Middle East Scholar to Discuss Syria, Revolution, and the Islamic State, March 29

The King Fahd Center at the University of Arkansas is pleased to announce "Syria, Revolution and the Islamic State," a special guest lecture by Sherifa Zuhur, visiting scholar at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of California, Berkeley. The lecture will take place at 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, in Kimpel Hall, Room 105, and is free and open to the public.

Zuhur was a Research Professor of National Security at the Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, served as a political adviser to the Office of Special Defense, has advised the CAG at CENTCOM, participated in a USIP-U.S. government working group on Yemen, a multi-year NATO research team on Islamist extremism, and in Germany on the political economy of conflict in Syria. She is a past-president of the Association of Middle East Women's Studies and member of various groups and networks working on women's rights in the MENA. She was a professor at the American University in Cairo, MIT, Ben Gurion University of the Negev and other universities.  Her research involved contemporary Islamist movements, political development in the region and also the expressive arts. 

Zuhur holds a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is currently writing a book on Egypt; her most recently published book is Saudi Arabia (2012) of 17 books and monographs and she has recently published chapters on Lebanon, Syria and Egypt and four different edited volumes. Her current research concerns the Egypt since August 2013 and the trajectories of Syria's revolution. Recent articles appeared in Contemporary Review of the Middle East and Middle East Policy.

Zuhur's lecture on March 29 will address the consequences of revolution in Syria, and will address the influence of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) and the political economy of the conflict.

About the King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies: The King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies is an academic and research unit in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas. An interdisciplinary and interdepartmental area studies center that offers diverse cultural, intellectual, and educational opportunities for the University of Arkansas community, it promotes research and teaching in interdisciplinary Middle East studies. The center offers an undergraduate major in Middle East Studies and supports graduate studies in related departments through the Middle East Studies Program, as well as summer language study and research assistantships for graduate students and teaching and research by visiting scholars from affiliated universities and programs.  More information about the King Fahd Center can be found at http://mest.uark.edu. For ongoing news, follow the center on Facebook and Twitter.