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Forum Network

  • In Person
    Virtual
    Join Ford Hall Forum for an engaging and insightful afternoon as renowned sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild explores the question, "Could It Happen Here?" Drawing parallels between the events of 1930s Germany and contemporary America, Hochschild delves into the implications of Donald Trump's rhetoric, the erosion of trust in institutions, and the dynamics of pride and shame in shaping our democracy. Alongside her, historian Adam Hochschild takes us on a journey back to the 1930s, unveiling the genesis of Sinclair Lewis's prophetic novel, "It Can’t Happen Here," amidst the rise of fascism. Discover the fascinating intersection of art, politics, and resistance as Adam and Arlie Hochschild unravel pivotal moments in history and their relevance to our present-day challenges.

    Paul Solman, correspondent for the PBS News Hour, will moderate the conversation.
    Partner:
    Ford Hall Forum
  • Arlie Russell Hochschild, one of the most influential sociologists of her generation, is the author of eleven books. Her 2016 Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right, took her from the blue bubble where she has long taught sociology at UC Berkeley, California to a red bubble in Lake Charles, Louisiana where she described the kindling later set on fire by Donald Trump.
  • Celebrating women throughout our country’s diverse history, Tiya Miles, award-winning Harvard historian, converses with Pulitzer Prize winner Laurel Thatcher Ulrich about the natural world and the women who changed America. 

    Louisa May Alcott ran wild, eluding gendered expectations in New England. Harriet Tubman, forced to labor outdoors on a Maryland plantation, learned from the land a terrain for escape. The Indigenous women’s basketball team from Fort Shaw, Montana, recaptured a sense of pride in physical prowess as they trounced competitors at the 1904 World’s Fair. Spotlighting such women who acted on their confidence outdoors, Wild Girls brings new context to misunderstood icons like Sacagawea and Pocahontas, and to underappreciated figures like Native American activist writer Zitkála-Šá, also known as Gertrude Bonnin, farmworkers’ champion Dolores Huerta, and labor and Civil Rights organizer Grace Lee Boggs.

    For these trailblazing women of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, navigating the woods, following the stars, playing sports, and taking to the streets in peaceful protest were not only joyful pursuits; they were techniques to resist assimilation, racism, and sexism. Lyrically written and full of archival discoveries, this beautiful, meditative work of history puts girls of all races—and the landscapes they loved—at center stage, and reveals the impact of the outdoors on women’s independence, resourcefulness, and vision.
    Partner:
    American Ancestors
  • Virtual
    Cambridge Forum takes a look at our current health care to see how it is changing. Ask anyone who has fallen off mainstream medical coverage and into the dark recesses of illness to discover what a scary place it is to land. Where is the good guidance, the support and infrastructure? As ever, not everyone has the same ideas about how to fix the broken system.

    Susannah Fox’s solution has been tracking the expert networks of patients, survivors and caregivers who have witnessed the cracks in the system and come up with a way forward. Fox believes that the next wave of health innovation will come from the front lines of a “patient-led revolution in medical care” and she has written a book about this new trend, entitled REBEL HEALTH.

    Everyone seems to agree on one thing – the dire shortage of doctors and professional carers available to patients. In an age of increasing techno-medicine, many feel that no amount of tech can replace hands-on care and human support. Everyone appears to want the latest treatment options, yet patients complain about the lack of personal interaction and compassion, according to Dr. Allen Sussman, author of SAVING THE ART OF MEDICINE. Sussman is a retired endocrinologist and Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Washington.
    Partner:
    Cambridge Forum
  • Dr. Allen Sussman, is a retired endocrinologist and Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Washington. He served as director of Alternative Medicine Services at Valley Medical Center working to systemize standards of practice within alternative medicine.
  • Susannah Fox helps people navigate health and technology. She served as Chief Technology Officer for the US Department of Health and Human Services, where she led an open data and innovation lab. Prior to that, she was the entrepreneur-in-residence at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and directed the health portfolio at the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project.
  • Virtual
    Suffolk University's Ford Hall Forum and Moakley Archive & Institute, The Boston Desegregation and Busing Initiative, and GBH Forum Network, continue a series of programs examining the lasting impacts of the l974 landmark decision to desegregate Boston’s Public Schools. On May 6, the panel will discuss upward mobility in Boston, exploring the city’s historic institutional roadblocks that have hindered progress for people of color fifty years after busing. The panel will explore solutions to address these persistent issues such as enhancing educational opportunities, closing the wealth gap, increasing home ownership, and broadening access to job opportunities.

    The evening’s panelists are Ron Bell, longtime community activist and founder of Dunk the Vote, and alumnus of Boston Latin School; Karilyn Crockett, Ph.D., assistant professor, Urban History, Public Policy & Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Tatiana M. F. Cruz, Ph.D., assistant professor and interdisciplinary program director of Africana Studies, Department of Critical Race, Gender and Cultural Studies, Simmons University. The program’s moderator is Kris Hooks, editor-in-chief of The Boston Globe’s newsroom team, Money, Power, Inequality: Closing the Racial Wealth Gap, which focuses on addressing the racial wealth gap in Greater Boston.

    Background

    In our first program, Driving for Desegregation: Boston 50 Years After Busing, Adrian Walker, columnist for The Boston Globe, led a panel that explored the long-term impacts of busing on the city of Boston, including the current state of Boston’s public schools and racial equity in a myriad of arenas. In our second program held last week, our panel, moderated by Stephanie Leydon, GBH News, the panel explored race, housing, and education equity 50 years after busing. This discussion explored the impact of race-based discriminatory housing policies and education funding formulas while addressing the more recent problems of gentrification and housing affordability and how Boston positions itself to compete with its suburban neighbors when it comes to educational outcomes.

    Partner:
    Ford Hall Forum
  • Talks about the Garisson decision of the Supreme Court that ordered desegregation in Boston and the busing crisis that followed, studying what happened and its legacy.
  • Kris Hooks is the editor-in-chief of the Globe's newsroom team Money, Power, Inequality: Closing the Racial Wealth Gap, which focuses on addressing the racial wealth gap in Greater Boston.
  • Tatiana M. Cruz is a historian that specializes in Critical Race, Ethnic, Diaspora, and Gender Studies and leader in the field of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB). She joined the Simmons faculty in 2021 and currently is an Assistant Professor and the Interdisciplinary Program Director of Africana Studies and Women's and Gender Studies.