The National History Center’s Congressional Briefings are designed to provide historical context and perspective on current issues for policy makers and members of their staff. The speakers reflect upon historical events and developments that have influenced the evolution of current policies and provide knowledge pertinent to the consideration of policy alternatives.
Professor Alan Brinkley, Nevins Professor of History at Columbia University, gave a briefing to Members of Congress and their staff in May, 2009. He spoke on the relevance of the Great Depression to today’s current economic situation, Roosevelt’s actions to stimulate the economy in the 1930s, and the recovery that took place. This is part [...]
The National History Center is hosting another congressional briefing for the Congress and its staff on “The Great Depression: Then and Now” with Professor Alan Brinkley, the Provost and Allan Nevins Professor of History at Columbia University in New York. The briefing, open to the public, will take place on Thursday, May 21, 2009 2:30 [...]
On Friday, May 9, 2008, Professor John O. Voll, professor of Islamic history and associate director of the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, addressed the history of the radicalization of Islam and discussed how it changed after September 11, 2001. Voll graduated from Dartmouth College and received his Ph.D. [...]
Speaker: James M. McPherson James M. McPherson is Professor Emeritus of History at Princeton University. He discussed the writ of habeas corpus under President Lincoln during the Civil War and the cause and effects on society during its suspension. Professor McPherson earned a B.A. in history from Gustavus Adolphus College and a Ph.D. in history [...]
The briefing featured Professor James Rodger Fleming, Professor of Science, Technology and Society at Colby College, Maine. He currently holds the Roger Revelle Fellowship in Global Environmental Stewardship from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and is a Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars where he is [...]
Speaker: Christine Kim Christine Kim, assistant professor of history at Georgetown University, presented a brief history of the relations between the United States and Korea. The seminar was in the committee room of the House International Relations Committee. Download Professor Kim’s presentation. Further suggested reading on North and South Korea from Professor Kim.
Speakers: Eric Foner and John Hope Franklin Eric Foner and John Hope Franklin, best-selling historians, discussed federal efforts to effect change relating to race relations, as well as issues relating to race during periods of reconstruction. They provided historical perspectives on various federal government reconstruction efforts from the post-Civil War ear to the present (i.e. [...]
Speaker: Maris Vinovskis Vinovskis, Bentley Professor of History, Research Professor at ISR, and Professor of Public Policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, spoke on the historical aspects of the No Child Left Behind Act. Maris Vinovskis congressional briefing
Speakers: Edward Berkowitz and Alice Kessler-Harris Berkowitz, a professor of history and public policy and public administration at George Washington University, and Kessler-Harris, R. Gordon Hoxie Professor of American History in Honor of Dwight D. Eisenhower at Columbia University, spoke about the history of the Social Security Administration and the decision-making process that led to [...]
Speaker: Julian E. Zelizer Zelizer, currently a professor of history at Princeton University and the author of On Capitol Hill: The Struggle to Reform Congress and its Consequences, 1948–2000, discussed the origin and consequences of congressional reform efforts. Download Zelizer’s presentation. Read an article about the presentation.