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Articles
Churchill: Hero and/or Colonialist? A Panel Discussion at Bucknell University
- By LARRY P. ARNN, SEAN McMEEKIN & MADHURSEE MUKERJEE
- | March 22, 2022
- Category: Churchill and the East Resources
Introduction
The Bucknell Program for American Leadership is a series of seminars and panel discussions at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. In February 2022, the Program invited Hillsdale President Larry P. Arnn to an examination of Churchill’s Legacy. Dr. Arnn co-edited with Martin Gilbert the six final volumes of The Churchill Documents. He is the author of Churchill’s Trial: Winston Churchill and the Salvation of Free Government (2015) and teaches Hillsdale College Churchill courses on campus and online.
Joining Dr. Arnn were Dr. Sean McMeekin, Francis Flournoy Professor of European History and Culture at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, author of Stalin’s War: A New History of World War II; and Dr. Madhursee Mukerjee, author of Churchill’s Secret War: The British Empire and the Ravaging of India during World War II.
The Bucknell Program celebrates free speech and does not shy away from controversial topics. Recent discussions include Allen Guelzo on “Lincoln and Gettysburg”; Jennnifer Silva on “Class, Politics and Identity in Flyover America”; and Ron Dreher and Andrew Sullivan on “American Religious and Sexual Identities: Coexistence or Cold Civil War?”
In an age where Churchill is often subject to one-sided discussions by panelists who agree with each other, Bucknell deserves great credit for seeking balance in treating controversial subjects. Likewise all three panelists, who manage to disagree without rancor, and to acknowledge the points of view of each other. The Churchill Project applauds the Bucknell program, thanks the University for permission to link the video here, and warmly recommends this discussion to the attention of its readers. —Richard M. Langworth
Further reading
The main topic at Bucknell was Churchill’s role in India during the Second World War, and actions, or lack thereof, of the British Raj in response to the 1943-44 Bengal Famine, as well as Britain’s role in India’s history. Over the years the Churchill Project has published comment by various historians, whose opinions are on record. We respect the opinions of all, including thoughtful readers, who sent us their comments pro or con on these articles.
Arthur Herman, “Absent Churchill, Bengal’s Famine Would Have Been Worse” (2017)
Zareer Masani, “Churchill and the Genocide Myth: Last Word on the Bengal Famine” (with reader comment, 2021)
Andrew Roberts & Zewditu Gebreyohanes, “Cambridge: ‘The Racial Consequences of Mr. Churchill, A Review” (2021)
Tirthankar Roy, “The British Raj According to Tharoor: Some of the Truth, Part of the Time” (2020)
Abhijit Sarkar, “The Effects of Race and Caste on Relief in the Bengal Famine, 1943-44” (including reader comment and debate, 2021)
The Churchill Project, “Did Churchill Exacerbate the Bengal Famine?” (2015)