Spring 2024 Fellow
Douglas Brinkley is the Katherine Tsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities and Professor of History at Rice University, Presidential Historian for the New-York Historical Society, Trustee of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, and a Contributing Editor at Vanity Fair. The Chicago Tribune has dubbed him “America’s New Past Master.”
Six of his nonfiction books were honored as “Notable Book of the Year” by the New York Times. His impactful contributions in environmental leadership have earned him accolades including the Frances K. Hutchinson Medal from the Garden Club of America, the Robin W. Winks Award for Enhancing Public Understanding of National Parks from the National Parks Conservation Association, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Lifetime Heritage Award. His book The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast received the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award.
Beyond his literary and environmental pursuits, Brinkley is also a successful music producer. He earned two Grammy Awards for Presidential Suite (Large Jazz Ensemble) and Fandango on the Wall for (Latin Jazz). Brinkley is also the recipient of seven honorary doctorates in American studies. His two-volume, annotated Nixon Tapes recently won the Arthur S. Link–Warren F. Kuehl Prize. His most recent book is Silent Spring Revolution: John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Great Environmental Awakening.
Brinkley earned his B.A at Ohio State University, as well as his M.A. and his Ph.D in U.S. Diplomatic History at Georgetown University. He currently resides in Austin, Texas, with his wife and three children.
Study Group: America in Political and Environmental Crisis: History Lessons and Policy Solutions
Brinkley’s latest book Silent Spring Revolution: John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Great Environmental Awakening will be the lynchpin of this Dornsife study group. The goal will be to understand how the EPA, NEPA, OSHA, the Clean Air and Water Acts and the Endangered Species Acts had led to a US government inspired reform movement from 1960 to 1973. Now, in the age of climate change and hyper industrial pollution, the group will explore innovative ways to become 21st century environmental activists.
Thursdays, 4-6 p.m. PT
February 22
February 29
March 7
Tuesday, February 27, 1-2 p.m. PT