SEMINAR – HYBRID EVENT: John F. Kennedy’s Cold War
- Date: 13 September 2022, 16:15–18:00
- Location: SCAS, Linnéanum, Thunbergssalen, Thunbergsvägen 2, Uppsala
- Type: Seminar
- Lecturer: Fredrik Logevall, Fellow, SCAS. Laurence D. Belfer Professor of International Affairs, Harvard University
- Web page
- Organiser: Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study (SCAS)
- Contact person: Klas Holm
Fredrik Logevall, SCAS and Harvard University, gives a seminar on "John F. Kennedy’s Cold War". The talk will be followed by a Q&A session.
Abstract
How should we think about the relationship between biography and history? Is it the case that biography is a sub-genre of history, and that any biographer who fails to write history fails to produce something worthwhile? Or, as some argue, is the opposite true: the trick is to know that biography is not history; it’s the story of a life. In this talk I will explore this question, through the case of John F. Kennedy, one of the iconic political figures of the 20th century, a leader known universally by his initials. To understand JFK and his role in American and international politics, I will suggest, we have no option but to take a contextual approach, one that considers the times as well as the man. And there’s a payoff here, indeed a double payoff: situating Kennedy within the wider setting of the era helps us better comprehend not only his rise, but his country’s rise, first to great-power status and then to superpower status. The more we understand JFK and his ascent to the pinnacle of power, in other words, the more we understand the world of which he was a part.
For more information and the webinar link, please see http://www.swedishcollegium.se/subfolders/Events.html.