History and Philosophy Faculty Host Recent "Integrating the Workplace" Conference

KENNESAW, Ga. (Oct 19, 2011) — “Integrating the Workplace”

October 14-15, 2011

History and philosophy faculty hosted a conference October 14-15, 2011, called “Integrating the Workplace.”  The conference explored the historical origins and development of the concepts of equal opportunity employment and affirmative action.  This is one of the least examined aspects of the Civil Rights revolution of the post-World War II era.  A local firm, Lockheed, played a pivotal role in the development of private sector diversity programs in the 1960s and 1970s.  Presenters included the distinguished economic historian Gavin Wright, Stanford; Frank Dobbin, a Harvard sociologist and two-time winner of the American Sociological Association’s Max Weber book prize; Terry Anderson, Texas A & M, author of a history of affirmative action; David Roediger, author of The Wages of Whiteness; and KSU’s own Flora Devine, special assistant to the President for legal affairs; Katrina Gephardt, Darina Lepadatu, Sabine Smith, and Guichin Zong, Kennesaw State University; Robert Samuel Smith, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Johannes Steffens, University of Heidelberg; Joseph Abel, Southern Methodist University.  Presentations examined a range of topics including the historical origins of affirmative action in the 1940s, the role of Lockheed personnel manager Hugh Gordon in promoting private sector diversity programs, the economic impact of the equal opportunity revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, diversity programs that work, and the integration of international women faculty into the academy, many more. 

The conference was organized by Randy Patton, Tom Scott, and Seneca Vaught, and sponsored by the Georgia Humanities Council and KSU’s Center for Regional History & Culture, the Shaw Industries Chair, the Center for African and African Diaspora Studies, the American Studies program, and the KSU Archives. 

 Video of a number of conference presentations will soon be available electronically the website http://www.kennesaw.edu/workplaceintegration/program.html. 

Photos by Seneca Vaught  are featured on our facebook page and can also be found at https://picasaweb.google.com/senecavaught/IntegratingTheWorkplaceConference?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJ2PvaOu7Y2WRQ&feat=directlink.