Feb. 28, 2013: 'How Universal Are We? The Tortured U.S. Relationship with Human Rights' featuring Bradley Simpson

Thursday, Feb. 28, 7-9 p.m. Rasmuson Hall, Room 101 The UAA History Department is pleased to present a guest lecture by Bradley Simpson, Ph.D., assistant professor of history at Princeton University. The title of Simpson's talk is, "How Universal Are We? The Tortured U.S. Relationship With Human Rights." This lecture is free and open to the public.

Professor Simpson is an expert in the history of U.S. foreign relations. His particular interests are in U.S.-Southeast Asian relations, political economy, human rights and development. His first book, "Economists with Guns: Authoritarian Development and U.S.-Indonesian Relations, 1960-1968" (Stanford, 2008), explores the intersection of anti-communism and development thinking in shaping U.S.-Indonesian relations. He is currently working on two new book projects. One is a global history of self-determination and human rights. The other is a book on U.S.-Indonesian relations from 1966-1998.

He has also contributed to the edited volume, "The Human Rights Revolution" (Oxford, 2011), and has published numerous articles in journals such as The International History Review, Cold War History, Reviews in American History, Diplomatic History, The Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Critical Asian Studies and Peace and Change. He was featured in the recent Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio documentary, "Accomplices in Atrocity. The Indonesian Killings of 1965."

In addition to being a respected scholar of human rights history, Simpson is also a human rights practitioner. From 2002 to 2005, he served as a consultant to East Timor's Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR). He is also the founder and director of a project at the non-profit National Security Archive to declassify U.S. government documents concerning Indonesia and East Timor during the reign of General Suharto (1966-1998).