About the Talk

Sixty years ago, Americans began to invent a new phase of life, those years between work and old age dependency that we call “retirement.” So entrenched in our culture has this idea become that we often consider this a natural part of the life span, but the modern experience of retirement is actually a post-World War Two creation. Reviewing the history of how Americans have come to understand and live their retirement years, this talk will explore our ambivalent and evolving relationship to our jobs, our culture of leisure, and our anxieties about aging. Starting in the mid-20th century, the search many Americans embarked upon for a “good retirement” has been a search for meaning; and so, the origin and evolution of retirement provides a vantage point from which we can reflect on what we think constitutes a life well and fully lived. 

Where

Register for the link at tiny.utk.edu/CC-Freeberg 

About the Speaker

Ernest Freeberg’s teaching and research interests center on the cultural and intellectual history of the United States in the 19th and 20th century. His books have examined the history of disability, the origin of civil liberties and free speech doctrine in America, the impact of technology and invention on American life, and the founding of the movement to protect animal rights.  

About the Series

Conversations & Cocktails is a free public lecture series hosted by the UT Humanities Center, which showcases the original research of our distinguished University of Tennessee arts and humanities faculty. Our monthly talks give you the opportunity to hear about fascinating and groundbreaking work in the arts and in fields such as philosophy, history, and literary studies. Presentations are 30-40 minutes long and are designed for the general public. A spirited question-and-answer discussion follows each presentation.