Dr. Carlene Stephens
(Curator, Smithsonian National Museum of American History)
"24-7-365: How Did We Get This Way
and What Will We Do about It?"
Wednesday, April 11th, 2001, 3:00 p.m.
The very recent addition of the phrase "24-7-365" to our language
seems to signal a change to an entirely new way of behaving
in time. We can avail ourselves of amusements that never close,
work that never stops, and communications that offer continuous
accessibility. Simultaneously, we value the vigor and opportunity
this kind of world promises and decry its demands on us, as
many of us do more and sleep less. But the 24-hour society is
not entirely new. Americans have been at work for a long time
building what sociologist Murray Melbin has called an "incessant"
society. This talk will briefly survey the history and historiography
of the twenty-four-hour society, suggest some needs and opportunities
for further research, and solicit suggestions for collecting
its material culture.
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Carlene E. Stephens is a curator in the History
of Technology Division at the Smithsonian Institution's National
Museum of American History. Her publications, both paper and
electronic, include numerous articles on the history of time
in the United States and NMAH booklets, Inventing Standard
Time (1983) and American Clocks: Highlights from the
Collections. With her colleague Maggie Dennis, she is writing
a history of the electronic watch, and their research to date
appears in a recent article for the British Journal for the
History of Science. Stephens has more than twenty-five years'
experience in developing history exhibitions. The most recent
of these is "On Time," NMAH's new permanent exhibition about
the changing ways Americans have measured, used and thought
about time over the past 300 years. Her book accompanying the
exhibition is in preparation.
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The MARIAL Center
Emory West, 4th Floor, Room 415E
Open to the public
Refreshments will be served
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DIRECTIONS TO THE MARIAL CENTER
The MARIAL Center is located on the 4th floor
of the main building of Emory West, 1256 Briarcliff Rd. There
is ample parking close to the building. Alternatively, you may
take the Emory shuttle (Route W). The shuttle leaves every half
hour from the main campus and is a 10-minute ride. Route W shuttle
stops are located at the corner of Asbury Circle and Pierce
Drive, along Pierce Drive, and in front of the Administration
Building.
Please tell the receptionist at the front window
that you are here for the MARIAL Center lecture.
