Election Series Shifts to Foreign Policy

How has American foreign policy shifted over time? What do different forms of foreign policy look like? And how do they take form?

These questions and others will be addressed tonight in the Barrington library at 7 by a Rhode Island College history professor. It’s the fourth installment of the election series: “Take Six: The Big Issues of 2012,” which runs through Oct. 11.

History professor Karl Benziger will take the stage this week. Here is a profile from a RIC website:

“Karl Benziger is a professor of history at Rhode Island College. Previously, as a jointly appointed faculty member he led the effort to redesign the History Secondary Education major at the College to rigorously conform to the Guild Standards of the historical profession at the national and international level. The program is nationally recognized by NCATE/ NCSS.

“Before coming to Rhode Island, he co-founded an interdisciplinary mini-school at South Shore High School in Brooklyn through an American Forum project funded by the Rockefeller Foundation. His association with Hungary was fostered through several Fulbright Teaching scholarships and a Civic Education Project grant funded though the Soros Foundation.

In addition to his book, “Imre Nagy Martyr of the Nation: Contested History, Legitimacy, and Popular Memory in Hungary,” and various articles on political memory, theory, Cold War, and Hungary, he has written articles and created curriculum about the convergence of domestic and foreign policy centered on Civil Rights and Vietnam.

“He is currently engaged in projects related to assessment governance and contemporary politics with the political scientist Richard Weiner, and a project in combination with fellow historian Robert Cvornyek entitled, “Before 1968: Vietnam, Black Power, Sports, and the Ending of the Liberal Cold War Consensus.”

Bensiger holds a Ph.D. in International Education and a master's in social studies from New York University, and a bachelor's degree in music performance from SUNY, Fredonia in New York.

The final two sessions of the "Take Six" series:

• Oct. 4 – “Super Pacs” with June Speakman
• Oct. 11 – “Education Policy” with Luther Spoehr 

 Registration is not required. The series is free and open to everyone.