The John O’Sullivan Memorial Lecture:

MAKING SENSE OF AM ERICA’S ECONOMIC CRISIS:
CONSUMING OUR WAY TO ECONOMIC RECOVERY

Lizabeth Cohen


Dean of Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University

The John O’Sullivan Memorial Lecture Series sponsors annual public lectures by some of the most distinguished scholars of modern American history. The series originated in the spring of 2004, when a memorial fund was established to honor the memory of the late John O’Sullivan, a beloved Professor of History who died in 2000. In keeping with John’s commitment to teaching, research, and community outreach, the mission of the John O’Sullivan Memorial Lectureship is to broaden and deepen public understanding of modern U.S. history. Past lectures are published in booklet form and some are available online through the Department of History website at www.fau.edu/osullivan/pastlectures.php

COURSE DESCRIPTION: In the years after World War II, Americans believed that full participation in the mass consumer society promised widespread prosperity, as well as the long sought goals of a freer and more equal nation. High consumption remained the reigning strategy for achieving a democratic and affluent America until the recent recession, beginning in 2008, raised fundamental questions. Not only do rising home foreclosures and growing personal debt continue to threaten the viability of what the lecturer calls the “Consumers’ Republic,” but it is not clear how, if not through greater consumption, the United States will work its way out of recession. Can we still consume our way to recovery—or not?

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Dr. Lizabeth Coheny is Dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study and is the Howard Mumford Jones Professor of American Studies, both at Harvard University. Her interests have focused on integrating social, cultural and political history in the 20th century, probing how people’s social and cultural experiences and identities shaped their political orientations. In her current research, she is exploring the rebuilding of American cities after World War II by investigating the life and career of a major figure in urban renewal, Edward J. Logue. During academic year 2007–08, she was the Harold Vyvyan Harmsworth Professor at Oxford University . Over the years, she has received fellowship support from the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study, the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Her current research is supported by grants from the Real Estate Academic Initiative, the Taubman Center for State and Local Government, and the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston, all of Harvard University.