I conducted 6-months of ethnographic research in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago that included interviews, archival research, participant observation, focus groups, and fieldwork to critically examine a city-sponsored public art initiative in the gentrifying neighborhood. From a macro-level perspective, the thesis explored how neoliberal city governments work through culture to transform cities and neighborhoods.
My thesis was the recipient of several awards, including the Friends of Anthropology Distinguished Honors Thesis in Public Anthropology & Best Thesis in Latino/a Studies
Academic Responses:
Northwestern Department of Latino/a Studies - Emily Maguire:
Mónica and I are very pleased to name Melissa Sobin's "Behind the Paint: Gentrification, Commodified Culture, and Public Art in Pilsen" as the winner of the award for the best senior thesis in Latino/a Studies. Melissa's thesis, an exploration of "how neoliberal governments work through culture to transform city neighborhoods," is also a nuanced analysis of the City of Chicago sponsored public art initiative in Pilsen that offers some a subtle insights into the politics of representation. Melissa's thesis is an example of excellent ethnographic fieldwork; she not only does a fantastic job of recording interviews and incorporating them into her study, but she also reveals at the multiple ways they can be interpreted, taking her analysis to the next level. The thesis has a strong, compelling argument, yet also manages to explore a number of sides of a complex and multi-layered issue. We found Melissa's work exciting and sophisticated, and are very pleased to award her thesis the LLSP thesis prize.
Northwestern Department of Anthropology - Jessica Winegar:
I wholeheartedly recommend Melissa Sobin’s thesis, “Behind the Paint: Gentrification, Commodified Culture, and Public Art in Pilsen” for honors. I literally couldn’t put it down. Sobin has masterfully synthesized the literature on the problematic uses of “culture” in neoliberalized gentrification projects in the urban U.S., and applied them in very compelling ways to her case of public arts projects in Pilsen. Her critical analysis of planning documents and communiqués from the Mayor’s office, the Alderman’s office, and the Art in Public Places initiative on the cultural development of Pilsen is very powerful. When combined with excellent interview quotes, it makes for a very compelling story of a supposedly community-oriented initiative bringing in commodified culture and external financial and artistic interests in ways that threaten to further displace the local Mexican community and its longstanding tradition of arts-making. She also takes care to properly situate this case within the longer history of immigration to and gentrification of Pilsen.
This is an excellent thesis that contributes an important critique of the so-called cultural development of Pilsen. Moreover, it gives voice to members of the local community who appear to be silenced in this process. I commend Sobin on an excellent job.
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