Europe in 1968: From paving stones to politics
Europe in 1968: From paving stones to politics
July 30th, 2014
6.30pm-8pm
Skadden Arps
40 Bank Street
Canary Wharf
London, E14 5DS
Cost: £5
Refreshments available
Professor Rachel Gillett, Lecturer and Assistant Director of Studies in the History and Literature Department, will be in London from July 25th-August 4th and will be speaking to alumni on the subject of Europe in 1968: Protest on both sides of the wall/literature and protest/from paving stones to politics.
Rachel Gillett teaches and serves Assistant Director of Studies (non-America) in the History and Literature concentration at Harvard University. She researches and teaches issues in French colonial history and topics in race and popular culture in Europe. Her current book examines how the influx of black Americans into Paris during the jazz craze in the twenties inspired black French men and women to get musically and politically active and advocate for full citizenship. Her next project looks at World War One, and how soldiers of color from all regions were affected by fighting alongside each other in a war started by European colonizers. Rachel graduated from Northeastern University with a Phd in World History, and from the University of Otago, New Zealand (her homeland), with a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in English and History. She also teaches a course on youth protest in Europe in 1968, which asks just how “youthful” the protests actually were, and turns to popular culture, historical evidence, and political writings to help answer.