Description:

Please join the International Relations Speaker Series as they host Dr. James Ashley Morrison, Assistant Professor in the Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Professor Morrison specialises in international political economy. Prior to his start at the LSE, he was an Assistant Professor at Middlebury College (2008-2013) and a fellow at the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance at Princeton University (2012-2013). He has a Ph.D. in Political Science and a Master's in History from Stanford University. He is also an alumnus of the University of Chicago (graduated 2003) and a member of Trinity College at Cambridge University (matriculated 2002). England's Cross of Gold Keynes, Churchill, and the Governance of Economic Beliefs (Cambridge University Press, 2021) offers a new perspective on the struggles among elites in London to define and redefine the gold standard.

This event will take place in Scott Hall 212 with a virtual option. 

About England's Cross of Gold Keynes, Churchill, and the Governance of Economic Beliefs

Following World War I, Churchill promised to restore the ancient English gold standard—and thus Britain's greatness. Keynes portended that this would prove to be one of the most momentous—and ill-advised—decisions in financial history. From the vicious peace settlement at Versailles to the Great Depression, the gold standard was central to the worst disasters of the time. Economically, Churchill's move exacerbated the difficulties of repairing economies shattered by war. Politically, it set countries at odds as each endeavored to amass gold, sowing the seeds of further strife.

England's Cross of Gold, grounded in masterful archival research, reveals that these events turned crucially on the beliefs of a handful of pivotal policymakers. It recasts the legends of Churchill, Keynes, and their collision, and it shows that the gold standard itself was a metaphysical abstraction rooted more in mythology than material reality.

ABOUT THE 2021-2022 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SPEAKER SERIES
In “How I Wrote [Title Here]” we invite scholars to campus to discuss how they turned a research project into a book. Each session features a writer and their recent book. Some are first-time authors, navigating the process from dissertation to publication. Others are well-established scholars with deep experience and diverse perspectives. We will talk about the choices the authors made in research, presentation, and marketing, and the choices that were made for them by circumstances, publishers, and reviewers. The series aims to share stories about the making of scholarly books. We invite readers behind the scene to hear the story of how some of the best new books in International Relations were made.