An international group of researchers, journalists and diplomats will study the impact of America’s first African American President. They will analyse the challenges facing the President and the significance of his policies.
The AHRC Obama Research Network will also organise symposia and seminars and stage an international conference just after the next presidential election in 2012, and publish the results on a dedicated website. The events will take place at the universities of Edge Hill, Warwick, and Manchester, the London School of Economics, and the Roosevelt Study Center in the Netherlands.
Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the network will be based at the University of Manchester and led by Manchester’s Professor Inderjeet Parmar and Dr Mark Ledwidge with Professor Kevern Verney from Edge Hill University.
Professor Parmar said in a statement: “The election of Barack Obama in November 2008 will for many years remain a key moment in the history of the US. But the President faces huge domestic and foreign policy challenges, including the worst economic crisis since the 1930s and two costly foreign wars. The success or failure of the Obama administration in addressing these problems will have profound implications not just for the citizens of the United States but also for governments and peoples around the world.”
The AHRC project brings together scholars from a range of academic subjects to analyse the challenges facing President Obama and the impact and significance of the policies advanced by his administration to meet them. It also incorporates leading spokespersons from outside the academic community, and participants will be drawn from Britain, other European countries and the US to ensure that discussion takes account of a diverse range of different ideas and perspectives.
