In History Professor Kevin Boyle‘s new book, “The Shattering: America in the 1960s,” he lays out historical events that pierced the stability of the status quo, and set the stage for three key struggles the U.S. still grapples with today.
“The Shattering” explores the late 1950s through the early 1970s and focuses on the period’s fierce conflicts over race, sex, and war. Boyle shows how the civil rights movement developed out of the grassroots activism of Montgomery and the sit-ins, the violence of Birmingham and the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the frustrations of King’s Chicago campaign, rising Black nationalism, and the Nixon-era politics of busing and the Supreme Court.
“Boyle says that ‘The Shattering’ grew out of courses he taught to undergraduates, and the book covers the range of material you would expect from any foundational account of the 1960s and the penumbra around it — Kennedy in Dallas, King in Memphis, unrest in Newark and Watts, LSD and the pill,” writes Szalai. “But he also writes about those moments that can sometimes get lost in the deluge.”
Boyles’ approach to writing is informed by his teaching — and he relies on stories to teach his students. He said his treatment of the civil rights movement was shaped by an undergraduate course he currently teaches at Northwestern.
“You can hook people with something that’s personal about the past, it’s vivid, and you can hang a lot of history on it.” – Kevin Boyle
Boyle explores stories behind other key moments of the ’60s, and brings to life the conversations, thoughts and feelings of those who lived through the events that shattered the status quo.
Just as Boyle upends misperceptions in the classroom, he said “The Shattering” complicates and illustrates readers’ understanding of the era and provides perspective on the present day.
“We are currently living with all three issues,” Boyle said. “The racial reckoning never ended. The Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments on the Roe decision, which is one of the culminating points of the book, and just this summer we had a huge upheaval over nation-building (the military withdrawal from Afghanistan), which is a language that comes straight out of the Vietnam War.”
Learn more about the book in Northwestern Now.
Related: “The Shattering,” provides a “rich, layered account of the 1960s” according to a new review by New York Times reporter. Read the full review here.