Most students at Miami University were born in the 1980s, a time best remembered by our generation for bad fashion taste and brat-pack movies-not political turmoil.
Because current students were not alive to experience the effects of the Cold War, the Havinghurst Center is bringing Susan Eisenhower and Roald Sagdeev to Miami to speak to students about their experiences working together during the Cold War.
They will be presenting "Breaking Free: Parallel Lives and Common Dreams During the Cold War" April 1, sponsored by the Havinghurst Center for Russian and Post Soviet Studies at Art 100. The lecture will detail the experiences of Eisenhower and Sagdeev during the Cold War.
Havinghurst Center director Karen Dawisha said the speakers will discuss how the war affected the past few generations of Americans.
"I'd like people to get some understanding of what the Cold War was like," Dawisha said. "Our students were not alive during the Cold War and it was a period of time that had a profound effect on the United States and the daily life of Americans. And when we think about what we should do when it comes to relations with Russia today, we should think about whether or not we want to go back to that."
First-year Miami student Lauren Whitehouse is much like other students at Miami in that she admitted her knowledge of life in the Cold War era is limited.
"I know it was about us and the soviets and it wasn't a traditional war in the sense that there wasn't any real fighting, but besides the whole duck-and-cover routine in case of a nuclear attack, I don't really know how it affected regular Americans," she said.
Eisenhower, granddaughter of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower and president of the Eisenhower Group, Inc., has not only been involved in U.S./Russia relations for the past few decades but has also written several books on the Cold War. She was also involved in creating the award-winning documentary Why We Fight, a film which centers on continued funding for American military ventures overseas.
Sagdeev, Eisenhower's husband, is the former head of the Russian Space Research Institute and a science adviser to the last leader of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev.
Eisenhower will also be receiving the John E. Dolibois award during her visit as well.
Michael Carrafiello, who is organizing the Hamilton Lecture, spoke highly of Eisenhower's qualifications.
"Susan Eisenhower is both a history maker and a history chronicler," Carrafiello said. "She has a Ph.D. in Russian Studies, she is the granddaughter of President Eisenhower, she is the founder of the Eisenhower Institute and she has written several manuscripts on U.S./Russia relations. She fits our qualifications and expectations for the award perfectly."
Previous recipients of the John E. Dolibois award include James H. Billington, the current librarian of congress, and Douglas Brinkley, an author who detailed the events and effects of Hurricane Katrina.
Eisenhower will be speaking on her own April 2. Her speech, "The 20th Century Sweep: A Personal Perspective," will be held at 7:30 p.m. at Hamilton's Parrish Auditorium and is sponsored by the Michael J. Colligan History Project lecture series.
Both events are free and anyone is welcome to attend.
