Who Killed the American Dream - Yoni Appelbaum

Schedule

Tue Apr 28 2026 at 06:00 pm to 07:15 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

UNE Center for Global Humanities | Portland, ME

Advertisement
Free and open to the public. There will be a reception with food and drinks at 5 P.M.
Lecture Description
We take it for granted that good neighborhoods — with good schools and good housing — are only accessible to the wealthy. But in America, this wasn’t always the case. Although for most of most of world history, your prospects were tied to where you were born, Americans came up with a revolutionary idea: If you didn’t like your lot in life, you could find a better location and reinvent yourself there. Americans moved to new places with unprecedented frequency, and that remarkable mobility was the linchpin of American economic and social opportunity. As historian and journalist Yoni Appelbaum will argue, however, this idea has been under a sustained attack. Legal segregation, enforced through the implementation of aggressive zoning laws has raised housing prices, deepened political divides, emboldened bigots, and trapped generations of people in poverty.
The result is that today people can’t move as readily as they once did. They are stuck. But it doesn’t have to be this way. After telling the story of the people and ideas that caused our economic and social sclerosis, Appelbaum will introduce common-sense ways to get Americans moving again.
Speaker Biography
Yoni Appelbaum is deputy executive editor of The Atlantic and a social and cultural historian of the United States. Before joining The Atlantic, he was a lecturer on history and literature at Harvard University. He previously taught at Babson College and at Brandeis University, where he received his Ph.D. in American history. When he visits CGH, Appelbaum will draw from his book Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity.
UNE Portland Campus
716 Stevens Avenue
Portland, ME 04103
United States
https://www.une.edu/events/2026/who-killed-american-dream
Advertisement

Where is it happening?

UNE Center for Global Humanities, 25 College St, Portland, ME 04103-2617, United States

Event Location & Nearby Stays:

Icon
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
UNE Center for Global Humanities

Host or Publisher UNE Center for Global Humanities

Ask AI if this event suits you:

Discover More Events in Portland

Kumihimo Mysteries Unlocked
Fri, 01 May at 08:00 am Kumihimo Mysteries Unlocked

915 Forest Ave, Portland, ME 04103-4138, United States

Seven Things I've Learned: An Evening with Ira Glass
Fri, 01 May at 07:00 pm Seven Things I've Learned: An Evening with Ira Glass

State Theatre - ME

ART THEATRE
Chucho Valdes Royal Quartet
Sat, 02 May at 07:00 pm Chucho Valdes Royal Quartet

Merrill Auditorium

CONTESTS TRIPS-ADVENTURES
Ira Glass at State Theatre Portland
Sat, 02 May at 07:00 pm Ira Glass at State Theatre Portland

State Theatre Portland

ART THEATRE
2025 Fall Conference
Tue, 28 Oct at 12:00 pm 2025 Fall Conference

DoubleTree by Hilton Portland Maine

BUSINESS CONFERENCES
BD NOW | 2025 Innovation Summit in Portland, Maine
Tue, 28 Oct at 05:00 pm BD NOW | 2025 Innovation Summit in Portland, Maine

Cambria Hotel Portland Downtown Old Port

BUSINESS CONFERENCES
Positive X Change (Oct)
Thu, 30 Oct at 05:30 pm Positive X Change (Oct)

Good Medicine Collective

Thu, 06 Nov at 07:30 am ACHE of NNE 2025 Annual Meeting

The Westin Portland Harborview

MEETUPS NONPROFIT
Rick Steves at Merrill Auditorium
Sat, 08 Nov at 07:00 pm Rick Steves at Merrill Auditorium

Merrill Auditorium

CONTESTS TRIPS-ADVENTURES
PESTICIDE CEU OPPORTUNITY
Sat, 15 Nov at 08:00 am PESTICIDE CEU OPPORTUNITY

Keeley's Banquet Center

Sea State: Supporting Energy Solutions
Wed, 19 Nov at 05:30 pm Sea State: Supporting Energy Solutions

Gulf of Maine Research Institute

SPORTS
Maine Irish Claddagh Awards 2025
Thu, 20 Nov at 05:30 pm Maine Irish Claddagh Awards 2025

34 Gray St, Portland, ME, United States, Maine 04102

MUSIC LIVE-MUSIC
The Past Is Not Past: Embracing the Politics of Memory - Anthony Walton
Mon, 08 Dec at 06:00 pm The Past Is Not Past: Embracing the Politics of Memory - Anthony Walton

UNE Center for Global Humanities

ART LITERARY-ART
Sea State: Adapting Fisheries & Seafood
Wed, 10 Dec at 05:30 pm Sea State: Adapting Fisheries & Seafood

Gulf of Maine Research Institute

SPORTS
Parking Noblesville Boom at Maine Celtics
Wed, 31 Dec at 06:00 pm Parking Noblesville Boom at Maine Celtics

Portland Exposition Building

CONTESTS TRIPS-ADVENTURES
Art in an Age of Democratic Upheaval - Robert Shetterly
Mon, 26 Jan at 06:00 pm Art in an Age of Democratic Upheaval - Robert Shetterly

UNE Center for Global Humanities

ART FINE-ARTS

What's Happening Next in Portland?

Discover Portland Events