The conference, which took place on 21 May, was a collaboration between Loughborough University’s School of Social Sciences and Humanities and the Theodore Roosevelt Center in the United States. It was organised in partnership with Professor Michael Cullinane of Dickinson State University and hosted at Sulgrave Manor in Northamptonshire, the ancestral home of George Washington.
The student delegates represented two schools and two universities: Denstone College, Chenderit School, and the Universities of Warwick and Loughborough. Alongside the students, Loughborough lecturers in History and Politics, Dr Rakesh Ankit and Dr Matthew McCullock, also attended the event. The group heard from five expert speakers representing a variety of institutions and enjoyed plenty of opportunities for discussion and exchange. The conference opened with a speech from the United States Ambassador to the Court of St James’s, Warren Stephens, who reflected on the strength of the longstanding relationship between the two countries.
The expert speakers shared reflections on the history and origins of the “special relationship”, from the Revolutionary War to the present day. Among them were Dr Hugh Wilford, award-winning author of America’s Great Game, and Professor of United States History at California State University; Katherine Carter, author of Churchill’s Citadel, historian and curator of Chartwell, the former home of Winston Churchill; Dr Elizabeth Ingleson, author of Made in China, Assistant Professor in the Department of International History at LSE and a Centre Affiliate of the Phelan United States Centre; Professor Philip Murphy, Director of History and Policy and Professor of British and Commonwealth History at the University of London, and joint editor of the Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History; and Dr Tim Oliver, author of Understanding Brexit, Senior Lecturer and Director of the Institute for Diplomacy and International Affairs at Loughborough London, and Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence. The keynote speaker was Dr Kevin Weddle, Distinguished Fellow and former Elihu Root Chair of Military Studies, US Army War College.
The international event, organised by Dr Sam Edwards, was part of the UK’s celebrations of the 250-year US and UK relationship.