Georgetown professor to give lecture at Purdue
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The 2010 Sears Lecture Series will feature David Painter, a professor of international history who will discuss "The Moral Equivalent of War: American Presidents and the Oil Crises of the 1970s."
Painter's talk is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. March 9 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.
The oil crises of 1973-74 and 1978-79 led to inflation, stagnation, unemployment and fears of American geopolitical decline. Painter's talk will examine the responses of the Nixon, Ford and Carter administrations to the oil crises and will focus on the nature and dynamics of the U.S. political economy and the complex interrelationships between domestic politics and foreign policy.
Painter teaches international history at Georgetown University. His publications include "Oil and the American Century," "The Cold War" and "Origins of the Cold War." He also has had articles published on U.S. policy toward the Third World, U.S. oil policies and the end of the Cold War. His current project is a study of oil and world power in the 20th century.
"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." Rescheduled date and time TBA.
* 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.
Contact: Abby Eddy, Purdue Convocations director of marketing, 765-494-5045, aeeddy@purdue.edu
Source: Will Gray, associate professor, Department of History, 765-418-5760, wggray@purdue.edu
Note to Journalists: A publication-quality photo of David Painter is available at https://www.purdue.edu/convocations/David-Painter-Photos.asp