History Corner: Did Reagan and Gorbachev "Win" the Cold War?

Our partner, The Journal of American Studies, has posted a challenging roundtable on Melvyn Leffler's recent book, For the Soul of Mankind: The United States, the Soviet Union, and the Cold War. International scholars Mario del Pero (Italy), David Ryan (Ireland), Anders Stephanson (US), and Natalia Yegerova (Russia) critique Leffler's focus, through pairings such as Truman-Stalin, Eisenhower-Malenkov, Kennedy-Khrushchev, and Carter-Brezhnev, on why the conflict did not end until the interaction of Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s.

Leffler concludes the roundtable with this provocative question: "Throughout my book there is a tension: were or were not leaders decisive?"

Read roundtable....

Podcast Special: George Lipsitz on America's "Bitter but Beautiful Struggle"

For decades, Professor George Lipsitz has been at the forefront of academic debates over "American Studies", from the place of music, television, and film in American society to the continuing importance of "class" in the US to the nature and importance of protest.

Two weeks ago, Lipsitz delivered a powerful lecture, drawing from historical reminders and the change brought by the Obama Presidency to consider "The Bitter But Beautiful Struggle: Why American Studies Matters Now". Thanks to our partners, The Journal of American Studies, the talk is now on-line.

For both academic specialists and general viewers of the US, we think this is a timely and important presentation, in line with Enduring America's mission of "engaging with the notion of America".

Listen to podcast....