Originally published in 1973, Raymond Williams's The Country and the City has generated concepts that have influenced generations of cultural critics. His magisterial survey of the construction of archetypical images of the country and the city in English literature in the context of the shift from agrarian capitalism to the industrial metropolis has justly acquired canonical status. The book’s analysis of how these images obscured the actual historical and social relations that shaped them continues to remain relevant today. Join our panelists as they discuss how the book continues to inform their own work. They explore the city/country opposition and the political interests it serves in contexts quite different from Williams’s original English focus.

Panelists:

• Kathryn Babayan, Professor, History, Middle East Studies, University of Michigan
• Stephen A. Berrey, Associate Professor, American Culture, History, University of Michigan
• Christian de Pee, Associate Professor, History, University of Michigan
• Mrinalini Sinha (chair), Alice Freeman Palmer Professor of History, University of Michigan

This event is part of the Friday Series of the Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies. It is made possible by a generous contribution from Kenneth and Frances Aftel Eisenberg.