The Past Speaks

That’s the title of a provocative essay by Sheffield University historian Sarah Miller Davenport on the Conversation website.

It is no surprise that historians are among the biggest fans of the show, not only for its famed, almost neurotic, attention to period detail, but because Mad Men uses its characters to explore the impact of historical developments on a human scale. Mobility, both physical and figurative, has always been a core theme of the show – and it is one that speaks directly to the mood of postwar America.