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Kevin Beck to Speak on Gentrification for Humanities Lecture Series

April 04, 2022
Submitted By: Nicholas Ealy

The University of Hartford Humanities Center Lecture Series for Spring 2022, focusing on the theme of “Fearing the Unknown: Irrationality, Anti-Politics and Conspiracy Theories,” continues Tuesday, April 5 from 5 p.m.-6 p.m. in the Shaw Center (Hillyer Hall). 

The fourth lecture is “The Displacement of Gentrification” by Dr. Kevin Beck, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Hartford and Humanities Center Faculty Fellow. 

In the 1960s,sociologist Ruth Glass coined the term gentrification to describe the arrival of middle-class residents to London’s working-class neighborhoods. The arrival of these newcomers, she noted, subsequently changed the character of the neighborhoods and displaced many longtime residents. Today, some scholars, politicians, and commentators use gentrification to refer to all that is wrong with contemporary cities. For others, gentrification has become synonymous with urban revitalization. What is often lost in today’s discussions of gentrification is the problem of residential displacement. Dr. Beck’s presentation will reorient debates over gentrification on the widespread problem of displacement. 

The Lecture Series on “Fearing the Unknown,” developed and led by Dr. Marco Cupolo, Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies, is open to all students, faculty and staff. The Humanities Center at the University of Hartford supports interdisciplinary scholarship focusing on the humanities through arts, sciences, technology, media, music, psychology, history, film, philosophy and literature.