Speaking at Cornell on Monday, Prof. Marilyn Young, history, New York University, said recent events in Syria show that there is potentially a turning point in the way the United States is approaching war. Negotiation and cooperation may be taking the place of a historically more aggressive approach, she said.

In her lecture, which was part of Cornell’s Ethics and Public Life fall lecture series, Young addressed the evolution of American warfare since World War II, the current state of military conflict in Syria and her hopes about the future of America’s approach to conflict....