This seminar will begin by drawing out, in a threefold discussion, the ever-changing and flexible nature of the "special relationship" between the United Kingdom and the United States in its economic, political, and cultural dimensions. It will identify the benefits and drawbacks of the U.S. connection as seen from the British perspective, and speculate about the relationship's likely future direction.

Sir Brian Harrison is the Emeritus Fellow of Corpus Christi College of the University of Oxford. He published his first book, Drink and the Victorians, in 1971, which was followed by books on British reform movements, feminism, and anti-feminism. From 2000 to 2004, he was the editor of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. His more recent publications include Seeking a Role: The United Kingdom, 1951-1970, and Finding a Role? The United Kingdom, 1970-1990, the two concluding volumes of The New Oxford History of England.