Life of the Mind, interdisciplinary conversations with UC faculty, will return Tuesday, September 20, 3:30-5pm in the Russell C. Myers Alumni Center, with a lecture by John McNay, professor of history and chair of the department of history, philosophy and political science at UC Blue Ash College. Professor McNay will speak on, “I would rather have peace than be president”: Presidential Decisions for Peace.
Life of the Mind is a semi-annual lecture series that features a distinguished University of Cincinnati faculty member presenting his or her work and expertise. A panel of three responds to and discusses the lecture from diverse perspectives. The series includes intriguing insights from diverse perspectives and encourages faculty and students from across UC to engage in further discourse. The presentation is not simply a recitation of the faculty member’s work but promotes an informed point of view.
John McNay
John T. McNay is professor of the history of U.S. Foreign Relations at the University of Cincinnati – Blue Ash where he teaches courses on World War II, the Cold War and world history. His most cited book is Acheson and Empire: The British Accent in American Foreign Policy (Missouri, 2001) and more recently, he edited The Memoirs of Ambassador Henry F. Grady: From the Great War to the Cold War (Missouri, 2009). In addition to his current project on presidential decisions for peace, he has begun work in the recently opened papers of John Paton Davies, the “China Hand” who lost his career during the McCarthy Era.
Sponsored by the Office of the President and the Office of the Provost and organized by the University of Cincinnati Libraries and Faculty Senate, the mission of Life of the Mind is to celebrate UC faculty research, scholarship and creative output and to foster the free and open exchange of ideas and discourse. Life of the Mind is free and open to the public and attracts a broad audience including UC students, faculty, staff and alumni, as well as people from the community.
More information about Life of the Mind, including a list of panelists once confirmed, is available online at www.libraries.uc.edu/lifeofthemind/. For those who cannot attend in person, the September 20th lecture will be streamed live via the website.