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X-WR-CALNAME:Book Talk: Ryan Pettengill on Communists and Community
X-WR-TIMEZONE:Eastern Time (US & Canada)
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20261007T191734Z
UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_42532745562438
DTSTART:20230309T230000Z
DTEND:20230310T000000Z
DESCRIPTION:The International Brotherhood of Teamsters Labor History Resear
 ch Center will host a hybrid book talk. Registrants will be able to view t
 he talk over Zoom if they wish or join us in the Center itself. Anyone att
 ending in person should go to the 7th floor of Gelman Library.\n\nPlease r
 egister here.\n\nDr. Ryan Pettengill will discuss his book Communists and 
 Community: Activism in Detroit’s Labor Movement\, 1941-1956. The book ar
 gues that Popular Front activism continued to flourish throughout the war 
 years and into the postwar period. In Detroit\, where there was a critical
  mass of heavy industry\, Communist Party activists mobilized support for 
 civil rights and affordable housing\, brought attention to police brutalit
 y\, sought protection for the foreign-born\, and led a movement for world 
 peace.\n\nCommunists and Community demonstrates that the Communist Party c
 reated a social space where activists became effective advocates for the s
 ocioeconomic betterment of a multiracial work force. Pettengill uses Detro
 it as a case study to examine how communist activists and their sympathize
 rs maintained a community to enhance the quality of life for the city’s 
 working class. He investigates the long-term effects of organized labor’
 s decision to force communists out of the unions and abandon community-bas
 ed activism. Communists and Community recounts how leftists helped workers
 \, people of color\, and other under-represented groups who became part of
  the mainstream citizenry in America.\n\nRyan Pettengill earned a PhD from
  Michigan State University in 2009. The scope and focus of his research wa
 s labor and working-class history\, specifically grounded in the mid-twent
 ieth century. While the topics of Pettengill’s research and scholarship 
 were and remain broad\, they generally revolve around American radicalism\
 , community activism\, and the empowerment of the working class. These top
 ics manifested themselves in the 2020 publication of his first book\, Comm
 unists and Community: Activism in Detroit’s Labor Movement\, 1941-1956. 
 \n\nPettengill continues to maintain a robust agenda with respect to resea
 rch. His latest project involves the intersection of organized labor and t
 he global movement for human rights. Pettengill is also a passionate teach
 er. For the past 13 years\, he has taught at community colleges throughout
  North Texas. He predominantly teaches both halves of the American history
  survey but he has also taught courses focused on labor and working-class 
 history\, the history of sport in the United States\, and the civil rights
  movement. Pettengill currently serves as the faculty sponsor for his loca
 l “history club” and is a member of the Organization of American Histo
 rian’s Committee on Community Colleges.\n\nThose attending in person wil
 l have the opportunity to get their book signed by Dr. Pettengill.
GEO:38.899209;-77.048398
LOCATION:Gelman Library
SUMMARY:Book Talk: Ryan Pettengill on Communists and Community
URL;VALUE=URI:https://calendar.gwu.edu/event/book_talk_ryan_pettengill_on_c
 ommunists_and_community
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