. during and after WWII, processes of displacement, urban renewal and gentrification, and the memory of “lost” places.
- Trainer/in: Uwe Lübken