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June 20, 2007

The End of European Colonial Empires To Be Discussed by William Roger Louis, July 10

One of the great themes of 20th century history is the end of European colonial empires. William Roger Louis, founding director of the National History Center, will discuss the topic in a lecture at the Library of Congress.

The talk will start at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, July 10, in Room 119 of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C. Free and open to the public, the event is sponsored by the Library’s John W. Kluge Center and the National History Center, and is presented in conjunction with the History Center’s Second International Research Seminar on Decolonization, held in Washington, D.C., from July 9 through Aug. 4.

The lecture, titled "The End of European Colonial Empires," will also examine the creation of post-colonial states in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. What was the nature of European colonial rule? What are the legacies of the British, French, Dutch, German, Belgian, Portuguese and Spanish colonial systems?

Louis is Kerr Professor of English History and Culture at the University of Texas, where he is also a professor in the Middle Eastern Studies Department. Louis is the author or editor of approximately 30 books, including his recent book of collected essays, "Ends of British Imperialism: The Scramble for Empire, Suez and Decolonization," which was published last year. He is chairman of the U.S. State Department's Historical Advisory Committee, a member of the Scholars’ Council of the Library of Congress and a past president of the American Historical Association.

Through a generous endowment from John W. Kluge, the Library of Congress established the Kluge Center in 2000 to bring together the world’s best thinkers to stimulate, energize and distill wisdom from the Library’s rich resources and to interact with policymakers in Washington. For more information about the fellowships, grants and programs offered by the John W. Kluge Center, visit www.loc.gov/kluge/.

The National History Center promotes research, teaching and learning in all fields of history. Created by the American Historical Association in 2002, the Center is a public trust dedicated to the study and teaching of history, as well as to the advancement of historical knowledge in government, business and the public at large. For more information about the National History Center, visit www.nationalhistorycenter.org. The National History Center's seminar on decolonization has been made possible by a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

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PR 07-139
06/20/07
ISSN 0731-3527

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