Inventing America: Lowell and the Industrial Revolution
This workshop will "combine scholarly presentations with on-site investigations of the canals, mills, worker housing, and exhibits of Lowell National Historical Park and of other sites in Lowell's historic district. Sessions draw on scholarly monographs, primary sources, and works of literature and historical fiction. It will intersperse lecture-discussions, hands-on activities, and field investigations. In addition to Lowell’s landmark resources, it will take full advantage of Old Sturbridge Village exhibits and scholars to explore pre-industrial rural life and draw on the expertise of scholars and presenters at Walden Pond and the Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts, to explore how prominent authors addressed the question of industrialization’s effect on American life, values, and the environment." Specific topics will include "American Industrialization: Lowell, Massachusetss, in International Context," "Comparing Farm and Factory Life, and Cash and Market Economies," "Market Volatility, Competition, and Worker Responses to the New Industrial Order," "Industrialization and Nature: A Comparison of Lowell and Concord," and "Immigration and Industrialization: Poverty or Upward Mobility?."