Mad Men Mad World Looks At The 60S Through Smoke Colored Glasses

Created by TV auteur Matthew Weiner and positioned somewhere between period piece and soap opera, Mad Men inspires loyalty and scrutiny in equal measure. It’s also inspired blogs, books, clothing lines, theme parties, college courses, a Mad Men Yourself web app, and countless Halloween costumes—and now a collection of academic essays. In Mad Men, Mad World: Sex, Politics, Style, and the 1960s, editors Lauren M.E. Goodlad, Lilya Kaganovsky, and Robert A. Rushing—all University of Illinois professors—have compiled the writing of 16 humanities scholars on everything from women’s reproductive health in the 60s to why exactly Don Draper owns that type of house he owns in Ossining.

It’s those factors, swirling in the background of Don Draper’s story, that the book examines. “Mad Space,” by Dianne Harris, looks at the architecture of Mad Men‘s various settings—midtown Manhattan, suburban New York, and California. Mabel Rosenheck’s “Swing Skirts and Swinging Singles” shows how Betty, Joan, and Peggy’s wardrobes illustrate their characters.

Edited by Lauren M.E. Goodlad, Lilya Kaganovsky, and Robert A. Rushing (Duke University Press). The editors join WBEZ reporter Alison Cuddy at “Mad Men, Mad World,” a panel organized by the Chicago Humanities Festival. 6 PM, Tue 3/26, Thorne Auditorium, Northwestern University School of Law, 375 E. Chicago, chicagohumanities.org, $10