In cities across America, the exodus of lower and lower-middle class white families from urban areas to outlying suburbs has been a significant, and in many ways defining, historical event. For decades, political scientists, historians, sociologists, and politicians have been puzzling over the causes of this "white flight," and its implications. Author Gerald Gamm offers a fresh perspective on the subject in Urban Exodus: Why the Jews Left Boston and the Catholics Stayed (Harvard University Press, 1999, $39.95).
Gamm, chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Rochester and associate professor of political science and history, will talk about his work at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19, at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Pittsford Plaza, 3349 Monroe Ave. The event is free and open to the public.
In this provocative book, Gamm examines a specific community---Boston's Dorchester-Roxbury neighborhood---through the lens of religion to explain why some neighborhoods have persisted relatively unchanged for generations, while others have been radically altered. By focusing on the rules that define these two local religious institutions, and the way in which these rules constrain and shape the decisions of neighborhood residents, Gamm provides a unique interpretation of the evolution of a neighborhood.
Gamm received his doctorate from Harvard University in 1994, and has been on the Rochester faculty since 1992. His research interests include the U.S. Senate leadership, the presidency, local and state government, and civic engagement.