This presentation documents what is evidently the ninth segment of a monthly “public seminar series” presented by Dr. John Marciano, Professor Emeritus, State University of New York. The various books mentioned in this talk are compiled at Amazon.com. The schedule below shows the May 15 recording:

September 19: Some historical context on empires and the U.S. Empire: Williams, “Empire as a Way of Life” (article)

October 17: Racism and imperialism: Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, “The Grid of History: Cowboys and Indians”

November 21: Foster, “Kipling, ‘the White Man’s Burden,’ and U.S. Imperialism”

December 19: Williams, Empire as a Way of Life; Introduction. Chapters 1–5

January 16: Williams, Empire as a Way of Life; Chapters 6–9

February 20: U.S. imperialism in the Americas: Grandin, Empire’s Workshop, Introduction through Chapter 3

March 20: Grandin, Empire's Workshop, Chapters 4–6

April 17: The Brutal Reality of U.S. imperialism: Parenti, Against Empire, Chapters 1–4

May 15: Parenti, Against Empire, Chapters 5–8

June 19: Summary reflections and a discussion of alternatives: Grandin, Conclusion; Parenti, Against Empire, Chapter 11; Williams, Empire as a Way of Life, Conclusion

Dr. John Marciano “A fundamental purpose of our meetings is to understand the systemic nature of the U.S. Empire and the economic and military imperialism that is its lifeblood. The historian William Appleman Williams argues that empire became ‘a way of life’ in the U.S., a ‘combination of patterns of thought and action that, as it becomes habitual and institutionalized, defines the thrust and character of a culture and society.’ This ‘way of life’ has convinced many U.S. ‘Americans’ they have a right or ‘manifest destiny’ to impose their political and economic policies upon others.”