Kevin Mattson

Kevin Mattson "is Connor Study Professor of Contemporary History at Ohio University and serves as a faculty associate of the Contemporary History Institute. At Ohio University, he teaches courses that focus on 20th century American intellectual and political history.

"Mattson earned his B.A. from the New School for Social Research and his Ph.D. at the University of Rochester.

"In 1995, he served as the Research Director and then as the Associate Director at the Walt Whitman Center for the Culture and Politics of Democracy where he worked with Benjamin Barber on various projects that attempted to enhance participatory democracy in America. In 2001, he came to Ohio University and became the Connor Study Professor of Contemporary History in 2004.

"Professor Mattson's work focuses on the intersection between culture and politics in modern America. He is the author of seven books including, Upton Sinclair and the Other American Century (2006) and When American Was Great: The Fighting Faith of Postwar Liberalism (2004). He is presently writing a short history of the postwar conservative intellectual movement, entitled Rebels All! He is also the co-editor of Liberalism for a New Century, a book of essays by leading historians and public intellectuals that received mention in the New York Times and the Chronicle of Higher Education.

"His writing about politics, culture, and history has appeared in a variety of publications, including The Nation, The American Prospect, Dissent, Commonweal, The Baffler, The Washington Post Book World, Academe, and other venues. He has also served as a commentator on National Public Radio (NPR), Nation Radio, PBS, German Television, and Fox News.

"He is on the editorial board of Dissent magazine and works both nationally and locally with the American Association of University Professors (AAUP)."


 * Affiliated Scholar, Center for American Progress
 * Editorial Board, Dissent magazine