Our very own Dr. Greg Wood gave a very insightful presentation at Focus Frostburg today. Wood teaches in the History department and he specializes in industry and labor relations. His presentation was called "Senses and the City: The production of Noise in Urban Industrial America 1890-1920". The main idea of Wood's presentation is that sensory experiences shape the way that people feel in relation to the industrial era (focusing specifically on 1890-1920 Chicago, IL).
He started the presentation with an excerpt from Upton Sinclair's social criticism of industry,The Jungle. The excerpt discussed the terrible noises that were heard in a pig processing plant. "There were high squeals and low squeals, grunts, and wails of agony." said Wood as he read the excerpt. He explained that with the rise of industry in Chicago, came lots of noise. Steel mills and trains would run day and night;"Heavy Metal" Wood called it. "So it was noisy? Big surprise." said Wood. That's when he went on to talk about the impact of this noise. Many apartments and houses were in close quarters to these factories, train yards etc. So at some point the noise was too much, and the need for green spaces arose. This is one of the reasons we have suburbs. He also explained that many workers were affected mentally by the noise. "They hear it all day at work, and then go home and still hear it. Some went crazy" said Wood. Along with the factories, organic noise was a nuisance as well. For example, a rooster crowing in the morning would be most irritable. So, due to all of this during 1890-1920 the road was paved for progressive reform and suburbanization.
Dr. Wood offered a very insightful and informative presentation. At the end he answered any questions audience members had and offered his contact information for any further questions. It was a great contribution to cornucopia of events at Focus Frostburg this year.
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