Rikkyo University will hold a lecture meeting titled, "Pondering Today's America from the Origins of the New American Right," at which Harvard University Professor Lisa McGirr will provide insights into current U.S. social and political affairs from a historical perspective.

McGirr, who specializes in the history of the 20th-century United States, was one of the first academics to chronicle the rise of new conservatives and neoliberalists, including Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, in California since the 1960s, elucidating the origin of the American new right. Her lecture will shed light on current U.S. affairs from a historical perspective spanning more than half a century. McGirr will answer questions from undergraduate and graduate students after the lecture.

[Meeting details]

2. Venue: Multipurpose Hall in Tachikawa Memorial Hall, Rikkyo University's Ikebukuro Campus (Nishi-Ikebukuro 3-34-1, Toshima Ward, Tokyo)

3. Lecturer: Professor Lisa McGirr of Harvard University's History Department

McGirr teaches a wide variety of courses on the history of the United States in the 20th century. She authored "Suburban Warriors: The Origins of the New American Right (Princeton University Press, 2001, 2015), and "War on Alcohol: Prohibition and the Rise of the American State" (W.W. Norton, 2016). She coauthored and coedited "American History Now" (Temple University Press, 2011). McGirr is in Japan for a short residency program under the Japan Residencies Program of the Organization of American Historians and the Japanese Association for American Studies, which is provided in cooperation with and support from the Japan-United States Friendship Commission.

4. Audience: Undergraduate and graduate students

5. Organizer: The Institute for American Studies, Rikkyo University

6. Language: English (interpretation to Japanese provided)

Rikkyo University is headed by President Tomoya Yoshioka; the main campus is located in Toshima Ward, Tokyo.