Columbia Center for Oral History Portal > Oral history interview with Jack Foust Matlock, Jr., 2017Biographical NoteBorn in 1929 in Greensboro, North Carolina, Jack Matlock graduated summa cum laude from Duke University in 1950. He then earned an M.A. in Russian area and language studies from the Russian Institute at Columbia University in 1952, before teaching Russian language and literature at Dartmouth College from 1953 to 1956. Matlock joined the Foreign Service in 1956, and served as Director of Soviet Affairs in the State Department from 1971 to 1974, U.S. Ambassador to Czechoslovakia from 1981 to 1983, and ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1987 to 1991. After he retired from the Foreign Service in 1991, Matlock reentered the academic world, and has since taught at Columbia and Princeton University, among other places
Scope and ContentsIn the first session, James F. Matlock describes his early history and how an interest in languages led him towards Russian studies and, eventually, the Harriman Institute. He describes the compartmentalized structure of Harriman during his time as a grad student there, and stresses the importance of interdisciplinarity for effective area training. He then describes his experiences first in academia and then in the Foreign Service, and his travels to the former Soviet Union. Matlock tells a series of stories that illustrate his deep knowledge and understanding of Russian culture and society, and discusses how various American presidential administrations have managed US-Russia relations. Finally, he relates a number of his experiences during his time as US ambassador to the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. In the second session, Matlock discusses the ideological context and underpinnings of the Cold War from the Soviet point of view and how those ideological tensions have translated to various post-Cold War eras in US-Russia relations. Specifically, he talks about American exceptionalism and the history of American imperialism and diplomacy with other imperial states. Finally, Matlock speaks to the current necessity for nonprofits to support area studies, stressing the continuing importance of interdisciplinarity, and warns against hyper-compartmentalization in academia. In the third session, Matlock discusses a number of past and present Harriman faculty and alumni, including Jeri Laber, Elizabeth Kridl Valkenier, Kimberly Marten, and others. He then tells a number of stories about the importance of the human dimension of international relations and diplomacy during and immediately after the Cold War
SubjectsAccess ConditionsCopyright by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York, 2017
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