Issued by: Laura L. Hunt 414-229-6447 llhunt@uwm.edu Date: Sept. 21, 2004

Men parade down Bremen Street in the Riverwest neighborhood of Milwaukee at the turn of the century. UWM brings together scholars from as far as Germany to discuss urban history – including Milwaukee’s – in two events taking place in October. Photo from the Milwaukee Neighborhoods collection at the Golda Meir Libraries

UWM Celebrates Urban History - Including Milwaukee's - Oct. 7-9

MILWAUKEE — Find out how Milwaukee’s Socialist heritage affected its civil rights movement, why residents loved their bungalows in the teens and '20s, and why one UWM researcher argues that a woman is really the city’s founder when the UWM brings together community leaders and scholars from as far as Germany to discuss urban history – including Milwaukee’s – in two events taking place in October.

The first, a UWM symposium on Thursday and Friday, Oct. 7-8, features scholarship on the Cream City exclusively.

“Milwaukee has been a laboratory for social reform and for social historians,” said co-organizer Margo J. Anderson, director of the Urban Studies Program and UWM professor of history. “Yet compared to other Midwestern cities such as Chicago, Cleveland and Indianapolis which have recent encyclopedias of local history, Milwaukee has not received the historical study it deserves.”

The second, a national urban history conference on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 8-9, offers sessions on many American cities, including more than two dozen about Milwaukee and Chicago.

-Symposium on Milwaukee History: Current Understandings and Future Research
Thursday, Oct. 7, Fourth Floor Conference Center, Golda Meir Library, 2311 E. Hartford Ave.

Was this woman the real founder of MIlwaukee? UWM's Genevieve McBride makes a case in for it in "Helpmeets, Hausfraus, Hellions, and the Missing Majority in Milwaukee History" on Thursday at 3:45 p.m. at the Golda Meir Library, 4th floor.

The symposium begins at 9 a.m. and all sessions are free and open to the public. Noted local historian John Gurda will participate in the afternoon sessions. Sponsors include the Urban Studies Program, the Graduate School, the Center for 21st Century Studies, the Center for Economic Development and the Department of History. The symposium features lectures on topics ranging from Milwaukee’s early labor scene to the influx of Latinos & Asians to the area. Below is a sampling of the presentations:

• "Deutsch-Athen Revisited: Writing the History of Germans in Milwaukee," by Anke Ortlepp, Cologne University , Germany
• " Helpmeets, Hausfraus, Hellions, and the Missing Majority in Milwaukee History," by Genevieve McBride, UWM
• "The Residential Landscape of Milwaukee," by Thomas Hubka and Judith Kenny, UWM
• "Milwaukee Socialism" by Aims McGuinness, UWM, is a presentation that is shared by both events (see Second Biennial Urban History Conference, below) – Friday, 8:30 a.m.

As part of the event, an exhibit on Milwaukee history from various archival collections at the Golda Meir Libraries will be on view in the main lobby now through the month of October.

For more information, contact the UWM Urban Studies Program at 414-229-4751. For a complete program consult the Web site: www.uwm.edu/~margo/symposium/schedule.htm.

-Second Biennial Urban History Conference
Friday and Saturday, Oct. 8-9, UWM School of Continuing Education, 161 W. Wisconsin Ave., 6th floor

The National Urban History Association holds its annual meeting, featuring a wide collection of scholarship on urban topics, including public art, transportation, condo living, urban decline, public waterworks, and the homeless.

At least a dozen sessions about Milwaukee history from scholars across the country are planned, with titles such as “Building Forests in the Urban Jungle: Charles B. Whitnall and Milwaukee’s Municipal Park System,” “Not a Color, but an Attitude: Black Power Politics in Milwaukee,” and “The Echo Writers Workshop and African American Youth in Milwaukee.”

UWM presentations (all at the School of Continuing Education, Room 7970) include:

• "Milwaukee Socialism," by Aims McGuinness, UWM, and "Milwaukee Politics," by John Buenker, UW-Parkside – Friday, 8:30 a.m. (The only session here that is free.)
• "Urban History, Cultural Studies, and Youth Cultures," by Joe Austin – Friday, 3:45 p.m.
• "Bungalows, Multi-Flats, and Converted Cottages: the Emergence of National Housing Culture, 1900-’30" by Thomas Hubka – Saturday, 10:30 a.m.

In addition, many sessions focus on Chicago (“Race and Housing on Chicago ’s South Side,” “The Encyclopedia of Chicago Project,” and “Catholic Amusements in Chicago , 1870-1920”).

The cost for the two days is $120, but entry to an individual session can be obtained for $40.

For a PDF of the complete annual meeting program or to register, consult the Web site, www.unl.edu/uha/conf.html. For more information, contact Timothy R. Mahoney at tmahoney1@unl.edu. The Society of American City and Regional Planning History co-sponsors several of the sessions.

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