Among Empires: American Ascendancy and Its Predecessors

Mar 08, 2007

Lecture at the GHI | Speaker: Charles Maier (Harvard University) | Lecture Series: Empire in German and American History

The quest for empire is not always acknowledged by those who pursue it. Germany openly espoused imperial ambitions at several points in its history before other powers reined it in. The United States has time and again refused to label itself an empire even as its exercise of power beyond its borders was taking on many hallmarks of imperial rule.

This lecture series will explore the multifaceted concept of empire through the examples provided by German and American history.

Spring Lecture Series 2007


Empire in German and American History

Globalization and Nation: The German Empire until 1918
March 01, 2007
Sebastian Conrad (Free University Berlin)

Among Empires: American Ascendancy and Its Predecessors
March 08, 2007
Charles Maier (Harvard University)

Empire by Land or Sea: Germany's Imperial Imaginary
March 29, 2007
Geoff Eley (University of Michigan)

Irresistible Empire? America’s Global Cultural Attraction
April 19, 2007
Victoria De Grazia (Columbia University)

Colonialism and German Notions of Empire, 1918-1945
May 10, 2007
Birthe Kundrus (Hamburg Institute for Social Research)