By drawing upon aspects of critical geography to explore three writers representations of urban space and subject formation, American Ethni/Cities develops and advocates for a new methodological approach to the study of literature. Predicated on theories devised by Henri Lefebvre, David Harvey, Kevin Lynch, Gil Valentine and other geographically-minded thinkers, this spatially conscious literary practice has the potential to enhance one s understanding of literary texts, power dynamics, identity construction, and the spaces we inhabit. By focusing on Cahan s representation of Jewish immigrants living on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Wright s depiction of black migrants adjusting to life in the industrial North, and Baldwin s exploration of masculinity as a socio-spatial construct, each respective case-study draws attention to the relationship between spatial production and subject formation. The overarching hope of American Ethni/Cities is that others will find this inter-disciplinary partnership productive and will subsequently employ it themselves to further elucidate how the spaces we create, create the people we become.