Events

Foreign policy and the US presidential election: Why it matters

11 May 2012

Many pundits contend that with the economy such an important issue in the US presidential election, foreign policy does not matter. It actually does, politically as well as for the US role in the world. In this seminar, Bruce Jentleson, Professor of Public Policy and Political Science at Duke University, will examine the dynamics of the campaign thus far and the likely terms of foreign policy debate as we move towards election day.

Contesting “America”: Research presentations by the Postdoctoral Fellows of the US Studies Centre

3 May 2012 - 4 May 2012

The 2011-2012 cohort of postdoctoral fellows presented their research at this mini-conference run over two days.

UN Rio+20 Side Event - Responding to the Global Soil Crisis

24 April 2012

Global soil degradation is increasingly being recognised as a threat to food security, biodiversity and fresh water security. Scientists, alarmed that the rate of topsoil loss is now exceeding the rate of soil formation, are determining the environmental sustainability thresholds for soil erosion and calculating the timescales at which the world runs out of topsoil. At the same time, the fundamental role of soil in the delivery of ecosystem services including food and fibre production, fresh water regulation and support of biodiversity, has largely been ignored in international policy. Given projected increases in global population this issue now has critical significance.

Rethinking America’s Great War

18 April 2012

Douglas Craig is a Reader in History at the Australian National University. At this research seminar he spoke about "Rethinking America’s Great War".

It has long been a commonplace (more often repeated than explored) that the United States’ experience of the First World War was so different from the rest of the Western world’s that it established a twentieth century version of American exceptionalism that deeply affected not only Americans’ national self-image but also how outsiders saw the United States for the next century.

A Politician Thinking: The Creative Mind of James Madison

4 April 2012

James Madison is generally regarded as America’s leading constitutional theorist, with his famous essays in The Federalist representing the classic statements of his thought. In this talk, Stanford University Professor of History and American Studies, Jack Rakove, examined Madison from a related but distinct perspective, as a political actor thinking his way through a novel set of constitutional questions.

NASA: A Presentation

4 April 2012

The United States considers the sustainability, stability, and free access to, and use of, space vital to its national interests. In July 2011, NASA launched its final space shuttle mission and turned the page in a remarkable period in America’s history in space, while beginning the next chapter in America’s extraordinary story of exploration. American leadership in space will continue to at least the next half century because the US has laid the foundation for success. NASA is not ending human space flight but rather recommitting itself and taking the necessary steps to ensure America’s preeminence in space exploration for years to come. President Obama has given NASA a mission to focus again on the big picture of exploration and the crucial research and development. NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden spoke about how NASA plans to carry out this Mission, followed by Q&A with the audience.

Entrepreneurship and human rights: Knights Apparel’s ethical business model

27 March 2012

Founder of Knights Apparel, Joe Bozich, shared how Alta Gracia, a brand of Knights Apparel, is replacing what has been seen as a sweatshop model of manufacturing with a new model of ethical business through its factory in the Dominican Republic. Formed in 2001, Knights Apparel is the largest supplier of college licensed apparel in the United States, a position previously held by Nike. Knights Apparel also holds exclusive apparel rights with the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Hockey League (NHL) in America.

Luck, Leadership, and Legitimacy in transitions to democracy

13 March 2012

In this research seminar, Ian Shapiro discussed "Luck, Leadership, and Legitimacy in transitions to democracy: Lessons from South Africa and the Middle East." Ian Shapiro is Sterling Professor of Political Science at Yale University, where he also serves as Henry R. Luce Director of the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies.

Same old story? Obama and the Arab Uprisings

9 March 2012

In this research seminar Dr Jeremy Pressman discussed America's approach to the Arab uprisings.

The United States has taken a cautious approach to the Arab uprisings. Most Obama administration decisions are what one would have expected given longstanding US tendencies regarding alliances and stability. In particular, the United States government has called for regime change and democratisation with adversaries (e.g. Libya, Syria) but been reticent to do so with allies (e.g. Bahrain, Egypt). Despite pressure from elements in the US Congress and punditry for more aggressive policies, Obama officials have neither pushed a broad freedom agenda nor endorsed US-led military intervention other than in Libya (at least thus far). The only exceptions are the tentative dealings with Islamists political actors. All these US decisions are taking place against a crucial reality that is often ignored: these uprisings are driven in the particular countries, not in Washington. The United States did not start the process and does not and cannot control it.

Super Tuesday Trivia Night

7 March 2012

On Wednesday 7 March the Super Tuesday excitement kicked on into the evening with a trivia competition. Twelve teams flexed their grey matter with three rounds of questions focused on the US elections past and present.