Flamming, Douglas 1959–

(James Douglas Flamming)

PERSONAL:

Born May 8, 1959. Education: University of Texas at Arlington, B.A., 1981; Vanderbilt University, M.A., 1983, Ph.D., 1988.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Georgia Institute of Technology, School of History, Technology, and Science, Atlanta, GA 30332. E-mail—doug.flamming@hts.gatech.edu.

CAREER:

Academic. Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, teaching assistant, 1982-84, head teaching assistant, 1984-86; California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, assistant professor, 1988-94, associate professor of history, 1994-97; Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, associate professor, 1997-2006, professor of history, 2006—, director of the Center for the Study of Southern Industrialization, 1997-2003, director of undergraduate studies of the School of History, Technology, and Society, 2003-06. Visiting assistant professor of history at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation Faculty fellow, 1990, 1993; visiting scholar at University of California, Los Angeles Clark Library, 1993-94; Ahmanson/Getty fellow for the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, 1993-94; Haynes fellow of Huntington Library, 1996; visiting scholar at Getty Center for the History of the Arts and the Humanities, 1997; historical consultant for the Museum of Rural Life, Thomaston, GA.

MEMBER:

Western Historical Association, Southern Historical Association.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Philip Taft Labor History award, Columbia University, 1992, for Creating the Modern South; Donald H. Pflueger local history award, Historical Society of Southern California, 2006, for Bound for Freedom.

WRITINGS:

Creating the Modern South: Millhands and Managers in Dalton, Georgia, 1884-1984, University of North Carolina Press (Chapel Hill, NC), 1992.

Bound for Freedom: Black Los Angeles in Jim Crow America, University of California Press (Berkeley, CA), 2005.

Contributor to periodicals and academic journals, including International Review of Social History, Journal of American History, Journal of Economic History, Journal of the West, American Historical Review, Agricultural History, Global Agenda, Abilene Reporter-News, and Journal of Interdisciplinary History.

SIDELIGHTS:

Douglas Flamming is an academic and historian. Born on May 8, 1959, Flamming earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1981. He then pursued graduate studies at Vanderbilt University, earning a master of arts degree in 1983 and a Ph.D. in 1988. Since 2006 he has been a full professor of history at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and additionally serves as a historical consultant for the Museum of Rural Life in Thomaston, Georgia.

Flamming published his first book, Creating the Modern South: Millhands and Managers in Dalton, Georgia, 1884-1984, in 1992. The account looks at industrialization in the southern American states from the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth century. He uses the mill town of Dalton, Georgia, as the primary case study to discuss his points.

Writing in the Business History Review, Annette C. Wright stated that the author "has written a masterful treatment of southern industrialization." Wright commented that "when Flamming describes the creation of this stable, cohesive mill village community, he uses census data to track the movements of individual workers between farm and mill town. He is to be commended for undertaking such a painstaking and valuable reconstruction of worker migration patterns." Wright appended that "another significant contribution of this book rests on its exploration of unionization in the South." Michael V. Namorato, writing in Reviews in American History, noted that in this "exhaustive analysis … Flamming makes a strong case for his views." Namorato further stated: "As for Crown Mill's leaders, while Flamming can be criticized for not doing more, he does give the reader insight into Frank Hardwick, Thomas Jones, and George Hamilton, those most responsible for setting up Crown Mill and actually dominating it throughout its history." Namorato noted that "Flamming fails to provide evidence at crucial moments, saying that no records exist, as in strikes; does not give enough information on the managers at Crown Mill; and is apologetic in several places. But, these are minor problems." Namorato concluded that the book supplies "valuable information on the make-up of mill work forces and the interaction between local plants and their communities" and opens "up new avenues of research for future scholars," adding that the book's "reliance on traditional sources of information, when added to new company records and oral interviews, provide opportunities for others to exploit."

In 2005, Flamming published Bound for Freedom: Black Los Angeles in Jim Crow America. Here Flamming covers the African American community of Los Angeles from the turn of the twentieth century to World War II, highlighting the difficulties they faced in developing as a part of the greater community and the significance of Jim Crow laws in that process.

