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Design scholars from the United States and Sweden are coming to the University of California, Riverside Sept. 29 and 30 for a free, public conference titled "Everyday Modernisms: History of the Social in Modern Design, Architecture, and Landscape."

Two daily sessions will include panels of scholars from the United States and Sweden who will compare 20th century design and social programs in Germany, France, Sweden and the U.S. They will explore modern design's links to social reform movements in those countries and its impacts on contemporary society.

The link between modern design and social reform, as conceived by early 20th-century modernists, was incorporated into everyday settings and objects.

The conference is sponsored by UCR's Center for Ideas and Society; the Irvine-based UC Humanities Research Institute; and the Department of History and Ideas at Umeå University, Sweden. Advance registration is not required.

The conference starts both days at 9 a.m. and runs until 5:30 p.m. with breaks for lunch.

Check at the information kiosk on West Campus Drive for instructions to the conference, held at the UCR Terrace Rooms A-D, and for parking instructions. The kiosk is south of the University Avenue entrance to the campus.

For a copy of the conference schedule, check the conference Internet website. For a map of the campus check the UCR website's homepage at www.ucr.edu.

For more details about the conference, please call the Center for Ideas and Society during business hours at (909) 787-3987.

Conference Program

Friday, Sept. 29

9 AM Registration and coffee

9:45 AM Introduction: Patricia Morton, Conference Organizer

10 AM Session: Debates on Modern Aesthetics and Social Reform

Alan Colquhoun, Princeton University, "Modern Architecture and the Classical Tradition: Regionalism vs. the International Style"

Thomas Hines, UC, Los Angeles, "Modernist Cottages: The Low-cost Housing of Irving Gill"

Wallis Miller, University of Kentucky, "The 1931 Housing Exhibition in Berlin"

Patricia Morton, UCR, moderator

1 PM Lunch

2:30 PM Session: Scientific Expertise and the Creation of Modern Society

Peder Aléx, Umeå University, "Consumption, 'Needs,' and Social Welfare"

Dana Cuff, UCLA, "Modern American Housing and Socialism"

Anna Larsson, Umeå University, "The Reception of American Sociology in Sweden"

Paulette Singley, Woodbury University, "Cesare Lombroso, Physiognomy, and Social Reform in Italy"

Gary Dymski, UCR, moderator

5:30 PM Reception

Saturday, September 30

9 AM coffee

10 AM Session: Everyday Aesthetics: From the Interior to the Town Plan

Maria Göransdotter, Umeå University, "Taste, Interior Design, and Modernization in Sweden"

Deborah Fausch, University of Illinois at Chicago, "Scott-Brown vs. Frampton: The Definition of the People"

Kerstin Thörn, Umeå University, "The Swedish Home and the Good Society"

Mark Treib, UC, Berkeley, "The Everyday Modernism of William Wurster"

Amelia Jones, UCR, moderator

1 PM Lunch

2:30 PM Session: The Design of the Social Environment: Modern Landscapes and Urbanisms

Eric Mumford, Washington University in St. Louis, "CIAM and Social Engagement"

Bryant Simon, University of Georgia, "Urban Renewal in Atlantic City"

Sverker Sörlin, Umeå University, "Landscape as a Social Arena"

Gwendolyn Wright, Columbia University, "Experiments and Accommodations: American Modernisms of the 1940s"

John Ganim, English Department, UCR, moderator

5:30 PM Discussion

The University of California, Riverside (www.ucr.edu) is a doctoral research university, a living laboratory for groundbreaking exploration of issues critical to Inland Southern California, the state and communities around the world. Reflecting California's diverse culture, UCR's enrollment has exceeded 21,000 students. The campus opened a medical school in 2013 and has reached the heart of the Coachella Valley by way of the UCR Palm Desert Center. The campus has an annual statewide economic impact of more than $1 billion.

A broadcast studio with fiber cable to the AT&T Hollywood hub is available for live or taped interviews. UCR also has ISDN for radio interviews. To learn more, call (951) UCR-NEWS.