SYMP: Midcentury Modernism Coference – (SeSAH) Annual Meeting @ UNC-Charlotte

Southeast Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians (SeSAH) Annual Meeting

In recent years, architectural historians have begun to reconsider midcentury modernism with new eyes. These inquiries have ranged from an interrogation of the positive and negative consequences of CIAM modernism in Third World colonial territories, to local and regional histories of urban renewal and alternative modernisms that anticipated the shift toward postmodern heterogeneity. This reexamination has not only helped us to expand our knowledge of the legacies of midcentury modernism, but they also help us to contextualize the built environments that often mark cities that expanded during the postwar boom years. There are many cities in the Southeast that fit this latter description.

Charlotte is a paradigmatic New South City. It has continuously transformed its physical environment to emphasize the present – few older buildings survive in the Center City, and since the 1950s the architectural and urban focus has been distinctly modern. In recent years Charlotte has become increasingly aware of the importance of its mid-century heritage. The architecture of this era has become a critical topic of discussion among Preservationists in Charlotte and other cities, while at the same time the era of “Mad Men” has recaptured the imagination of the American public.

The SeSAH 2013 conference in Charlotte offers its participants a chance to engage in the critical exploration of the architecture and urbanism of the 1950s and 1960s as well as their historiographies.