Conversations with History Blog

Remembering Joe Tussman

Joseph Tussman, an emeritus professor of philosophy at Berkeley, died last week.  Joe was a friend.  For many years, I had the privilege of almost daily discussions with him about politics and current events.  My institute and his department are both housed in Moses Hall on the Berkeley campus so we were ideally situated to meet and talk to discuss the day's headlines.  Engaging Joe in dialogue about issues in which we agreed or disagreed was always a civilized encounter because of Joe's intellect, character, and his style. I left these discussions  with great admiration for Joe  but also with my understanding enhanced.  Joe's passion for a liberal arts education and the broad depth of his understanding of Western civilization was alway apparent.  Again and again he helped me see how issues could and should be seen in a broader context.  Joe taught me the importance of what the Greek classics had to say about power, vanity, greed, and, most importantly, the tragedy and possibilities of the human condition. I will miss him.  Joe reluctantly was a guest on Conversations with History and I highly recommend the interview. You can read the transcript or watch the video at http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/people/Tussman/tussman-con0.html

Ideas That Change the World

Last week saw the passing of Alexander Yakovlev, a distinguished Russian whose ideas made an important contribution to the demise of  communism and the rise of democracy and human rights in Russia. A key advisor to Gorbachev, Yakovlev was a man of principle and courage.  As a historian, he helped the Russian people understand their own history and the great crimes committed in the name of the communist revolution.  http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/Elberg/Yakovlev/yak-con0.html Check out the 1996 Conversations with History interview with Yakovlev to learn more about him and how his first meeting with Gorbachev in Canada launched a democratic revolution that ended the Cold War.

Neglecting Science Policy

The Conversations with History Archive http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/has recently posted four new interviews that identify factors contributing to a breakdown of U.S. global leadership in science policy.  This failure has long term consequences for the United States, and future historians will place great emphasis on the choices made by the Bush Administration that contributed to this result. For political and ideological reasons and because of its narrow interpretation of the requirements of national security, the administration has failed to understand both the importance of science and the contribution it can make to economic well being and national security.  Under President George W. Bush, the United States has failed to see that global pre-eminence in science requires openness and the movement of ideas and people across national borders.  The Conversations with History interview with Russian Nobel Laureate Zhores Alferov  http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/people5/Alferov/alferov-con0.html offers important insight into how his discovery of the semiconductor heterostructure was heavily shaped by his ability to participate in global scientific exchanges even during the Cold War.  His denial of a visa to the U.S. during the Bush administration was a striking indication of the subtle ways in which doors were closing when it comes to the free movement of ideas and people undermining the U.S. position as the hub of world science.  The Conversations With History interview with former MIT President Charles M. Vest http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/people5/Vest/vest-con0.html includes discussion of the challenges to the great American research universities posed by ill informed government restrictions following 911.  Government actions did not identify the real threats to national security and had the potential of undermining university research and teaching.   An interview with the Prime Minister Tony Blair's Science Advisor Sir David King http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/people5/King/king-con0.html provides a useful discussion of the contribution that science can make to government policy in democracies when it is thoughtfully integrated into the government's agenda. Science can identify long term dangers and contribute to the shaping of effective policy responses.    The Clyde Prestowitz interview http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/people5/Prestowitz/prestowitz-con0.html discusses recent failures to focus on science education as part of an effective economic strategy that is a prerequisite for successful U.S. competition with emerging economic powers such as China and India.