Presidential biographer and Pulitzer prize finalist to speak at Purdue
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The second lecture of Purdue University's 2010 Sears Lecture Series will feature Robert Dallek as he discusses "Obama's First Year: War, Peace, and the Economy in Historical Perspective."
The lecture will be at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 23 in Stewart Center's Fowler Hall. The theme for the 2010 Sears Lecture Series is Presidential Leadership in Global Economic Crisis. All talks are free and open to the public.
The Sears Lecture Series is sponsored by the Department of History, which is housed in Purdue's College of Liberal Arts.
Starting from an analysis of the foreign policy challenges facing President Obama, Dallek looks back to comparable periods of transition in the administrations of earlier presidents. How does any new leader find orientation when confronting economic and military pressures around the globe, balancing American interests and international expectations?
Dallek, emeritus professor of history at UCLA, is the author of several presidential histories, including "An Unfinished Life" (on John F. Kennedy), "Flawed Giant" (on Lyndon Johnson) and most recently "Nixon and Kissinger: Partners in Power." His writing has appeared in Atlantic Monthly, the New York Times and the Washington Post.
"This series aims to help our audience make sense of America's situation in the worldwide downturn," said William Gray, a professor of history and event organizer. "What power do American leaders really have to shape economic outcomes here and abroad? How, in the past, have presidents sought to mitigate the effects of global economic challenges? Is the Obama administration breaking new ground here, or following in the path of its predecessors?"
Sears Lecture Series speakers, topics and dates include:
Jon Meacham, editor of Newsweek, will present "Economic Leadership in a Time of Crisis: Then and Now" at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9 in Stewart Center's Loeb Playhouse.
Robert Dallek, emeritus professor of history at UCLA, will present "Obama's First Year: War, Peace, and the Economy in Historical Perspective" at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 23 in Stewart Center's Fowler Hall.
David Painter, associate professor of history at Georgetown University, will present "The Moral Equivalent of War? American Presidents and the Oil Crises of the 1970s" at 7:30 p.m. March 9 in
Amity Shlaes, a senior fellow in economic history at the Council on Foreign Relations, will present "Roosevelt and Obama: Getting to Recovery" at 7:30 p.m. March 23 in Stewart Center's Fowler Hall.
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.
Sources: Abby Eddy, Purdue Convocations director of marketing, 765-494-5045, aeeddy@purdue.edu
William Gray, 765-418-5760, wggray@purdue.edu
Note to Journalists: A publication-quality photo of Robert Dallek is available at https://www.purdue.edu/convocations/Robert-Dallek-Photos.asp