Background
Kevin Mattson was born on December 25, 1966, in Cheverly, Maryland, United States. He is the son of Roger Mattson and Marilyn Mattson.
72 5th Ave, New York, NY 10011, United States
New School for Social Research
Rochester, New York, United States
University of Rochester
(At a critical moment in Jimmy Carter's presidency, he gav...)
At a critical moment in Jimmy Carter's presidency, he gave a speech that should have changed the country, instead it led to his downfall and ushered in the rise of the Conservative movement in America. Kevin Mattson gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the weeks leading up to the speech, a period of great upheaval in the US: the energy crisis had generated mile-long gas lines, inciting suburban riots and violence, the country's morale was low and Carter's ratings were even lower. The administration, wracked by its own crises, was in constant turmoil and conflict. What came of their great internal struggle, which Mattson conveys with the excitement of a political thriller, was a speech that deserves a place alongside Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" or FDR's First Inaugural. Prominent politicians on both sides of the aisle play important roles, including President Jimmy Carter, Vice President Walter Mondale, and speechwriter Hendrik Hertzberg, within the administration, and Jerry Falwell, Ronald Reagan, and Ted Kennedy, without. Like the best of political writing, Mattson provides great insight into the workings of the Carter White House as well as the moral crisis that ushered in a new, conservative America.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002WOD90K/?tag=2022091-20
(A sweeping intellectual history that will make us rethink...)
A sweeping intellectual history that will make us rethink postwar politics and culture, When America Was Great profiles the thinkers and writers who crafted a new American liberal tradition in a conservative era -- from historians Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., and C. Vann Woodward, to economist John Kenneth Galbraith and theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. A compelling tale that will redefine the word "liberal" for a new generation, Mattson retraces the intellectual journey of these towering figures. They served in the Second World War. They opposed communism but also wanted to make America's poor visible to the affluent society. Contrary to those who characterize liberals as naïve or sentimental "bleeding hearts," they had a tough-minded and nuanced vision that stressed both human limitations and hope. They felt America should stand for something more than just a strong economy.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OT8022/?tag=2022091-20
(During America's Progressive Era at the beginning of the ...)
During America's Progressive Era at the beginning of the twentieth century, democracy was more alive than it is today. Social activists and intellectuals of that era formed institutions where citizens educated themselves about pressing issues and public matters. While these efforts at democratic participation have largely been forgotten, their rediscovery may represent our best hope for resolving the current crisis of democracy in the United States. Mattson explores the work of early activists like Charles Zueblin, who tried to advance adult education at the University of Chicago, and Frederic Howe, whose People's Institute sparked the nationwide forum movement. He then turns to the social centers movement, which began in Rochester, New York, in 1907 with the opening of public schools to adults in the evening as centers for debate over current issues. Mattson tells how this simple program grew into a national phenomenon and cites its achievements and political ideals, and he analyzes the political thought of activists within the movement—notably Mary Parker Follett and Edward Ward—to show that these intellectuals had a profound understanding of what was needed to create vigorous democratic practices. Creating a Democratic Public challenges us to reconsider how we think about democracy by bringing us into critical dialogue with the past and exploring the work of yesterday's activists. Combining historical analysis, political theory, and social criticism, Mattson analyzes experiments in grassroots democracy from the Progressive Era and explores how we might foster more public involvement in political deliberation today.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0271017228/?tag=2022091-20
(Do you ever wonder why conservative pundits drop the word...)
Do you ever wonder why conservative pundits drop the word “faggot” or talk about killing and then Christianizing Muslims abroad? Do you wonder why the right’s spokespeople seem so confrontational, rude, and over-the-top recently? Does it seem strange that conservative books have such apocalyptic titles? Do you marvel at why conservative writers trumpeted the “rebel” qualities of George W. Bush just a few years back? There is no doubt that the style of the political right today is tough, brash, and by many accounts, not very conservative sounding. After all, isn’t conservatism supposed to be about maintaining standards, upholding civility, and frowning upon rebellion? Historian Kevin Mattson explains the apparent contradictions of the party in this fresh examination of the postwar conservative mind. Examining a big cast of characters that includes William F. Buckley, Whittaker Chambers, Norman Podhoretz, Irving Kristol, Kevin Phillips, David Brooks, and others, Mattson shows how right-wing intellectuals have always, but in different ways, played to the populist and rowdy tendencies in America’s political culture. He boldly compares the conservative intellectual movement to the radical utopians among the New Left of the 1960s and he explains how conservatism has ingested central features of American culture, including a distrust of sophistication and intellectualism and a love of popular culture, sensation, shock, and celebrity. Both a work of history and political criticism, Rebels All! shows how the conservative mind made itself appealing, but also points to its endemic problems. Mattson’s conclusion outlines how a recast liberalism should respond to the conservative ascendancy that has marked our politics for the last thirty years. Do you ever wonder why conservative pundits drop the word “faggot” or talk about killing and then Christianizing Muslims abroad? Do you wonder why the right’s spokespeople seem so confrontational, rude, and over-the-top recently? Does it seem strange that conservative books have such apocalyptic titles? Do you marvel at why conservative writers trumpeted the “rebel” qualities of George W. Bush just a few years back? There is no doubt that the style of the political right today is tough, brash, and by many accounts, not very conservative sounding. After all, isn’t conservatism supposed to be about maintaining standards, upholding civility, and frowning upon rebellion? Historian Kevin Mattson explains the apparent contradictions of the party in this fresh examination of the postwar conservative mind. Examining a big cast of characters that includes William F. Buckley, Whittaker Chambers, Norman Podhoretz, Irving Kristol, Kevin Phillips, David Brooks, and others, Mattson shows how right-wing intellectuals have always, but in different ways, played to the populist and rowdy tendencies in America’s political culture. He boldly compares the conservative intellectual movement to the radical utopians among the New Left of the 1960s and he explains how conservatism has ingested central features of American culture, including a distrust of sophistication and intellectualism and a love of popular culture, sensation, shock, and celebrity. Both a work of history and political criticism, Rebels All! shows how the conservative mind made itself appealing, but also points to its endemic problems. Mattson’s conclusion outlines how a recast liberalism should respond to the conservative ascendancy that has marked our politics for the last thirty years.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001NAAWO0/?tag=2022091-20
(Looking at the ideas that informed the protest, social mo...)
