On Midcentury Vinyl and Cultural History: Instructional Records, American Notions of Success, and the Rise of Self-Help, Betterment, and Wellness. A McKenzie Salon Series Event
The history of the recording industry often focuses on greatness—great inventors, great musical artists, greatest hits, but another facet of the story concerns the early promise of records as instructional tools and the ways in which such records tapped into America’s deepest longings.
We explore how instructional records—whether for salesmanship, speed reading, or sport—express core values of US culture, including self-reliance, opportunity, and upward mobility; embody the self-help movement’s focus on self-improvement; and illuminate that fundamental American notion of success. As such, they represent important yet overlooked precursors to contemporary self-help, betterment, and wellness culture.
Presenters
- Jonathan Schroeder, William A. Kern Professor of Communications, RIT
- Janet Borgerson, Senior Wicklander Fellow, DePaul University
Respondents
- Wayne Norman, Mike and Ruth Mackowski Distinguished Professor of Ethics in Philosophy and the Kenan Institute of Ethics, Duke University
- Daniel Worden, Professor of Art, College of Art and Design, RIT
Event Snapshot
When and Where
Who
Open to the Public
Interpreter Requested?
No
Topics
research