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Max A. Herman, Ph.D.
Title: Assistant Professor
Telephone: 973 353-5130
Office: Hill Hall 625
e-mail:maxh@andromeda.rutgers.edu
Education
B.A. Tufts University, 1990
M.A. Yale University, 1993
Ph.D. University of Arizona, 1999
Research Interests:
My primary area of research examines the relationship between demographic
change and ethnic conflict in urban communities, manifested in "race
riots" or "urban rebellions". For my first book project,
Fighting in the Streets: Ethnic Succession and Urban Unrest in
20th Century America (Peter Lang Publishers, August 2005), I
used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software along with historical
census data to investigate how changes in the racial/ethnic and
income composition of neighborhoods were related to the location
of riot fatalities and property damage associated with "riots"
in Los Angeles (1992), Miami (1980), Newark (1967), Detroit (1943
and 1967) and Chicago (1919).
In addition to my research on ethnic conflict, I am also interested
in neighborhood based social movements, particularly how communities
resist or modify urban redevelopment programs, including the demolition
of public housing in several cities under the federal Hope VI program.
I am also involved in exploring issues of group solidarity and boundary
formation in historical perspective, including Jewish-Black relations
during the Civil Rights Era and the testimony of witnesses before
the House Un-American Activities Committee during the 1950s "Red
Scare".
Teaching Interests:
Urban Sociology
Race/Ethnic Relations
Social Movements
Civil Conflict and Violence
Current Research Projects:
I am currently working on my second book manuscript, titled Summer
of Rage: Newark and Detroit in the Summer of 1967 which examines
the causes and consequences of the riots/rebellions that occurred
in Newark and Detroit during the summer of 1967. Drawing on oral
history interviews and archival materials, this book seeks to give
voice to those who experienced these events firsthand and place
personal narratives in a broader theoretical framework involving
issues of collective memory, trauma, urban development, and racial/ethnic
conflict. In conjunction with this book project, I have also worked
on a multimedia website which contains background information on
these events, a full listing of victims, maps, video clips from
interviews with eyewitnesses, and a discussion forum that allows
people to share memories of these events. To view the website click
here.
Feel free to contact me by phone or e-mail
if you would like to participate in this study.
Selected Publications:
Fighting in the Streets: Ethnic Succession and Urban Unrest in 20th
Century America. Peter Lang Publishers, August 2005.
"Ten Years After: A Critical Review of Scholarship on the 1992
Los Angeles Riot" Race, Class, and Gender (11:1), Spring
2004.
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