Jeffrey Trask

Biography

My research and teaching focus on the social and cultural history of cities in the United States. I am particularly interested in the relationship between the arts, aesthetic elements of the built environment and urban economies. My current research examines the history of industrial cities, looking at the how the design and planning of places of industrial production affected the politics of urban growth, decline and reinvestment – with a focus on New York, Chicago and Atlanta. In my courses at GSU, I encourage students to explore the history of Atlanta within the context of the history of American cities. Using the city of Atlanta as an extension of the classroom, students my urban history and history of the built environments courses create historical walking tours, while in my course on the history of food, students map Atlanta’s food landscape – charting places of abundance and scarcity.