DISTINGUISHED UA GRADUATE TO OFFER HARTMAN HOTZ LECTURE

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Dr. Charles King will deliver the first Harman Hotz lecture for the 1999-2000 academic year on November 1, when he will speak on "The Myths of Ethnic Conflict" at 7:30 p.m. in Old Main’s Giffels Auditorium. The lecture is free and the public is invited.

Dr. King teaches in the School of Foreign Service and the Department of Government at Georgetown University, where he is the inaugural holder of the Ion Ratiu Professorship, the only endowed post in the United States for the study of Romania and the Balkans. He is also a frequent commentator on CNN and the BBC. King is considered one of today’s top experts on ethnic conflict.

In his lecture, King says he plans to debunk several myths about ethnicity, national identify, and the role of both in internal conflicts.

"The general consensus seems to be that the post-Cold War world is characterized by reinvigorated ethnical hatreds, global disorder, and general anarchy," said King. "I’ll ask whether this is all right or not. As the title of my talk indicates, my view is that it isn’t."

King was among the first class of Sturgis Fellows at the University of Arkansas, graduating summa cum laude in history and philosophy in 1990. While at the U of A, King was named a Time College Achievement Scholar, in recognition of his outstanding scholarly record and promise.

King went on to Oxford as a Marshall Scholar, earning master’s and doctoral degrees in East European studies and political science. In 1995 the United Kingdom awarded him the Walter Bagehot Prize, the highest prize the UK gives to graduating doctoral students in political science.

After working as a research fellow at Oxford and a research associate at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, King won a Fulbright Senior Fellowship to Turkey in 1998. His articles have appeared in Foreign Policy and International Affairs, he has written opinion pieces for The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, and he appears frequently as a contributor to the Times Literary Supplement. The author of Ending Civil Wars, Nations Abroad, and The Moldovans, he is currently writing a contemporary history of the Balkans and the Near East.

"The timing of his return to campus could not be more appropriate, coming as it does on the 10^th year anniversary of the fall of Dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu in Romania," said Suzanne McCray, Associate Director of Honors.

Ceaucescu’s downfall was triggered by the rebellion of Reverend Laszlo Tokes, who was himself a Hotz Lecturer at the U of A in 1991. An ethnic Hungarian, the Reverend Tokes locked himself into his small church in Timisoara, Romania, in defiance of the government that hoped his eviction would stir ethnic hostilities.

The results, though, were unexpected. Romanians, Hungarians, and a host of other ethnic groups joined to create a human wall around the church. Ceaucescu, who deliberately and repeatedly tried to manipulate ethnic divisions, soon fell. Tokes proved a catalyst to the fall of communism in Eastern Europe.

King looks forward to meeting honors students and current Sturgis Fellows while he on campus. "They’re a spectacular bunch of folks whose many accomplishments I’ve followed through university publications, said King.

"I think Dr. King is a perfect example of the opportunities that the Sturgis Fellowship provides for outstanding students. Each time he appears on the BBC or writes an article for a national publication, we are reminded that UA graduates have an impact that is both impressive and far reaching," said Randall Woods, Interim Dean of Fulbright College.

The Hartman Hotz Lecture Series were established by Dr. and Mrs. Palmer Hotz in memory of his brother, Hartman Hotz, a distinguished UA alumnus. After graduating from Yale University Law School, Hartman Hotz joined the UA School of Law, where he made significant contributions to the study of law.

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