Jefferson Cowie

Career

Following his doctoral studies, Cowie held a brief appointment at University of New Mexico before joining Cornell University's ILR School as a Visiting Assistant Professor of History in 1997. In 2001, he held an appointment as an Assistant Professor of History at Cornell University and in 2004, he was promoted to Associate Professor. Cowie was promoted to Professor of History in 2012 and held the position of Andrew J. Nathanson Family Professor at ILR School from 2013 till 2015. In 2016, Cowie left Cornell University and joined Vanderbilt University as James G. Stahlman Professor of History.

From 2008 till 2012, Cowie served as Inaugural House Professor and Dean of William Keeton House at Cornell University. He was chair of the Department of Labor Relations, Law, and History at the ILR School at Cornell University from 2013 to 2015.

Research and books

Cowie's research focuses on American conservatism, race relations, popular culture, U.S. social and political history, democracy and inequality, popular movements and reform, history and ideas of social class since 1945 along with transnational and comparative labor and working-class history in the Americas.

Capital Moves: RCA's Seventy-Year Quest for Cheap Labor

Cowie published his book, Capital Moves: RCA's Seventy-Year Quest for Cheap Labor, in 1999. The book was reviewed as "original and timely" and an "important book written with a clear scholarly and political objective". The book revolves around economic upheaval and class conflict and the effects of capital mobility for industrial relations. Tim Strangleman stated that "Capital Moves weaves its narrative through notions of class, gender, race, and nationality as capital plays off the inequalities within and beyond the American labour market".

In a review, Federico Romero stated that "it does not take long to recognize an excellent book, and this is one". He further stated that "Cowie writes a complex story of capital migration, class formation, and social change." The book is also reviewed as "an important book that should be read by economists, historians, and indeed everyone interested in the making of modern world".

Stayin' Alive: The 1970s and the Last Days of the Working Class

Cowie's book, Stayin' Alive: The 1970s and the Last Days of the Working Class was published in 2010 and received various awards along with media recognition. Richard Oestreicher from University of Pittsburgh stated that "the author poses big questions, imaginatively links material from what are usually separate topical specialties, and writes with considerable literary flair." According to Joseph A. McCartin, the book is "as smart and lively a history of American workers in this period as we will see for a long time". Robert Forran reviewed that "while the book is long and may not work in some academic settings, anyone interested in understanding why, during our recent national elections, candidates from the major political parties almost never uttered the words "working class," would do well to read Cowie's lively history."

In 2011, Cowie received the Merle Curti Award and the Francis Parkman Prize for Stayin' Alive.

The Great Exception: The New Deal and the Limits of American Politics

Cowie's book, The Great Exception: The New Deal and the Limits of American Politics, which was published in 2016, is reviewed as "an engaging, thoughtful, provocative contribution" by American Politics, "one of the year's most important political books" by Washington Post; and as "a fresh, original look at a perennial historical conundrum" by Annals of Iowa.

Meg Jacobs stated that "Cowie's book has triggered a timely debate and will be essential reading for anyone interested in the American past and present". Another review stated the book as "slim, sweeping, and intentionally provocative volume", in which Cowie has asked the readers to "rethink one of the most deeply studied eras in American history: the New Deal".

Freedom's Dominion: A Saga of White Resistance to Federal Power

Cowie examines political interaction of white and black citizens in Barbour County, Alabama, home of politician George Wallace. He focuses on the issues of slavery and the "weaponization" of state means and actions to disenfranchise native and black persons, resist federal reconstruction efforts, destabilize elements of Roosevelt's New Deal and defer changes to civil rights imposed by the federal government. Cowie was awarded the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for history in recognition for this acclaimed work.