May 7, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Stephen R. Lloyd-Moffett
Cal Poly Religious Studies Program
(805) 756-2475
slloydmo@calpoly.edu
Award-Winning Professor to Talk on Islam in the Modern World
At Cal Poly May 12, 13
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- Zayn Kassam, chair of the Religious Studies Department at Pomona College, will give talks on Monday and Tuesday, May 12 and 13, as part of a Cal Poly lecture series on Islam in the Modern World.
Kassam will present “My Journey After 9/11” from 7 to 9 p.m. May 12 in the Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Building, Room 123. This talk explores American foreign policy, globalization, oil and the environment.
On May 13 from 11 a.m. to noon she will talk on “The Veil: Piety or Punishment,” also in the Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Building, Room 123. As one of the most visible features of Islam, the veil is often the subject of debate. This talk examines historical and cultural aspects of these debates and various meanings of the veil for Muslim women.
Kassam is a frequent commentator on Islam in the modern world. She has written a number of essays and articles on Islam, including “Gender Violence in Islam” which appeared in Religion, Terrorism and Globalization: Nonviolence – Towards a New Agenda. She is also the editor of the forthcoming volume “Activism, Gender and Islam.”
In 2005 she was awarded the American Academy of Religion’s Excellence in Teaching Award.
The free public lectures are sponsored by Cal Poly’s Religious Studies Program. The talk on May 12 is co-sponsored by Cal Poly’s MultiCultural Center. For more information, contact Stephen R. Lloyd-Moffett of Cal Poly’s Religious Studies Program at 756-2475 or slloydmo@calpoly.edu
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