IIT Stuart’s Michael Gorham Participated in Historical Reenactment on Futures Trading at Chicago Board of Trade
Michael Gorham with Tim Samuelson (Chicago Historian), Alex Keefe (WBEZ Reporter), and Niala Boodhoo (WBEZ Afternoon Shift)
Michael Gorham, Industry Professor of Finance and Director of the Center for Financial Markets at IIT Stuart School of Business, participated in a dynamic historical reenactment on a key event in the history of futures trading on Sunday, October 20, 2013, at 3 pm in the outdoor space directly east of the Chicago Board of Trade.
Michael Gorham with Tim Samuelson (Chicago Historian), Alex Keefe (WBEZ Reporter), and Niala Boodhoo (WBEZ Afternoon Shift)
The event, titled “The Pit,” draws from the 1903 novel The Pit: A Story of Chicago by Frank Norris, which is a fictional narrative of the attempted manipulation of the wheat market at the Chicago Board of Trade in the 1890s.
Styled as a sporting event featuring a play-by-play announcer, color commentators, and a reporter, The Pit is a free, public, one-hour event that explores the history of commodities trading and the futures market in Chicago. Professor Gorham joins the cast as a commentator representing the economic implications of the wheat market manipulation and joins Tim Samuelson (City of Chicago cultural historian), Niala Boodhoo (WBEZ), and Alex Keefe (WBEZ).
From the event website: “While 1890s futures traders jostle for dominance in the wheat pit, play-by-play announcer Alex Keefe (WBEZ) and color commentators Tim Samuelson (Chicago’s cultural historian) and Mike Gorham (IIT Stuart) narrate the action. Pit Reporter Niala Boodhoo (WBEZ) interviews both the traders and the public as the corner in wheat collapses. Brass Inferno’s Justin Amolsch provides a marching band accompaniment while chef Maggie Hennessy sells commodity-based concessions.”
The event is presented by Pocket Guide to Hell in partnership with Public Media Institute, MAKE magazine, The Hideout, Northwestern University Press, Archeworks, Paddy Long’s, Architecture for Humanity, and Slow Food Chicago.
The Pit is produced in partnership with the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s Open House Chicago, a free public event that offers behind-the-scenes access to 150 buildings across Chicago.
