The Rise of an American Supercity: Los Angeles, Long Beach and the South Bay after World War II

By the end of World War II, Los Angeles had emerged as one of the country’s most important cities—largely due to burgeoning oil, defense and shipping industries south of L.A.’s city center. In this course, we connect this metropolitan growth with parallel mid-century expansion in Long Beach and peninsula communities. With close attention to cultural and demographic change, we also explore the area’s colorful oil tycoons, bootleggers, film stars and real estate magnates, as well as to the "Rosie the Riveter'' archetype housewives who were responsible for significant wartime production.