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Is American History "Exceptional?" A Global Perspective
December 05, 2011 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
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Following World War II, the dominant narrative of U.S. history posited "American exceptionalism." That assumption shaped historical scholarship and Cold War policy. More recently a neo-conservative belief in exceptionalism has affected international and domestic history. A global perspective reveals that our history is not "exceptional," only distinctive. Every major moment in American history--Revolution, Civil War, Progressivism, and the New Deal, for example--is part of a larger transnational history.
Thomas Bender is university professor of the humanities and professor of history at New York University. His scholarly work has been focused on intellectual and cultural history; his most recent work, however, has been devoted to exploring the ways in which American history has been embedded in histories larger than itself, some of which are global in extent. His books include Rethinking American History in a Global Age (2002) and A Nation Among Nations: America's Place in World History (2006).
Thomas Bender is university professor of the humanities and professor of history at New York University. His scholarly work has been focused on intellectual and cultural history; his most recent work, however, has been devoted to exploring the ways in which American history has been embedded in histories larger than itself, some of which are global in extent. His books include Rethinking American History in a Global Age (2002) and A Nation Among Nations: America's Place in World History (2006).
Location:
4th Floor, Woodrow Wilson Center
Program Topics
- Border Security
- Cold War
- Communism
- Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding
- Congress
- Declassification
- Democracy
- Democracy Promotion
- Democratic Transition
- Diplomatic History
- Economics and Globalization
- Education
- Energy
- Energy Security
- Environment
- Environmental Peacebuilding
- Environmental Security
- Global Governance
- Governance
- History
- Human Rights
- Intelligence
- International Development
- International Security
- Military History
- Modern Korean History
- NATO
- Nuclear Energy
- Nuclear Proliferation/Non-proliferation
- Nuclear Weapons
- Organized Crime
- Security and Defense
- Society and Culture
- Terrorism
- U.S. Domestic Policy
- U.S. Foreign Policy
- U.S. History
- U.S. National Security
- U.S. Politics
- Urban Studies
- Women's History
- Fewer Topics
- More Topics
Program Regions
- Africa
- Asia
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Belarus
- Central Africa
- China Mainland
- Eastern Europe
- Egypt
- Europe
- European Union
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Iran
- Iraq
- Israel
- Italy
- Jordan
- Libya
- Lithuania
- Middle East and North Africa
- Moldova
- North America
- North Korea
- Poland
- Romania
- Russia
- Russia and Eurasia
- South Korea
- Southeast Asia
- Southeast Europe
- Southern Africa
- Soviet Union
- Turkey
- United States
- Fewer Regions
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