Arab Spring Lecture Today Brings Together History, Political Science
Through a collaborative initiative by the history and political science departments, AUC President Lisa Anderson will deliver a lecture today titled "Outcomes of the Arab Spring in Tunisia and Libya: The Value of History in Political Analysis.” This lecture is aimed at showing students how they can benefit from interdisciplinary studies, focusing on the interplay between history and politics.
Emphasizing the importance of history in understanding contemporary politics, Ibrahim Elnur, chair of the political science department noted, “The Department of Political Science strives to equip students with the necessary skills to develop an understanding of the contemporary world and an appreciation of the complex processes, institutions and value allocation systems that characterize human communities,” he said. “In this context, historical dimensions offers much needed lenses to understand the trajectories of human community development.”
Michael Reimer, chair of the history department, agreed, “This lecture can help students studying political science and related fields to think seriously about double majoring or minoring in history because, in lots of ways, it will deepen their understanding of the subjects they are studying, and it will hone their skills in, like identifying and locating relevant sources for their research and reading them critically.”
Anderson is a distinguished political scientist and Middle East specialist, having served as a professor of international relations and chair of Columbia University’s Middle East Institute. “She has done pioneering research on Tunisia and Libya,” said Reimer. “This scholarship demonstrates that she knows and values the contribution of historical study to the understanding of contemporary affairs.”
The lecture will be held in Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Hall, room P071 on Monday, September 14 from 1 to 2 pm. Though geared toward students of history and political science, all interested students are welcome to attend.
