Each year, the CWCS sponsors approximately five on-campus presentations on Working-Class Studies. Most of these are co-sponsored with other Youngstown State University departments and programs, and all are open to the public. To ensure that local workers and community members are aware of these events and feel welcome, we reach out through press releases, advertising, radio interviews, and personal contacts, and in many cases we set up special opportunities for our visitors to meet with community people.
2011 - 2012 Series
Photographic Exhibition: Women of the World: A Photographic Journey of New Americans in the Mahoning Valley
Interviews by Rosemary D’Apolito, Professor of Sociology, Youngstown State University and CWCS Affiliate
Photographs by Maria Bleahu
Video Presentation by Launa Buettell, Mainstream Music & Video
Co-sponsored by the YSU Sociology and Anthropology Department, and the YSU Gerontology Department
“The New Jim Crow” Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
Michelle Alexander, Associate Professor, Law, Stanford Law School; Civil Rights lawyer, advocate and legal scholar
Author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
Co-sponsored by the YSU Office of Diversity, the YSU Department of Criminal Justice, Eastern Gateway Community College, Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative, New Bethel Baptist Church, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther Planning Committee, Barnes & Noble, and the Buckeye Review.
Labor and Community Organizing: Boundaries and Opportunities
Wade Rathke, Chief Organizer, Acorn International
Author of Citizen Wealth: Winning the Campaign to Save Working Families
Co-sponsored by the YSU Sociology and Anthropology Department
Do Journalists Care about the Working Class?
George Packer, staff writer, The New Yorker Magazine, and CWCS Visiting Scholar
Co-sponsored by the Journalism Program
2010 - 2011 Series
Social Formations: Popular Culture and the Working Class
Kathleen Newman, Associate Professor, English Department, Carnegie-Mellon University
Author of Radio Active: Advertising and Consumer Activism, 1935-1947
Co-sponsored by the Department of Communications
Images of Youngstown: Landscapes in Film and Literature
Derrick Jones, Filmmaker and Instructor, Bowling Green State University,
Film: 631
Christopher Barzak, YSU English Department,
Author of The Love We Share Without Knowing
Co-sponsored by the YSU Africana Studies Program
Accountable Development and Smart Growth for Working-Class Communities
Greg LeRoy, Good Jobs First
Author of The Great American Jobs Scam: Corporate Tax Dodging and the Myth of Job Creation
Co-sponsored by the Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative
2009 - 2010 Series
The Health Care Crisis and Working-Class Communities
Sherrod Brown, United States Senator, Ohio
Working-Class Communities and the Future of Manufacturing
Richard McCormack, editor, Manufacturing and Technology News and editor, Manufacturing a Better Future for America
Forum for Business, Economic, and Political Science Students and Faculty
Co-sponsored by Williamson College of Business Administration and the Alliance for American Manufacturing
Factories and Steel Workers: Constructions of Class in Contemporary Native American Literature
Michele Fazio, Assistant Professor, English, University of North Carolina, Pembroke
Winner of Working-Class Studies Association Best Dissertation Award 2009
Co-sponsored with the English Department
Kelly Pavlik: A Sociological Study of Reporting on the Man and the City
James Rhodes, Simon Research Fellow, University of Manchester (UK) and visiting professor at the Center for Working-Class Studies
Co-sponsored with the Sociology and Anthropology Department
2008 - 2009 Series
The State of American Workers
Steve Greenhouse, The New York Times, author of The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for American Workers
Co-sponsored by the YSU Journalism Program and Labor Studies Program
Understanding Work: Two Perspectives on Workers’ Lives
Alessandro Portelli, Professor of Literature, University of Rome, La Sapenza
Tim Strangleman, Professor of Sociology, University of Kent (UK)
Teacher Workshop: Learning about Work: Hands-on Strategies for the Classroom
Alessandro Portelli, Professor of Literature, University of Rome, La Sapenza
Tim Strangleman, Professor of Sociology, University of Kent (UK)
Sherry Linkon, Co-Director/CWCS, Youngstown State University
Donna DeBlasion, Professor of History, Youngstown State University
Martha Pallante, Professor of History, Youngstown State University
Co-sponsored by YSU/Beeghly College of Education, YSU/College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, YSU/History Department Center for Applies History and the Ohio Humanities Council
