Jefferson Cowie and Mark Dudzic:
The Long Shadow of the 1970s
Monday 12 November, 2012
6pm, $0/Rsvp
School of Visual Arts, Theory and the Arts
209 East 23 Street, MA Seminar Room
When Nixon said that “We are all Keynesians now” he enunciated a general feeling: the New Deal Order was here to stay. Instead, the U.S. experienced in the 1970s an economic and social crisis on the scale it faces today. Yet the 1970s was not merely a decade of crisis, it was also an epochal turning point, the beginning of what many have termed “neo-liberalism.” Politics turned sharply to the Right – with the “New Democrats” and the subsequent “Reagan Revolution.” Working class life harshened. Historical self-assurance – and even some radical hopes – evaporated in the face of “working-class blues.” Now, 40 years on, we haven’t yet found our way out of the long shadow of the 70s. Jefferson Cowie will guide us through the social and cultural shifts that displaced the white working class from the center of New Deal politics, and ushered in an era of working class decline. Mark Dudzic, as a labor and political organizer for the last 30 years, will offer some different views as to what went wrong and will reflect on his own work to turn the tide.
Jefferson Cowie teaches labor and working-class history, with research spanning a number of areas including politics, social history, and popular culture. He is the award-winning author of Capital Moves: RCA’s Seventy-Year Quest for Cheap Labor, and Stayin’ Alive: The 1970s and the Last Days of the Working Class. He is the co-author of a forthcoming book on the New Deal, The Long Exception.
Mark Dudzic serves as National Coordinator of the Labor Campaign for Single Payer. A long-time union activist, he joined the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers (now part of the United Steelworkers) in 1979 when he helped to organize the precious metals refinery in Northvale, NJ where he worked as a melter/caster.
"Why doesn’t the United States make social progress?”
If you are interested in taking part in one of the proseminar lectures, please contact us by clicking the RSVP link above. These discussions take place in the MA program seminar room where seating is limited. But we will do our best to accommodate your request and e-mail you an invitation, directions, supplemental readings, and a reminder shortly prior to the date.
Jefferson Cowie teaches labor and working-class history, with research spanning a number of areas including politics, social history, and popular culture. He is the award-winning author of Capital Moves: RCA’s Seventy-Year Quest for Cheap Labor, and Stayin’ Alive: The 1970s and the Last Days of the Working Class. He is the co-author of a forthcoming book on the New Deal, The Long Exception.
Mark Dudzic serves as National Coordinator of the Labor Campaign for Single Payer. A long-time union activist, he joined the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers (now part of the United Steelworkers) in 1979 when he helped to organize the precious metals refinery in Northvale, NJ where he worked as a melter/caster.
"Why doesn’t the United States make social progress?”
If you are interested in taking part in one of the proseminar lectures, please contact us by clicking the RSVP link above. These discussions take place in the MA program seminar room where seating is limited. But we will do our best to accommodate your request and e-mail you an invitation, directions, supplemental readings, and a reminder shortly prior to the date.
