Contemporary Bohemia: A Case Study of an Artistic Community in Philadelphia (eBook)

This book presents an investigation and assessment of an artistic community that emerged within Philadelphia's Fishtown and the nearby neighborhood of Kensington. The book starts out by examining historical and sociological work on bohemia, and then provides a detailed history of greater Philadelphia and the Fishtown/Kensington region. After analyzing the ways in which Fishtown/Kensington's artistic community maintains continuity with bohemian tradition, it demonstrates that this community has decoupled traditional bohemian practices from their anti-bourgeois foundation. The book also demonstrates that this community helped generate and maintains overlapping membership with a larger community of hipsters. It concludes by defining the area's artistic community as an artistic bohemian lifestyle community, and argues that the artistic activities and cultural practices exhibited by the community are not unique, and have significant implications for urban artistic policy, and for post-industrial urban society.

Geoffrey Moss is currently a full-time Associate Professor of Instruction in Sociology at Temple University. He received a Ph.D. in Sociology and Education from Columbia University, an M.A. in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University-Teachers College, an M.A. in Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and a B.A. in Economics from Queens College of the City University of New York. He is a member of the American Sociological Association, Urban Affairs Association, and Phi Beta Kappa. He previously published a (2017) book for the Springbriefs Sociology series titled 'Artistic Enclaves in the Post-Industrial City: A Case Study of Lawrenceville Pittsburgh' and has published articles in the Journal of Criminal Justice, Economic and Industrial Democracy, and School Organization. His interest in artistic communities was sparked by his parents, David and June Moss, who were part of New York's 1950's bohemian theatre scene, and nourished by frequent visits to artistic communities in New York and other cities. He lives in Plymouth Meeting PA with his wife, Kay Williams, an RN at Chestnut Hill Hospital.

Rachel Wildfeuer is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Sociology at Temple University. Her dissertation examines how place matters in Americans' confidence in the American Dream. While at Temple University, she has received a fellowship to work with the Digital Scholarship Center, served as a research assistant analyzing child maltreatment perpetrated by fathers, regularly presented academic work at both the Annual Meetings of the American Sociological Association and the Eastern Sociological Society, and been involved in a variety of quantitative and qualitative research projects. In addition to research, Rachel has taught multiple undergraduate sociology courses upon receiving her MA from Temple University. 

Keith McIntosh is a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology at Temple University. He is an urban sociologist whose scholarly interests include gentrification, aesthetics and urban design to the reproduction of social inequities in the urban environment. He consistently presents his work at the American Sociological Association and Eastern Sociological Society annual conferences. Recently, he presented research from a current line of inquiry regarding the use of social capital in a Philadelphia neighborhood undergoing gentrification. His recent published work includes a manuscript with Dr. Dustin Kidd on the use of social media in the unfolding of global social protest movements. He has worked as a researcher in both university and business settings. He is currently teaching undergraduate sociology classes while pursuing his doctoral studies.