WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., June 3, 2010 -- James McAllister, professor of political science and chair of the Leadership Studies Program at Williams College, has been named to the Department of State’s Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation.  He will serve a three-year term as a representative of the American Political Science Association.

The State Department Historical Advisory Committee oversees the preparation of the “Foreign Relations of the United States” (FRUS) series, the official historical record of U.S. foreign policy, which dates back to the Abraham Lincoln Administration. The Committee is obliged by statute to ensure that the FRUS series constitutes a "thorough, accurate, and reliable documentary record of major United States foreign policy decisions."

McAllister is the author of "No Exit: America and the German Problem 1943-1954" (Cornell University Press, 2002), which outlines a revised version of early Cold War history. His primary interests include American foreign policy, the Cold War, and the Vietnam War.

His articles on the Vietnam War have been published in the Journal of Vietnamese Studies, Modern Asian Studies, and Pacific Historical Review.

Since coming to Williams in 1997, McAllister has taught a wide variety of courses, including American Hegemony and the Future of the International System, America and the Cold War, The Vietnam War, and America and the World after September 11.

In the latter course, McAllister constructed a curriculum that exposes students to the complexities of American foreign policy in the post 9/11 era. Readings spanning the entire political spectrum reflect a diversity of perspectives on how the U.S. should address issues such as terrorism, radical Islamism, and liberal internationalism.

Along with professors Michael MacDonald and Paul MacDonald, McAllister will be holding the first session of the Summer Institute in American Foreign Policy, which will be in session at Williams College between June 14 and July 9.

The college named McAllister Gaudino Scholar in 2004-06 and he is the recipient of numerous fellowships and grants, including an Oakley Fellowship (Williams College Oakley Center for the Humanities and Social Sciences), the Lyndon Baines Johnson Travel Grant, the John Olin Fellowship, and the Columbia University President's Fellowship. He earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University.

END

Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college’s 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student’s financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted.

To visit the college on the Internet: www.williams.edu/ Williams College can also be found on Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/williamscollege and Twitter: http://twitter.com/williamscollege.