Consuming Landscapes: What We See When We Drive and Why It Matters

In conjunction with The German Program (Dept of Modern and Classical Languages) and the Center for Humanities Research

Monday, November 21, 2022 2:00 PM to 3:15 PM EST
Webinar event (via Zoom, RSVP required, link below)

Register here 

Registration required.

This event will begin at 2:00 pm ET. Join us virtually on Zoom (link will be emailed 24 hours in advance of the event).

Event Description: 

For better or worse, windshields have become a major frame for viewing the nonhuman world. The view from the road is one of the main ways in which we experience our environments. These vistas are the result of deliberate historical forces, and humans have shaped them as they simultaneously sought to be transformed by them. In Consuming Landscapes, Thomas Zeller explores how what we see while driving reflects how we view our societies and ourselves, the role that consumerism plays in our infrastructure, and ideas about reshaping the environment in the twentieth century.

The talk will be moderated by Samuel Huneke, Assistant Professor of History at George Mason University.

Speaker: 

Thomas Zeller is Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Maryland, College Park. During the academic year 2022-23, Zeller is the Arthur Molella Distinguished Fellow at the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. His most recent book Consuming Landscapes: What We See When We Drive and Why It Matters was published by Johns Hopkins University Press in October of 2022.