Academic Year 2009-2010: Upcoming Lectures

Can President Obama Avoid War with Iran?
Wednesday, November 18, 2009, 5:30PM
Cabot Intercultural Center, ASEAN auditorium, The Fletcher School Room Change
Speaker: Juan R. I. Cole, Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History, University of Michigan

Speaker Biography

Juan R. I. Cole is Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan. For three decades, he has sought to put the relationship of the West and the Muslim world in historical context. Cole has written extensively about Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and South Asia. He has commented at length on the Iraq War, the politics of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the increasing conflict with Iran. He has been a regular guest on PBS's Lehrer News Hour, and has also appeared on ABC Nightly News, Nightline, the Today Show, Charlie Rose, Anderson Cooper 360, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Democracy Now! and many other shows. Cole has also given many radio and press interviews and maintains a regular column at Salon.com. He continues to study and write about contemporary Islamic movements, whether mainstream or radical, whether Sunni and Salafi or Shi`ite. Cole speaks Arabic, Persian, and Urdu and reads some Turkish and has lived in various parts of the Muslim world for nearly 10 years. His most recent book is Engaging the Muslim World (Palgrave Macmillan, March, 2009). He also recently authored Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007).

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