SECWAC Hosts Historian Julia Irwin to Speak in Old Lyme on Her ‘Catastrophic Diplomacy’ Book

OLD LYME–On Monday, Oct. 6, the Southeast Connecticut World Affairs Council (SECWAC) will host historian Julia Irwin for a talk on her book, “Catastrophic Diplomacy: US Foreign Disaster Assistance in the American Century.”

Irwin’s presentation will begin at 6 p.m. in the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme and online. It will be preceded by a reception at 5:30 p.m.

SECWAC in an event description said Irwin, a history professor at Louisiana State University, will discuss her account of how the United States came to use foreign disaster assistance as a key instrument of diplomacy throughout the twentieth century. 

Spanning 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.

Irwin earned her doctoral degree in history 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.

SECWAC members are free. Non-Member in-person attendance is $20. Non-Members may visit this link to register. A post-presentation dinner will follow at the Old Lyme Inn for members only. 

For more information on SECWAC, visit their website.