In an era marked by continued turmoil in the Middle East, University of Lynchburg will host political philosopher Michael Walzer for a discussion of the conflicts between political and religious revolutions.
Walzer will present “After the Arab Spring: Can there be a Democratic Revolution and a Religious Revival in the Same Place at the Same Time?” on Monday, March 23, at 7:30 p.m. in Sydnor Performance Hall, Schewel Hall, for the 2015 John M. Turner Lecture in the Humanities. His talk is free and open to the public.
His lecture will discuss the Arab Spring—a series of political revolutions and major protests in several countries in the Middle East and northern Africa beginning about five years ago—and the political changes in the Arab world, including how the influence of Islam in those countries mirrors the influence of other religions on democratic revolutions.
As a professor, author, editor, and lecturer, Walzer has addressed a wide variety of topics in political theory and moral philosophy: political obligation, just and unjust war, nationalism and ethnicity, economic justice and the welfare state. His books and essays have played a part in the revival of practical, issue-focused ethics and in the development of a pluralist approach to political and moral life. His articles and interviews appear frequently in the world’s foremost newspapers and journals.
Walzer’s talk on March 23 is cosponsored by University of Lynchburg Hillel.
