In Dialogue with the United States: “Oxford, Hiroshima, and war junk”, Guest lecture by Dr. Lonnie Johnson
Synopsis:In the late 1940s and early 1950s in Western Europe, the Fulbright Program was mentioned in the same breath as the Marshall Plan as a shining example of US post-war foresight and magnanimity, and for decades the Fulbright Program dominated what now is called the global international academic mobility market. However, ‘Fulbright’ and ‘Marshall’ certainly do not enjoy the same currency they once had today. They have lost their weight and cannot be used to paper over the deficits of American foreign policy as in the past. Furthermore, ‘Fulbright’ certainly is no longer the household word it was in the 1960s, when the senator’s reputationfor establishing what was once the largest and best-known exchange program in theworld overlapped with his high profile as a spirited opponent of the Vietnam War. This lecture will map the origins of the Fulbright program vis-à-vis the United States’ efforts to help rebuild post-WWII Europe and consequently set these mid-20th century contexts into a critical dialogue with contemporary bi- as well as multilateral efforts in public diplomacy.Speaker bio:Dr. Lonnie R. Johnson is native of Minnesota and graduate of St. John’s University, who has lived and worked in Vienna since an initial year of study abroad in Vienna in 1973-74. He has a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Vienna, is the author of books and articles on Viennese, Austrian, and Central European history—including the third revised edition of Central Europe: Enemies, Neighbors, Friends (Oxford University Press: 2011)—and he served as the executive director of the Fulbright Program in Austria from 1997 to 2019.The guest lecture will take place on-site. Please note that in order to join the guest talk, you will have to adhere to AAU’s current Covid-19 regulations: https://www.aau.at/en/current-information-on-the-coronavirus/
