DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY

Biography

Demetrius Hodges-Goodale (He/Him) is a PhD student in Northwestern University’s History Department and a Mellon Cluster Fellow in Comparative and Historical Social Science. He holds a BA and MA in Political Science from Western Michigan University. His research explores the intersections of race, urban policy, and environmental injustice in mid-20th century America, with a focus on smaller industrial cities in the Midwest. By examining how state and corporate actions reshaped urban landscapes, he investigates how marginalized communities resisted systemic dispossession and ecological harm.

Building on his master’s work on Michigan, Hodges-Goodale’s research traces the long-term consequences of urban restructuring and environmental degradation in communities often overlooked by national narratives. His work reframes midcentury urban policy as a mechanism of racialized spatial control, contributing to broader debates on racial capitalism and grassroots activism.