Distinguished University of Chicago professor to give lecture at Purdue
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - John Mearsheimer will discuss "Why Leaders Lie: The Truth about Lying in International Politics," at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 7 at Purdue University as part of the 2011 Sears Lecture Series.
Mearsheimer's lecture will be in Stewart Center's Fowler Hall. The Sears Lecture Series is sponsored by the Department of Political Science, which is housed in Purdue's College of Liberal Arts. All talks are free and open to the public.
"In this year's lecture series we have asked each speaker to address some specific aspect of change in international politics, whether it is how countries deal with human rights violations, the conduct of international diplomacy, changes in the status of women worldwide, or other global resource concerns," said Ann Marie Clark, associate professor of political science. "Our four speakers this year can help us think about these important issues. It will be a very exciting lecture series."
Mearsheimer is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, where he has taught since 1982. He has written extensively about security issues and international politics. His most recent book is "Why Leaders Lie: The Truth about Lying in International Politics."
In foreign affairs, leaders sometimes have strategic reasons for lying to other world leaders and even to their own citizens. In a thought-provoking analysis of this rarely acknowledged truth, Mearsheimer will talk about the reasons that leaders lie and the intended and unintended consequences of lying, both at home and abroad.
The biennial series is named for the late Purdue historian Louis Martin Sears, who was a faculty member in the then joint Department of History and Political Science from 1920 until his retirement in 1956. Sears specialized in diplomatic history and biography and was the author of numerous books. The lecture series bearing his name is alternately produced by the history and political science departments, in conjunction with Purdue Convocations.
Contact: Abby Eddy, Purdue Convocations director of marketing, 765-494-5045, aeeddy@purdue.edu
Source: Ann Marie Clark, 765-494-7437, clarkam@purdue.edu