Research seminar “The US Working Class on and off Screen”
Axes 3 et 4
Julie Assouly (Université d’Artois, en délégation au Laboratoire Échelles-Paris-Cité)
[Hybrid: on site and online]

This series of hybrid talks aims to foster conversations with U.S. film specialists and historians about issues related to the American working class and its representations in cultural and political contexts. Each session will begin with a short film montage designed to introduce the topic, followed by a presentation of a specific book or research project by a North American scholar. The sessions will conclude with a 20-minute interview with our guests and a Q&A session with the online and on-site audiences.
Session 1: February 12, 3-4.30 PM (Paris time)
Olympe de Gouge, ROOM 830.
Shaping the image of the Rust Belt on screen
Michael D Dwyer (Arcadia University) will present his latest work, Tinsel and Rust: How Hollywood Manufactured the Rust Belt (2025). Respondent Julie Assouly.
https://univ-artois-fr.zoom.us/j/99993061768?pwd=NW5haw7lwcVNtpBP8hULkyLHCZBlqS.1
ID de réunion: 999 9306 1768
Code secret: 653960
Session 2: March 12, 4-5.30 PM (Paris time)
ODG ROOM 830
Working-class left-wing activism, in connection with the Agrégation “option civilisation”
Michael Dennis (Acadia university) will present his work on working-class activism in Hollywood in the 1930s-40s. Respondents Claire Dutriaux (Sorbonne Université) and Julie Assouly.
https://univ-artois-fr.zoom.us/j/98273653238?pwd=CdyICVPPkB3ad6bRywJo53V1ytVIET.1
ID de réunion: 982 7365 3238
Code secret: 411292
Session 3: April 16, 4-5.30 PM (Paris time)
ODG ROOM 830
Working-class women activism in the textile industry, from Crystal Lee Sutton to Norma Rae
Aimee Loiselle (Central Connecticut State University) will present her book Beyond Norma Rae How Puerto Rican and Southern White Women Fought for a Place in the American Working Class (2023). Respondent Jean-Christian Vinel (Université Paris-Cité).
https://univ-artois-fr.zoom.us/j/97173557954?pwd=eqnTsEAMHMQJ9jzh6kKZC3ADhk3K7y.1
ID de réunion: 971 7355 7954
Code secret: 672674
Session 4: May 18, 4-5.30 PM (Paris time)
ODG ROOM 317
Working-Class Masculinity
Derek Nystrom (McGill University) will present his book Hard Hats, Rednecks, and Macho Men: Class in 1970s American Cinema (2009). Respondent Marine Soubeille (Université Paris-Cité).
https://univ-artois-fr.zoom.us/j/99922417127?pwd=RzY9zW9fF875IsII0GBa8QYBIFQCaG.1
ID de réunion: 999 2241 7127
Code secret: 344318
Many thanks to Claire Dutriaux, Jean-Christian Vinel and Marine Soubeille for their participation.