By Paul Welch

The Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies will host an event showcasing selected scholars discussing nuclear threats on Thursday, Mar. 6th from 5:30-7 p.m. in the auditorium of the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries.

Speakers at the event will carry on an open dialogue with the audience prompting attendees to think about the history of nuclear threats, beginning with the atomic bomb blasts in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Moderator Jeffrey Berejikian, associate professor in the department of international affairs, will guide panelists through a discussion of perceptions about nuclear threats today and how they compare with those experienced during the atomic age.

“We want attendees to think about how the nature of nuclear threats has changed over time,” said Berejikian. As a political archive, the Russell Library hosts events that connect people with the past but also bring those events and themes forward into the present, considering how they continue to shape current events and concerns today.”

Other featured speakers include: Igor Khripunov, Center for International Trade and Security; Loch Johnson, School of Public and International Affairs; and General Pan Zhenqiang, visiting scholar, Center for International Trade and Security. Light refreshments will be served following the discussion and audience question-and-answer session.

This event is one in a series of ten to be hosted by the Russell Library this winter, all inspired by “Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow: Living with the Atomic Bomb, 1945-1965″on display in the Harrison Feature Gallery through March 14. For more information on this or other events in the “Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow” series, see http://www.libs.uga.edu/russell/programs/events or email [email protected], or call 706-542-5788.

“Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow” was curated by Michael Scheibach, an independent collector in Independence, Mo, and Leslie Przybylek, curator of humanities exhibitions at Mid-America Arts Alliance. ExhibitsUSA, a national program of Mid-America Arts Alliance, tours the exhibition. ExhibitsUSA sends more than 25 exhibitions on tour to more than 100 small- and mid-sized communities every year. More information is available at http://www.maaa.org and http://www.eusa.org.

The display at the Russell Library is supported by the President’s Venture Fund, the Georgia Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities and through appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly, the School for Public and International Affairs, the Center for International Trade and Security, and the departments of history, English and film studies.