Dr. Christopher
McKnight Nichols
On this episode, Katie is joined by Dr. Christopher McKnight Nichols is Associate Professor of History at Oregon State University and Director of OSU’s Center for the Humanities. He specializes in the history of the United States and its relationship to the rest of the world, particularly in the areas of isolationism, internationalism, and globalization. In addition, he is an expert on modern U.S. intellectual, cultural, and political history, with an emphasis on the Gilded Age and Progressive Era (1880-1920) through the present. He is author of Promise and Peril: America at the Dawn of a Global Age (Harvard UP, 2011, 2015), co-editor and co-author, Prophesies of Godlessness: Predictions of America’s Imminent Secularization from the Puritans to the Present Day (Oxford UP, 2008), Senior Editor, Oxford Encyclopedia of American Military and Diplomatic History (2013), co-editor, Wiley Blackwell Companion to the Gilded Age and Progressive Era (2017), and co-organizer and co-editor of the forthcoming Rethinking Grand Strategy (Oxford). He is at work on several new book projects. Nichols is a frequent commentator on air, online, and in print on the historical dimensions of contemporary U.S. foreign policy and politics. He is a 2016 Andrew Carnegie Fellow and is a permanent member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Transcript (.docx)
Show Notes
Would you like to incorporate this episode of “Research in Action” into your course? Download the Episode 60 Instructor Guide (.pdf) or visit our Podcast Instructor Guides page to find additional information.
Segment 1: Isolationism and internationalism in U.S. foreign policy and politics [00:00-10:42]
In this first segment, Chris shares about some of his current research on isolationism.
In this segment, the following resources are mentioned:
- Nichols, C. M. (2011). Promise and Peril: America at the Dawn of a Global Age. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- Mathewes, C., & Nichols, C. M. (2008). Prophesies of Godlessness: Predictions of America’s Imminent Secularization from the Puritans to the Present Day. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Oxford Encyclopedia of American Military and Diplomatic History
- Nichols, C. M., & Unger, N. C. (Eds.). (2017). A Companion to the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. New Jersey: Wiley Blackwell.
Segment 2: Directing a Center for Humanities Research [10:43-21:03]
In segment two, Chris shares about his experience directing Oregon State’s Center for the Humanities.
In this segment, the following resources are mentioned:
- Citizenship and Crisis Initiative at Oregon State University
- Oregon Humanities
Segment 3: Sharing Research with Broad Audiences [21:04-33:27]
In segment three, Chris discusses his strategies for sharing his research more broadly.
In this segment, the following resources are mentioned:
- NPR
- Oregon Public Broadcasting
- C-SPAN
- The OpEd Project
- Here are a couple of Dr. Nichols’s op-eds:
- “America’s New Isolationism,” Huffington Post, lead “Politics” op-ed on June 13, 2011, and picked up on various websites.
- “Those who claim America going godless ignore history,” Christopher McKnight Nichols and Charles Mathewes, Chicago Sun-Times, Saturday Editorial Section, April 18, 2009, and picked up widely on various websites. Downloadable here.
- The Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program
Bonus Clip #1 [00:00-04:34]: The Process of Being Nominated for a Carnegie Fellowship
In this bonus clip, the following resources are mentioned:
Bonus Clip #2 [00:00-06:46]: Defining Isolationism
In this bonus clip, the following resources are mentioned:
- Kazin, M. (2017). War Against War. New York: Simon & Schuster
- Nichols, C. M. (2011). Promise and Peril: America at the Dawn of a Global Age. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- Ludlow Amendment
Bonus Clip #3 [00:00-05:02]: Chris’s Work as a Carnegie Fellow
In this bonus clip, the following resources are mentioned:
- The Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program
- 2016 Rethinking Grand Strategy Conference that was held at OSU
Bonus Clip #4 [00:00-06:29]: Chris’s Interpretation of Grand Strategy
In this bonus clip, the following resources are mentioned:
- Nichols, C. M. (2011). Promise and Peril: America at the Dawn of a Global Age. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Bonus Clip #5 [00:00-05:25]: The Relationship Between Isolationism and Internationalism
To share feedback about this podcast episode, ask questions that could be featured in a future episode, or to share research-related resources, post a comment below or contact the “Research in Action” podcast:
Twitter: @RIA_podcast or #RIA_podcast
Email: riapodcast@oregonstate.edu
Voicemail: 541-737-1111
If you listen to the podcast via iTunes, please consider leaving us a review.
The views expressed by guests on the Research in Action podcast do not necessarily represent the views of Ecampus or Oregon State University.
