On the afternoon of May 13th, Professor David Goldfield from the University of North Carolina, Charlotte visited SPPM, accompanied by representatives from U.S. Embassy. Assistant Dean, MENG Bo, met the delegation and provided an introduction of SPPM and its international programs.
Professor Goldfield gave a lecture to approximately 20 international and Chinese students on the topic of “Making an Urban Nation From its Founding”. MDP executive director and associate professor LIU Zhilin hosted this lecture. In the two hours, Professor Goldfield introduced the history American urbanization from the 18th century to 1980s through vivid and detailed explanation. Additionally, on the basis of historical experience, he proposed some solutions to the challenges generated by urbanization. After his introduction, students communicated with Professor Goldfield with questions regarding their home countries. At the end of this event, Professor Goldfield donated his latest book, America Aflame: How the Civil War Created a Nation (2011) to SPPM.
David Goldfield is the Robert Lee Bailey Professor of History at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. He graduated from University of Maryland with a PhD degree. He is the author/editor of sixteen books including Cotton Fields and Skyscrapers (1982) and Black, White, and Southern (1991), which was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in history. His most recent book is the widely acclaimed, America Aflame: How the Civil War Created a Nation, published by Bloomsbury Press in 2011. Goldfield is also the editor of the Journal of Urban History and serves as Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians. He is President of the Southern Historical Association.
