Francis J. Gavin Delivers LaFeber-Sibley Lecture at Cornell University

October 3, 2019

Professor Francis J. Gavin delivered the 2019 LaFeber-Silbey lecture at Cornell University. His talk, “California Dreaming – The Crisis and Rebirth of American Power in the 1970s,” explored how scholars have increasingly recognized the 1970s as a pivotal decade in world history.

 “The situation in the United States reflected a puzzle,” said Gavin. “America seemed in crisis – stagnating economy, socio-cultural division, political cynicism, declining military and foreign policy power abroad. But the United States was reinventing itself in profound and consequential ways that would reshape and reinvigorate American culture, its economy, technology, and its ability to project power abroad and influence international relations.”

“This story is best reflected in the story of California in the 1970s,” he said. “Coming to terms with ‘California Dreaming’ and the rebirth of American power forces us to come to terms with how we think about the past, what matters and how we should think about power in the world.”