The campus community is invited to a free presentation by History Department faculty Dr. Lori Clune about this damaging phenomenon and its potential relevance today.

The United States has a long history of targeting political speech and protest viewed as disloyal, and Clune will place the Red Scare tactics of the 1940s and 1950s into this broader historical context.

The anti-communism suspicions and accusations, usually without any proof, often led to blacklisting and the destruction of reputations and careers of Americans from various sectors, including government, entertainment and academia.

She will also highlight the role of U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy, for whom the era is named, while demonstrating that the anti-communism of the period goes beyond the senator, and indeed, resonates through to today.

Clune is a professor of history. She is an expert on U.S.-Soviet Union relations, the Cold War, diplomatic history and espionage. She has taught campus courses related to these topics, as well as U.S. global history and involvement in 20th-century wars, and its relations with Cuba and Vietnam. Clune was recently featured in season two of Netflix’s Emmy-nominated documentary series "Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War," where she discussed espionage, atomic bombs, McCarthyism, and Cold War fear in episodes two and three.

Date: Thursday, Nov. 20
Time: Noon - 1:30 p.m.
Location: Library, Room 3212

For more information, contact Dr. Lori Clune at lclune@csufresno.edu.