August 1, 2023 Submitted by the Hingham Historical Society
The Hingham Historical Society will launch its sixth annual lecture series in September. The 2023-24 series, titled “Suburbia: The American Dream?” will run through April, 2024. Each of the 7 programs will be offered at 3 P.M. on a Sunday. Subscription sales begin July 29th at hinghamhistorical.org.
Here is a brief look at the 7-program lineup:
The first 4 programs look at the history of how American suburbs came to be. First, on Sept. 17, a program with Kenneth Jackson, Professor Emeritus of History, Columbia university, will explore the sociological, technological, and political forces that shaped America into a nation defined by its suburbs. Professor Jackson is the author of: “Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States,” which was honored with the prestigious Bancroft Prize when first published in 1986. This landmark work continues to garner accolades. In Nov 2022, The Atlantic named it “one of the 8 defining books of our era that explains why the U.S. has become the nation it is today.” In a 2014 article, Ta-Nehisi Coates said, “No one who wants to understand the shape of America’s cities and suburbs can afford to skip this book.”
The second program, on Nov. 12, looks at the important role in suburban development played by the bulldozer in the years following World War II. Francesca Ammon, Associate Professor of City and Regional Planning and Historic Preservation at the Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania, is the speaker. Her book, “Bulldozer: Demolition and Clearance of the Postwar Landscape,” examines how the bulldozer, along with the skills of newly returned Navy Seabees from war duty, became key to rapid land clearance for new suburban subdivisions, urban renewal construction, and an ambitious highway building program.
The third program, on Dec. 3, zeroes in on Greater Boston’s suburban development and the different types of suburbs which emerged. The speaker will be James O’Connell, Chair of the Massachusetts Zoning Reform Working Group, and a Professor at Boston University’s Metropolitan College. Professor O’Connell is the author of “The Hub’s Metropolis: Boston’s Development from Railroad Suburbs to Smart Growth.”
The fourth program, on Jan. 21, brings the topic close to home, as we learn of the contributing factors and stages in the Town of Hingham’s evolution, beginning in the late 19th century, into a residential suburb. This program will be led by Gordon Carr, a long-time Hinghamite who chaired the town’s Master Plan Committee and is a member of the Planning Board.
The last three programs bring 21st century issues for suburbs into focus.
On Feb. 18, Ellen Dunham-Jones, Professor of Urban Design at the Georgia Institute of Technology, will draw our attention to the way that changes in the suburban landscape, from streetscapes to redeveloped shopping malls, can improve sustainability while also enhancing health and well-being as we age. Professor Dunham-Jones is co-author, with architect June Williamson, of “Case Studies in Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Strategies for Urgent Challenges,” the second of two books they have authored on the retrofitting suburbia topic.
On March 10, two speakers will share views of the evolving American Dream. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner, who is part of the Education Committee that has organized this series, will highlight recent demographic data and analysis pointing to a disconnect –between today’s typically smaller household size and less traditional household composition –and the prevailing housing inventory. Joining Ruth is Kris Marsh, Associate Professor in Sociology at the University of Maryland. Professor Marsh’s research reflects the impact of historic marginalization on today’s black middle class in America. She is the author of “The Love Jones Cohort: Single and Living Alone in the Black Middle Class.” Professor Marsh will provide insights on decision-making in the black middle class today regarding marriage, wealth-building, and where and how to live.
The series concludes on April 7 with a program that will be quite topical during a presidential election year. The speaker, Lawrence Levy, is Executive Dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University. Dean Levy, who for decades was a reporter and political commentator, will talk about the role of the suburban swing vote in U.S. national elections.
For more information and ticketing, visit the Society’s website: hinghamhistorical.org.