In Catastrophic Diplomacy, historian Julia F. Irwin offers a sweeping account of how the United States came to use foreign disaster assistance as a key instrument of diplomacy throughout the twentieth century. Spanning from the early 1900s to the mid-1970s, the book examines how the U.S. government, military, and voluntary organizations responded to major international catastrophes—including earthquakes, tropical storms, and floods—and how these efforts shaped the broader landscape of American foreign relations. By weaving together diplomatic, military, environmental, and humanitarian histories, Irwin reveals the complex politics behind emergency aid and situates U.S. responses within a larger global context. Her work demonstrates the central, and often overlooked, role that disaster relief played in advancing American influence abroad.
Who: Julia Irwin, Author, Professor of History Louisiana State University
When: Monday October 6, 2025
Where: TBD
About the Speaker:
Julia Irwin is the T. Harry Williams Professor of History at Louisiana State University, where she writes and teaches about the intersections of U.S. foreign relations, humanitarianism, and global disaster relief. Her work focuses on how the United States has used aid—especially in response to natural disasters and humanitarian crises—as a tool of diplomacy and international influence throughout the 20th century. She is the author of Catastrophic Diplomacy: US Foreign Disaster Assistance in the American Century and Making the World Safe: The American Red Cross and a Nation’s Humanitarian Awakening. Dr. Irwin earned her Ph.D. from Yale University and is a founding co-editor of The Journal of Disaster Studies and the book series InterConnections: The Global 20th Century. Her scholarship has been recognized with numerous national honors, including the Stuart L. Bernath Lecture Prize from the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations.