KAUFMAN, Victor S(cott) 1969-

PERSONAL:

Born February 27, 1969, in Slidell, LA; son of Burton Ira (a historian and college dean) and Diane Beatrice (a college archivist; maiden name, Kallison) Kaufman. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education:Kansas State University, B.A. (cum laude), 1991; Ohio University, M.A., 1994, Ph.D., 1998. Politics: Democrat. Religion: Jewish. Hobbies and other interests: Travel, power lifting.

ADDRESSES:

Home—1349 Brittany Dr., Apt. H, Florence, SC 29501. Office—Department of History, Francis Marion University, Box 100547, Florence, SC 29501-0547; fax: 843-661-1555. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Ohio University, Athens, instructor in history, 1997; Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, instructor in history, 1997-98; Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA, instructor in history, 1998-99; Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield, lecturer in history, 1999-2001; Francis Marion University, Florence, SC, assistant professor of history, 2001—. Georgia State University, instructor, 1998-99.

MEMBER:

Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, American Association of University Professors, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Alpha Theta, Phi Kappa Phi, Golden Key.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Moody grant, Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation, 1996; Eisenhower Presidential Library grant, 1999.

WRITINGS:

Confronting Communism: U.S. and British Policies toward China, University of Missouri Press (Columbia, MO), 2001.

Contributor to periodicals, including English Historical Review, Journal of Contemporary History, Journal of American-East Asian Relations, China Quarterly, and Historian.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

The Pig War: The United States, Britain, and the Balance of Power in the Pacific Northwest, 1846-1872, for Lexington Books (Lexington, MA); a contribution to SHAFR Guide to American Foreign Relations since 1600.

SIDELIGHTS:

Victor S. Kaufman told CA: "Having a father in the field of history and being surrounded by academicians all of my life influenced me to pursue a career as a history professor. Doctors Chester Pach and John Lewis Gaddis, with whom I took graduate classes, strengthened a burgeoning interest in U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War and, along with my father, moved me to work on Anglo-American policy toward communist China during that period of history. While I retain an interest in Cold War diplomacy, my current topic was inspired by, of all things, a bike ride. While riding bicycles with some friends in Seattle, I heard a story about a war that nearly started over a pig. I thought they were just joking. I began to do research into the subject and found out that, not only was it true—and that it was called, appropriately enough, the Pig War—but this subject had not been examined from a diplomatic standpoint, even though there were some very significant issues involved, especially that of the balance of power in the Pacific Northwest. Sometimes inspiration comes when one least expects it, and I can attest that this is true."