Assignment Youngstown: A Panel Discussion on 2008 Election Reporting on the Working Class and Youngstown
Jonathan Kaufman, The Wall Street Journal
Connie Schultz, The Plain Dealer
Marilyn Geewax, NPR
Moderator: Todd Franko, The Vindicator
Co-sponsored by YSU/Journalism Program and The Vindicator
Reception prior to presentations sponsored by The New York Times
March 26, 2009, McKay Auditorium, 7:30 pm
New Approaches to Journalism and Reporting on the Working Class
Craig Duff, Chief Video Journalist and Director of Multimedia at Time.com
Co-sponsored by YSU/Journalism Program
New Approaches to Journalism and Reporting on the Working Class: A Multimedia Workshop for Professional and Student Journalists
Craig Duff, Chief Video Journalist and Director of Multimedia at Time.com
Alyssa Lenhoff, YSU/Journalism Program
Co-sponsored by YSU/Journalism Program
Three Working-Class Poets
William Boggs, Slippery Rock University, Greatest Hits (Pudding House Publications, 2003)
Nancy Krygowski, Co-Director, Gist Street Reading Series, Velocity(University of Pittsburgh Press, 2007)
Naton Leslie, Siena College, Emma Saves Her Life (Turning Point Press, 2007)
Co-sponsored by YSU/Poetry Center and YSU/English Department
2007 - 2008 Series
Remembering Black Monday, 1977-2007: A Roundtable Discussion
Staughton Lynd, Attorney: Gerald Dickey, USW; Rev. Edward Wisheimer, Ecumenical Coalition; William Farragher, Youngstown Sheet and Tube
Co-sponsored by the Youngstown Historical Center, Mahoning Valley Historical Society Young Leaders’ Advisory Board, YSU Center for
Applied History, and the Office of Social Action/Diocese of Youngstown
Geographies of Hope and Despair for Atlanta’s Latino, African American, and White Day Laborers
Terry Easton, Marion Brittain Fellow, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007 Winner, Best Dissertation in Working-Class Studies
Co-sponsored with the YSU American Studies Program
Spinning Rebellion: The Attica Prison Uprising, the Media, and the (Mis)Shaping of Working-Class Politics in Post-19702 U.S.
Heather Thompson, Soros Justice Fellow, History Professor, University of North Carolina
Co-sponsored by YSU Journalism Program and History Department
The China Labor Conundrum: Engage or Sanctions?
Katie Quan, Director, Henning Center for International Labor Relations, University of California at Berkeley
Co-sponsored by the YSU Labor Studies Program, Williamson College of Business Administration
Real Country: Music and Language in Working-Class Culture
Aaron Fox, Associate Professor of Music, and Director, Center for Ethnomusicology, Columbia University
Co-sponsored by the YSU Music Department
2006 - 2007 Series
Accountability Efforts in U.S. Schools: Examining the Impact Across Racial, Class and Linguistic Groups
Carlos Diaz, Professor, Curriculum and Instruction, Florida Atlantic University
Co-sponsored by the Beeghly College of Education
Woman and Work in Modern China
Tong Xin, Director, Center for Chinese Workers,
Professor, Sociology Department, University of Peking
Co-sponsored by the Sociology and Anthropology Department and Labor Studies Program
Working Ohio/Working Youngstown: A Photographic and Poster Exhibition
Steven Cagan, Photographer, and the Center for Working-Class Studies
Working Ohio/Working Youngstown: Reception and Gallery Talk
Steven Cagan, Photographer, and Alyssa Lenhoff, Director, Journalism Program, YSU
Co-sponsored by the Journalism Program
Laughing Matters: Entertainment Television’s Mockery of the Working Class
Pepi Leistyna, Professor, Applied Linguistics, University of Massachusetts (Boston)
Co-sponsored by the American Studies Program
2005 - 2006 Series
Wal-Mart and the Wal-Martization of American Industry
Thomas Palley, Former Chief Economist, US-China Economic and Security Commission and author of Plenty of Nothing: The Downsizing of the American Dream and the Case for Structural Keynesianism
In conjunction with the showing of Wal-Mart: The Hidden Costs of Low Prices
Co-sponsored by the Economics Department and the WCBA
Memorializing Steelwork: Public Art in Youngstown
Greg Moring, Art Department/YSU and Sherry Linkon, American Studies/YSU
Co-sponsored by the Art Department and McDonough Museum
Poetry Reading
Diane Gilliam Fisher, CWCS Community Affiliate, author of Kettle Bottom and One of Everything
Co-sponsored by the English Department
The Ethical Challenges of Globalization
John Coleman, S.J. Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, Professor of Social Values
Co-sponsored by the Philosophy and Religious Studies Department
Journalism of Work and Class
Paul Nyden, Senior Reporter, Charleston Gazette
Co-sponsored by the Journalism Program
2004 - 2005 Series
Homeland: Middle America after 9/11
Dale Maharidge, Professor, Columbia University and 1990 Pulitzer Prize winner
