The Mershon Center for International Security Studies celebrates the installation of Christopher McKnight Nichols as Wayne Woodrow Hayes Chair in National Security Studies. In collaboration with the Arts and Humanities Inaugural Lecture Series, sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences, we invite you to join us for a reception and lecture in the Faculty Club Grand Lounge from 4-6 p.m. All lectures are free and open to the public and will also be live-streamed.
Wayne Woodrow "Woody" Hayes Chair in National Security Studies and Professor of History Christopher McKnight Nichols will provide a brief, dynamic exploration of the idea of U.S. national security. Using John Quincy Adams' July 4, 1821 declaration that the U.S. goes "not abroad in search of monsters to destroy" as a point of departure, Nichols will explore key moments in the historical development of U.S. foreign relations as an intellectual and political project. The talk will pay particular attention to the role of ideology and emotion and of phrases such as “entangling alliances,” “guardian of liberty,” "arsenal of democracy," "indispensable nation," and even "America First." This is a history that shapes our present era and can reveal new ways in which older ideas, developments, and pivotal moments have profoundly shaped our world today.
