Lowell Lecture
An evening with award-winning author Nancy A. Nichols, Nichols, upon the publication of her new book Women Behind the Wheel: An Unexpected and Personal History of the Car.
Date & Time
April 18, 2024 at 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Location
Modern Theatre
525 Washington Street Boston, MA 02111
Driving Directions
Speaker(s)
Author Nancy A. Nichols and Amy Monticello
Presenting Organization
Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University
Topics
Contact
Susan H. Spurlock (sspurlock@suffolk.edu, 617 504-7297)
An evening with award-winning author Nancy A. Nichols, upon the publication of her new book Women Behind the Wheel: An Unexpected and Personal History of the Car. She will be joined in conversation by Amy Monticello, MFA, associate professor and chair, English Department, Suffolk University. Blending cultural analysis, biography, literary criticism, and memoir, Women Behind the Wheel reclaims a neglected history and reveals how the car—and all that surrounds it—has become our most gendered technology. The invention of the automobile a little more than a century ago created a new and movable arena in which women’s struggle for power and autonomy would play out in myriad and often unexpected ways. Cars shaped the way women live, the way women work and date and dress, the way they care for their families, and the way they approach the elusive dream of work-life balance. Yet despite its dramatic impact on the lives of women, few have stopped the speeding automobile in its tracks to document the impact this technology has had on women. The car may have been “born in a masculine manger,” but beyond this persistent men-andmachine myth lies a different story: women, too, have always loved their cars and the exhilarating freedom of the open road.