Co-sponsored by the Journalism Program
Intensive Care: A Play
Jeanne Bryner, nurse and award-winning poet
Co-sponsored by the Nursing Department
Working-Class Conservatism: From Hard Hats to NASCAR Dads
Jefferson Cowie, Professor, Cornell University, 2000 Taft Labor History Award winner
Co-sponsored by the History Department
Clash of Globalizations?: The Politics of International Labor Rights
Thomas Greven, Professor, Political Science, Free University of Berlin
Co-sponsored by the Political Science Department
The African-American Freedom Struggle: Shifting Visions and Strategies
Joe W. Trotter, Professor and Chair, History Department, Carnegie Mellon University
Co-sponsored by the Africana Studies Program
Understanding the Other: Class and Journalism in America
Brent Cunningham, Managing Editor, Columbia Journalism Review
Co-sponsored by the English Department
New Working-Class Studies: Past, Present and Future
Biennial Conference and the CWCS 10th Anniversary
2003 - 2004 Series
The Invisible Employers in Immigration Law Enforcement: The Case of the “Chandler Roundup” in Arizona
Mary Romero, School of Justice Studies, Arizona State University, author of Maid in the USA
Co-sponsored by the Criminal Justice Department
The Consequences of Class in Italian-American Culture
Fred Gardaphe, Italian/American Studies Program, SUNY-Stony Brook, President of the American Italian Historical Association and author ofLeaving Little Italy
Co-sponsored by the American Studies Program
The Relationship Between the Civil Rights Movement and the Labor Movement: Connections, Contradictions, and Contemporary Lessons
Dorian Warren, Political Science Department, Yale University and Erskine Peters Fellow in African-American Studies, University of Notre Dame
Co-sponsored by the Africana Studies Program and Labor Studies
Crossing Class Boundaries: Blue Collar Roots, White Collar Dreams
Alfred Lubrano, reporter, Philadelphia Inquirer, contributing writer, GQ, and author of Limbo: Blue-Collar Roots, White-Collar Dreams
Press Day Presentation: Working-Class Roots and the Development of a Reporter
Co-sponsored by the Journalism Program
2002 - 2003 Series
The Fabulous Ruins of Detroit: The Website as Art, The Fifth Incarnation, DetroitYES.com”
Lowell Boileau, Artist
Co-sponsored by the McDonough Museum of Art
Race and Class in Youngstown
Panel featuring Al Bright, Rosemary D’Apolito, John Russo, and Homer Warren
Co-sponsored by the Freshman Reader Project
Preparing African-American Adolescents for Civil Society: Traditional African Values at Work
Emmanuel Babatunde, Sociology and Anthropology, Lincoln University
Co-sponsored with the Africana Studies Program
Country Music’s Gone to Town: Urbanization, Class Consciousness, and Country Music
Rachel Rubin, American Studies, University of Massachusetts/Boston
Co-sponsored with the English Department
Working-Class Autobiography
Tim Strangleman, Sociology, University of Nottingham
Working-Class Studies: Intersections of Class, Race, Gender, and Sexuality
The Sixth Biennial Conference
Co-sponsored by the Race, Gender, Class Project of Southern University of New Orleans
Exhibit: Solidarity Forever: Graphics of the International Labor Movement
from the Center for the Study of Political Graphics, Los Angeles
2001 - 2002 Series
Workers’ Life Stories in a Changing American Economy: Deindustrialization from the Bottom Up and the Inside Out
Michael Frisch, Professor of History and American Studies, University of Buffalo, Past president, American Studies Association, Author of Portraits in Steel
Co-sponsored by the American Studies Program
Housing Labor’s Unrest: Economic Restructuring, Immigration, and the Social Production of Scale in the Midwest
Jeff Crump, Associate Professor, Housing Studies Program, University of Minnesota, Founding member, Minnesota Center for Labor and Working-Class Studies.
Co-sponsored by the Geography Department
“Machine Gun” and Soldiers’ Blues: Jimi Hendrix, Vietnam, and Black Conscription
Kimberly L. Phillips, Associate Professor, History Department, College of William and Mary, Author of Alabama North: African-American Migrants, Community and Working-Class Activism in Cleveland, 1915-45.
Co-sponsored with Africana Studies Program
Composition in an Age of Compassionate Conservatism
Steve Parks, Director, Institute for the Study of Literature, Literacy, and Culture, Temple University
Co-sponsored with the English Department
Documentation of Working-Class Life: Unseen America and Class inAmerica
Esther Cohen, Creative Director, Bread and Roses: The Cultural Project of Health and Human Services Union1199/SEIU
Coordinator of the Unseen America Photographic Project
Louis Alvarez, Center for New America Media, producer of the PBS documentary, Class in America
Co-sponsored by the Labor Studies Program and Art Department