Demystifying Rural America - Steven Conn

Mon Nov 25 2024 at 06:00 pm UTC-05:00

University of New England Portland Campus, Innovation Hall, 716 Stevens Avenue, Portland, Maine 04103 | Portland

UNE Center for Global Humanities
Publisher/HostUNE Center for Global Humanities
Demystifying Rural America - Steven Conn
Advertisement
Free and open to the public. There will be a reception at 5 P.M. at Innovation Hall.
It seems everyone has an opinion about rural America. Is it gripped in a tragic decline? Or is it on the cusp of a glorious revival? Is it the key to understanding America today? In this lecture, historian Steven Conn will argue that we’re missing the real question: Is rural America even a thing? Conn will argue that it is not, explaining how we only see what we want to see in the lands beyond the suburbs—fantasies about moral (or backward) communities, simpler (or repressive) living, and what it means to be authentically (or wrongheadedly) American. If we want to build a better future, Conn will argue, we must accept that these visions don’t exist and never did. Drawing from his recent book, The Lies of the Land, Conn will explain how rural America—so often characterized as in crisis or in danger of being left behind—has actually been at the center of modern American history, shaped by the same forces as the rest of the country: militarization, industrialization, corporatization, and suburbanization. Ultimately, Conn will invite attendees to dispense with the common lies and half-truths about rural America and to pursue better solutions to the real challenges we face throughout our nation.
Biography
Steven Conn is the W. E. Smith Professor of History at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He is the author of many books, including The Lies of the Land: Seeing Rural America for What It Is – and Isn’t, Americans Against the City: Anti-Urbanism in the Twentieth Century, and Nothing Succeeds Like Failure: The Sad History of American Business Schools, as well as many articles, reviews, and essays. In addition, he is the founding editor of the on-line magazine Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective and its spin off Picturing Black History a collaboration with Getty Images. He has lectured all over the country and around the world.
Advertisement

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

University of New England Portland Campus, Innovation Hall, 716 Stevens Avenue, Portland, Maine 04103, United States

Sharing is Caring:

More Events in Portland

COMEDY CAUSE IT MATTERS A Benefit Comedy Series
Sun Nov 24 2024 at 07:00 pm COMEDY CAUSE IT MATTERS A Benefit Comedy Series

575 Congress St 2nd Floor, Portland, ME, United States, Maine 04101

Wayside Thanksgiving Volunteer Shifts 2024
Mon Nov 25 2024 at 08:00 am Wayside Thanksgiving Volunteer Shifts 2024

Wayside Food Programs

Bowl Turning With Carbide Tools
Mon Nov 25 2024 at 11:00 am Bowl Turning With Carbide Tools

Rockler Woodworking and Hardware - South Portland

B. Dolan "Last Temptation Tour" w\/ E-Turn - Final US Leg
Mon Nov 25 2024 at 08:00 pm B. Dolan "Last Temptation Tour" w/ E-Turn - Final US Leg

FLASK LOUNGE

B Dolan & E Turn (Presented By Monday of the Minds)
Mon Nov 25 2024 at 09:00 pm B Dolan & E Turn (Presented By Monday of the Minds)

Flask Lounge

Wooden Candlesticks On The Lathe
Tue Nov 26 2024 at 01:00 pm Wooden Candlesticks On The Lathe

Rockler Woodworking and Hardware - South Portland

Portland is Happening!

Never miss your favorite happenings again!

Explore Portland Events