6:30 p.m.
Over the past 250 years, waves of technological change鈥攆rom the steam engine to Silicon Valley鈥攈ave continually remade American society.听They鈥檝e听sparked new industries, created new kinds of work, and raised profound questions about power, inequality, and human impact.听
This lecture traces that long arc of innovation, examining who gets the opportunity to invent, and why? What drives technological revolutions and how people have lived through them. By looking at our听high鈥�tech听past,听UW听historian Margaret O鈥橫ara reveals what it can teach us about navigating an听AI鈥�powered听present and future.听
Registration opens September 9, 2026.
Biography:
Margaret O鈥橫ara is the Scott and Dorothy Bullitt Chair and Professor of American History at the 乱伦社区.听听
Margaret is a leading historian of Silicon Valley and the author of two acclaimed books about the modern American technology industry:听The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America听(Penguin Press, 2019) and听Cities of Knowledge: Cold War Science and the Search听For听The听Next Silicon Valley听(Princeton, 2005). She also is a historian of the American presidency and author of听Pivotal Tuesdays: Four Elections that Shaped the Twentieth Century听(Penn Press, 2015). She is a coauthor, with David Kennedy and Lizabeth Cohen, of the widely used United States history college textbook,听The American Pageant听(Cengage).听听
Margaret’s writing has appeared in听The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, MIT Technology Review, Foreign听Affairs听and other outlets. She is an active public speaker, appears regularly in national and international broadcast media, and has contributed her听expertise听to听development听of Mattel’s听.听
Margaret is an听听and a past fellow of the听, the听, and the听.听听
She is a series editor of the听听series at Princeton University Press, serves on the editorial board of听, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the听.听
She received her MA/PhD from the University of Pennsylvania and her BA from Northwestern University. She is听an alumna听of听. Prior to her academic career, she served in the Clinton Administration, working on economic and social policy in the White House and in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.听听
Department Sponsor:听The Graduate School