Events
Thirteen Days and More: A Soviet Perspective on the Cuban Missile Crisis
September 24, 2012 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Fifty years ago, the world spent thirteen days transfixed as the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. engaged in a contest of wills over placement of Soviet missiles in Cuba. Svetlana Savranskaya will discuss behind-the-scenes maneuvers by Soviet second-in-command Anastas Mikoyan, revealing that the crisis lasted into November and involved plans by the U.S.S.R. to leave tactical nuclear weapons in Cuba, foiled not by U.S. resolve, but by Fidel Castro’s own actions.
National Security vs. a Market Economy: A Cold War Dilemma
September 17, 2012 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
The Cold War was an overarching reality for American presidents from Truman to George H.W. Bush. In fact, prosecuting the Cold War posed a profound dilemma for all presidents, but especially for Dwight D. Eisenhower. Wm. M. McClenahan, Jr. and Wm. H. Becker argue that economic policy was second only to national security in Ike’s mind. How was the United States to engage in the Cold War without undermining American political democracy and a market economy? Preserving the American way of life was to Eisenhower the preeminent objective of the Cold War.
The 1967 War and the Demise of Arab Nationalism
September 10, 2012 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
The defeat of Egypt and Syria in the 1967 is often described as a deathblow to pan-Arabism, and it did indeed gravely undermine the regime of Gamal Abdel Nasser. Egyptians, Syrians and Palestinians had in fact already begun to shift towards narrower nation-state nationalism even before the 1967 war, which merely confirmed this reorientation.
Foundations of the American Century
May 30, 2012 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
In "Foundations of the American Century," Parmar sheds new light on the complex interrelations, shared mindsets and collaborative efforts of influential public and private organizations in the building of American hegemony.
The United States and Burma in the Cold War, 1948–1965
May 07, 2012 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Kenton Clymer discusses United States foreign policy on stopping communist expansion in Southeast Asia after 1949.
The Tragic Irony of America’s Worldwide Struggle for Democracy
April 30, 2012 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Tony Smith discusses liberal internationalism
A Protean Hatred: Anti-Zionism in Germany, 1933–1989
April 23, 2012 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
This seminar discussion will draw on published and archival sources to shed light on the history of the global anti-Zionist campaign of the 1970s challenged by Ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynihan at the United Nations.
The Outbreak of World War I
April 16, 2012 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
This seminar talk will discuss the consequences of World War One and suggests ways of considering the issue.
Occupied Economies: An Economic History of Nazi-Occupied Europe, 1939-1945
April 11, 2012 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
What were the consequences of the German occupation for the economy of occupied Europe?
The Lumumba Assassination and CIA Accountability
April 09, 2012 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Stephan Weissman discusses the controversy that has swirled over alleged U.S. Government responsibility for the assassination of the former Belgian Congo's democratically elected Prime Minister.