Lary May

Professor, American Studies
mayxx001@umn.edu

Lary May specializes in 20th-century American history and culture. His research centers on popular culture and politics, particularly Hollywood and the motion picture industry. He has been interested in using film as a source to answer larger questions about American history that traditional sources of historical inquiry have failed to answer. He plans to direct his future research to the politics of the cultural wars in the years since 1960.

Education:

Ph.D., University of California at Los Angeles
A.B., George Washington University

Scholarly Works:

The Big Tomorrow: Hollywood and the Politics of American Identity, 2000 University of Chicagp Press.

This book examines issues of race, nationalism and public life, from 1930-1958.

Recasting America: Culture and Politics in the Age of Cold War, 1989 University of Chicago Press.

This book is and edited collection that emerged from a national conference at the University of Minnesota. If focuses on the question of whether post war America was a "distinct" culture.

Screening Out the Past: The Birth of Mass Culture and the Motion Picture Industry, 1900-1929, 1980 Oxford University Press.

This book examines the origins of mass culture and consumerism in American, including its effect on family and gender relations, from 1890-1929.

Awards:

• Morse Alumni Award, 2001-02
• 1996 Scholar of the College
• NEH Fellowship, 1992

Recent Courses:

Hist 4961W section 4 Major Paper

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