How the Working Class Home Became Modern

This program is FREE for AHC members (must log in when registering).

Between 1900 and 1940, the average American home went from kerosene to electric lighting, outhouses to full indoor baths, and saw the rise of the formal dining room, among many technological and domestic innovations. In his new book, How the Working-Class Home Became Modern, 1900-1940 (University of Minnesota Press, 2020), author Tom Hubka explores how new mechanical conveniences, public utilities, and changes in social behavior and hygiene (among other things), led to vast improvements in living conditions and the emergence of the middle class. Professor Hubka has given numerous AHC presentations over the years and this talk covering the key themes in his book will certainly be just as energetic and informative, even if we can't all be in the same room.

Image: In How the Working-Class Home Became Modern, 1900-1940, author Tom Hubka contrasts and compares upper-middle class and vernacular working class houses like the two Portland area houses pictured here. AHC Library photos.