The Kitchen Debate 1959-2009: Containment Culture and the Good Life

Session Submission Type: Paper Session

Abstract

In July, 1959, Vice President Richard Nixon engaged in an historic debate with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. Beyond the political wrangling, the Kitchen Debate marked a shift in cultural practices, where the competing narratives of domestic stability and investment in technology were modeled for viewers both at home and abroad. Fifty years later, this panel continues an engagement with the cultural and political concerns which emerged during the debate.

Sub Unit

• American Studies Division

Chair

• Elisabeth Ross, Northwestern University

Individual Presentations

• Cold War Hot Kitchen - Kate Baldwin, Northwestern University

• The Shifting Ground of the American Dream: An Examination of the 'Good Life' in Public Texts - Kathleen Farrell, St. Louis University; Robert Krizek, St. Louis University

• Gutenberg's Folly: Strategic Sociability, Consumerism, and the Cold War - Marion Wrenn, New York University

Respondent

• Ned O'Gorman, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Session Organizer

• Elisabeth Ross, Northwestern University