Department of American Studies

Nick Yablon

Assistant Professor of American Studies
PhD University of Chicago (2002, History)
716 Jefferson Building
(319) 335-0321
nick-yablon@uiowa.edu

Research Interests

Nick Yablon’s research and teaching focus on the changing sensory and spatio-temporal experiences of American city dwellers during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. His book, Untimely Ruins: An Archaeology of Urban Modernity, 1819-1919 (Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press, 2009), examines how those changing experiences found expression in a new poetics of the ruin. Recovering numerous scenes of desolation—from failed banks, abandoned towns, and dilapidated tenements to the crumbling skyscrapers and bridges envisioned in science fiction and cartoons—Untimely Ruins exposes crucial debates about the economic, technological, and cultural transformations known as urban modernity.

Wider research interests include: urban history; architectural history; the built environment; technology; business history and business fiction; visual culture; sound studies; and theories of modernity and urbanism.

During 2009-10, Nick Yablon is Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Curriculum Vitae

Courses Taught

45:01 Understanding American Cultures
45:90 Clocks, Calendars, and Capsules: A History of Time in America
45:90/147 Seminar: American Disasters
45:151 American Business Cultures
45:160 American Cityscapes
45:163 American Ruins
45:200 Theory and Practice of American Studies
45:250 Seminar: Topics in American Studies: Cultures of America
45:250 Seminar: Topics in American Studies: Money and American Culture
45:250 Seminar: Topics in American Studies: Empire of Time: Temporality in American History
45:299 American Studies Proseminar: The Arts in American Studies