Leland Library Summinars partner with NMC International Affairs Forum
From staff reports
Leland Library Summinars will host two lectures this July, presented in partnership with the NMC International Affairs Forum (IAF), as part of a larger summer lecture series. Both programs will be held in the library’s Munnecke Room, with a livestream option available.
Arc of Fire: Understanding the Connected Wars in Today’s Middle East
On Thursday, July 2, at 4 p.m. (beginning with a reception at 3:30) historian Christina Michelmore traces the unfolding conflict in the Middle East over the past two and a half years, examining how each development shaped the next. Drawing on deep historical roots, the lecture explores why these disputes have proved so enduring, so emotionally wrought, and so hard to end.
Michelmore received her BA from Smith College and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Pennsylvania. She lived and worked in the Middle East for seven years, in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Pakistan. She joined Chatham University’s history department in 1984, chairing it off and on for 30 years, and has written academic articles and op-eds on American views of the Middle East and U.S. foreign policy. Following 9/11, she focused on public education about Middle Eastern people, cultures, and politics, directing the “Communities of Islam” program in2002. She was named Pennsylvania International Educator of the Year in 2004–2005 and retired in 2014.
Inhumanitarianism? The Origins and Purposes of the Modern Refugee Regime
Tuesday, July 14 at 4 p.m., reception beginning at 3:30 pm Laura Robson examines the century-long history of international refugee policy, tracing how it has functioned less to protect refugee rights than to remake displaced people into migrant labor serving the interests of states and global capital.
Robson is the Elihu Professor of Global Affairs and History at Yale University, where she studies international and Middle Eastern history with a focus on refugeedom, forced migration, and statelessness. She has published widely on refugee and minority rights, ethnic cleansing, and the international legal regimes around resettlement and asylum. She received her Ph.D. from Yale in 2009 and holds additional degrees from Tulane University, the Royal Academy of Music, and Oxford University.
Registration
Both lectures are free and open to the public, but registration is required for in-person attendance. To register, visit lelandlibrary.org/summinars or call the library. IAF members will receive livestream links directly.
For the full summer lecture series schedule, visit lelandlibrary.org/summinars.
For more information, contact Leland Township Library at programs@lelandlibrary.org or 231-256-9152.