Looking at the ideas that informed the protest, social movements and activism of the 1960s, this text combines traditional intellectual biography with social history to examine a group of intellectuals whose thinking was crucial in the formulation of New Left political theory.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0271021489/?tag=2022091-20
(Praise for UPTON SINCLAIR and the other American Century ...)
Praise for UPTON SINCLAIR and the other American Century "I look forward to all of Kevin Mattson's works of history and I've notbeen disappointed yet. Upton Sinclair is a thoughtful, well-researched, and extremely eloquently told excavation of the history of theAmerican left and, indeed, the American nation, as well as a testamentto the power of one man to influence his times. Well done." --Eric Alterman, author of When Presidents Lie: A History of Official Deception and Its Consequences "A splendid read. It reminds you that real heroes once dwelt among us. Mattson not only captures Sinclair's character, but the world he inhabited, with deft strokes whose energy and passion easily match his subject's." --Richard Parker, author of John Kenneth Galbraith: His Life, His Politics, His Economics "From the meat-packing houses of Chicago to the automobile factories of Detroit to the voting booths of California, Upton Sinclair cut a wide swath as a muckraking writer who exposed the injustices rendered by American industrial capitalism. Now Kevin Mattson presents a much-needed exploration of this complex crusader. This is a thoughtful, provocative, and gripping account of an important figure who appeared equal parts intellectual, propagandist, and political combatant as he struggled to illuminate the 'other American century' inhabited by the poor and powerless." --Steven Watts, author of The People's Tycoon: Henry Ford and the American Century
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DNL3KDM/?tag=2022091-20
(Young Americans are more likely than their older counterp...)
Young Americans are more likely than their older counterparts to be cynical and disaffected about politics. Their voting rates in both national and local elections have declined, they are less likely to be affiliated with political parties (when they register at all, many young people categorize themselves as independents), and in surveys they express higher levels of cynicism about the state of politics in general. Kevin Mattson argues that recent attempts to reverse these trends are unlikely to succeed. He says that neither John McCain's focus on campaign finance reform as a corrective nor former President Clinton's emphasis on community service as practiced through the Americorps program is likely to re-engage young Americans in politics. Analyzing the historical context to assess the extent to which youth have participated in the political process throughout the twentieth century, Mattson makes the case for more extensive educational programs, public service internships, and innovative Internet strategies.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0870784706/?tag=2022091-20
Kevin Mattson was born on December 25, 1966, in Cheverly, Maryland, United States. He is the son of Roger Mattson and Marilyn Mattson.
Mattson received his bachelor's degree from the New School for Social Research in 1990, as well as doctor's degree from the University of Rochester 4 years later.
Mattson served as a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology, for a year from 1994. He served at the Walt Whitman Center in New Brunswick, beginning from 1995. Mattson worked with Eastern Service Workers of America and he was also a crew leader for the Student Conservation Association. In addition, he volunteered in literacy programs and with the Volunteers of America. Mattson then he held a position of a director of the Walt Whitman Center for the Culture and Politics of Democracy at Rutgers University.
Nowadays, Mattson works as the Connor Study Professor of Contemporary History at the Ohio University. He is also a fellow at the Center for American Progress and on the editorial board of Dissent.
His writings include books titled Creating a Democratic Public: The Struggle for Urban Participatory Democracy during the Progressive Era, Intellectuals in Action: The Origins of the New Left and Radical Liberalism, Engaging Youth: Combating the Apathy of Young Americans Toward Politics, What the Heck Are You Up To Mr. President?: Jimmy Carter and America's Malaise and the Speech That Should Have Changed the Country. Mattson is also a report writer for the Kettering Foundation and Markle Foundation, as well as a contributor to periodicals, including Telos and New York History.
(Do you ever wonder why conservative pundits drop the word...)
(Looking at the ideas that informed the protest, social mo...)
(A sweeping intellectual history that will make us rethink...)
(At a critical moment in Jimmy Carter's presidency, he gav...)
(Praise for UPTON SINCLAIR and the other American Century ...)
(During America's Progressive Era at the beginning of the ...)
(Young Americans are more likely than their older counterp...)
Mattson is concerned with the current state of American politics and culture. He cares about the state of public life in America—that means, caring about the state of democracy, public debate, economic life and culture. He writes in order to contribute to the current debate on these things. All his work is concerned with what Americans need to make their democracy work better.
Quotations: "Writing, for me, is about combining passion and reason together. You write in order to convey a passionately held belief(s). You want to convince people, and the best way to do that is make your words public. But by stepping into the process of writing, you submit to a challenge—to turn passion into reasoned prose capable of being understood by a wider audience."