'The American Future: A History'

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'The American Future: A History'

Jan 2009

Speakers: Shashi Tharoor, Simon Schama

Simon Schama discusses American history and how various elements relate to the future. The central theme of his talk is the presidency of Barack Obama, and the president's interest in history and politics. Beginning with a short reading from Obama's Book Dreams of my Father, Schama praises him as a great writer: one of a handful to come out of the White House - the literary and oral eloquence being very refreshing for Americans after the Bush years. Schama also discusses how Obama's literary persona springs from his mixture of African, Indonesian, American, and Hawaiian roots.

Schama goes on to describe the Iraq war and Hurricane Katrina as turning points in the state of America's collective consciousness. Towards the end of his talk, he gives a short reading from his own book , and shows a short clip from the accompanying BBC television series of the same name.

Finally, Schama answers questions from the audience about the idolisation of politicians in America, reservations about Obama's lack of political experience, and what his election says about the state of race-relations in the US.

This video was kindly provided by The DSC Jaipur Literature Festival