DANBURY, CONN. — As China continues to boom in economic growth and world influence, so should our knowledge of its history, said Joe Vas, manager of the Teaching American History Grant, a partnership with Western Connecticut State University.

At 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 24, the project is sponsoring “America in the Age of Chinese Power,” at the WestConn Science Building Room 125, on the university’s Midtown campus, 181 White St. in Danbury. The lecture is free and the public is invited.

The lecture will be presented by Dr. Warren Cohen, distinguished university professor of history at the University of Maryland and a senior scholar with the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.

Cohen will discuss the relationship between the United States and China, how China is competing for influence in the world, and the rise of China in the world and how that will affect relations with the U.S.

Cohen is a historian of America’s foreign relations, especially with East Asia. He has written 18 published books, of which he is best known for known for “America’s Response to China: A History of Sino-American Relations.” His most recent book is “America’s Failing Empire,” published in 2005. He has written for numerous publications including The New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post. He is an occasional commentator on National Public Radio, the Voice of America, and the BBC. 

Vas, a teacher at Danbury High School, said the grant originated at the high school and is now partnered with WestConn, University of Bridgeport and University of Hartford. The

grant provides for two lectures a year at WestConn.

“We thought it was important to look at how other countries relate to the United States,” Vas said. “It will give our teachers a deeper knowledge of the history of our country.”

Vas said he was looking forward to bringing in someone to speak on diplomatic, foreign history.

“It’s important because the impact of China is already being felt and students have to understand the world they’re going to grow up in,” Vas said. “The high school history curriculum has been increasingly less Eurocentric. However, China has become so important so fast that we have not had enough training. Teachers need to know more about China so they can incorporate that into their curriculums.”

For more information, call WestConn’s Office of University Relations at (203) 837-8486 or go to www.danburytahg.org.