Thomas J. Davis, writing in the Library Journal, observed that Flamming "painstakingly details" the pre-World War II African American community in Los Angeles. Davis found the book to be "densely populated with rich personal detail and provocative interpretation." Douglas Henry Daniels, writing in California History, thought that "more attention could have been devoted to the distinctive film and entertainment industries, and Blacks' roles within them." Nevertheless, Daniels called the book "an excellent analysis of not only the Black residents' experiences, but also of the persistent attempts of white Angelenos to victimize and deprive these citizens of the opportunities offered by the city." Stephen R. Sayles, reviewing the book in the Historian, noted that "Douglas Flamming is an excellent writer who has a sharp eye for presenting quotes, anecdotes, and photographs that illuminate early patterns of life on Central Avenue." Sayles concluded that "this excellent book is a valuable contribution to California and Western history and provides an important context for contemporary Los Angeles politics." Shana Bernstein, writing in the Journal of Southern History, said that Bound for Freedom "helps push the boundaries of civil rights history beyond the South and back to the turn of the century." Bernstein opined that the book's greatest asset is the author's "appreciation of historical nuance." Bernstein concluded that "it is a testament to this thoughtful, deep study that it opens up such interesting paths for future exploration while it answers so many important questions."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Historical Review, April, 1994, James V. Reese, review of Creating the Modern South: Millhands and Managers in Dalton, Georgia, 1884-1984, p. 665; October, 2006, Stephen Grant Meyer, review of Bound for Freedom: Black Los Angeles in Jim Crow America, p. 1205.

Business History Review, winter, 1995, Annette C. Wright, review of Creating the Modern South, p. 590.

California History, winter, 2006, Douglas Henry Daniels, review of Bound for Freedom, p. 71.

Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, July 1, 1993, H. Shapiro, review of Creating the Modern South, p. 1832; November, 2005, D.R. Jamieson, review of Bound for Freedom, p. 557.

Contemporary Sociology, January, 1994, review of Creating the Modern South, p. 118.

Historian, summer, 2006, Stephen R. Sayles, review of Bound for Freedom, p. 344.

Horn Book Magazine, July, 1994, review of Creating the Modern South, p. 604.

Journal of American Ethnic History, January 1, 2006, Boris E. Ricks, review of Bound for Freedom, p. 339.

Journal of American History, June, 1994, Eric Arnesen, review of Creating the Modern South, p. 297; March, 2006, Eric Avila, review of Bound for Freedom, p. 1512.

Journal of Economic History, December, 1993, Pamela J. Nickless, review of Creating the Modern South, p. 958.

Journal of Economic Literature, December, 1993, review of Creating the Modern South, p. 2100.

Journal of Interdisciplinary History, spring, 1995, review of Creating the Modern South, p. 740.

Journal of Southern History, August, 1994, John J. Beck, review of Creating the Modern South, p. 604; May, 2006, Shana Bernstein, review of Bound for Freedom, p. 500.

Library Journal, February 15, 1993, Gary Williams, review of Creating the Modern South, p. 178; December 1, 2004, Thomas J. Davis, review of Bound for Freedom, p. 135.

Pacific Historical Review, May, 2006, Robert Self, review of Bound for Freedom, p. 358.

Reference & Research Book News, June, 1993, review of Creating the Modern South, p. 20.

Reviews in American History, March, 1995, Michael V. Namorato, review of Creating the Modern South, p. 51; December, 2006, Kevin M Kruse, review of Bound for Freedom, p. 476.

Technology and Culture, January, 1997, Margaret Crawford, review of Creating the Modern South, p. 253.

Western Historical Quarterly, summer, 2006, Matthew C. Whitaker, review of Bound for Freedom, p. 216.

ONLINE

Center for Society and Industry in the Modern South, Georgia Institute of Technology Web site,http://www.sims.gatech.edu/ (March 28, 2008), author profile.

School of History, Technology, and Science, Georgia Institute of Technology Web site,http://www.hts.gatech.edu/ (March 28, 2008), author profile.