Professor of Law to Discuss Honor Killings in North America and Europe, April 28

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Professor Lisa Avaos

The King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Arkansas is pleased to announce "Killing a Daughter in the Name of Honor: the Problem of Honor Killings in North America and Europe," a special guest lecture by Lisa Avalos, associate professor at the University of Arkansas Law School. The lecture will take place at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, April 28, in Old Main Room 208, and is free and open to the public.

Professor Avalos' research focuses on international human rights with an emphasis on women's human rights, gender-based violence, and sexual violence. She works with international nongovernmental organizations to develop policy solutions that address persistent human rights violations such as rape, child marriage, and honor-based violence. Her teaching interests include legal research and writing as well as international human rights.

Professor Lisa Avalos earned her J.D. from New York University School of Law. She also holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in sociology from Northwestern University, and a B.A. in psychology from Northwestern University.

Prior to joining the University of Arkansas faculty, professor Avalos spent two years at Georgetown University Law Center, teaching in the legal research and writing program and developing a practicum course on Gender-based Violence and Human Rights. Prior to that, she worked as an associate in the corporate departments of McDermott, Will & Emery (New York) and Neal, Gerber, & Eisenberg (Chicago). While at McDermott, she served on the Young Lawyers' Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and was active in the firm's pro bono program, successfully winning asylum for a client fleeing human rights abuses. At Neal Gerber, she was a member of the Diversity Committee and was a volunteer attorney with the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation.

Prior to law school, professor Avalos was an assistant professor of sociology at Grinnell College, specializing in inequalities of race, class and gender.

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, the Center promotes research and teaching in interdisciplinary Middle East studies.  The Center offers an undergraduate major in Middle East Studies through the Middle East Studies (MEST) Program and supports graduate studies in related departments with graduate assistantships, as well as summer language study, field research grants, 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.