Madison-Rafah Journal

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters
1922 University Avenue
Madison, WI 53726
www.wisconsinacademy.org

CONTACT
Barb Sanford, publicity and events manager, 608/263-1692 ext.
13, bsanford@wisconsinacademy.org
OR
Joan Fischer, director of Academy Evenings, 608/263-1692 X16, jfischer@wisconsinacademy.org

Special Middle East Series Opens Academy Evening Season

The cradle of civilization is now the world’s biggest tinderbox.
On the fifth anniversary of 9/11, the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences,
Arts and Letters will open its 2006/2007 Academy Evenings season in Madison’s
Overture Center for the Arts with "Understanding the Middle East," a
special five-part weekly series on issues pertaining to the Middle East.
Noted theologian Martin E. Marty, Chevron Corporation international strategy
counselor Jan Kalicki, sociology professor Joe Elder, and a number of
other experts will shed light on problems in the Middle East and examine
possible solutions.

Programs will take place at 7 pm Wednesdays, September 13 - October
11 at the Overture Center for the Arts, 201 State Street in Madison.
All programs are free and open to the public. Free tickets are recommended
to ensure seating and will be available beginning August 1 in the Wisconsin
Academy’s James Watrous Gallery at Overture, third floor. Summer
hours: Tues./Wed./Thurs. 11-5, Fri./Sat. 11-8, Sun. 1-5, closed Mondays.
We regret that tickets cannot be mailed or reserved by phone except for
attendees who reside outside of Dane County. They may order tickets from
Barb Sanford, bsanford@wisconsinacademy.org, 608/263-1692 X13 (email
preferred).

Wednesday, September 13, Capitol Theater, 7-8:30 pm
The Roots of Conflict–Joe Elder

Joe Elder, a UW-Madison sociology professor who was born to American
parents in Kurdish Iran, provides an overview of the region’s history
and the root sources of conflict. What are the main differences between
the major ethnic and religious groups? Do discrepancies between national
boundary lines versus ethnic and religious affiliations make enduring
conflict inevitable?

Wednesday, September 20, Capitol Theater, 7-8:30 pm
Rx for “Oil Addiction”: The Middle
East and Energy Security–Jan H. Kalicki

“The most serious challenge posed by the energy crisis is not
high oil prices, low inventories, or the fact that consumers are using
oil much faster than we find new resources. It is the damage oil dependence
poses to international security.” So says Jan H. Kalicki, counselor
for international strategy with the Chevron Corporation, senior scholar
with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and co-editor
of Energy and Security: Toward a New Foreign Policy Strategy (Wilson
Center Press and Johns Hopkins University Press). What are the security
consequences of growing oil imports from the Middle East? What should
Americans rethink in terms of our energy and national security needs?
Kalicki proposes ways to remedy our “addiction to oil” through
a foreign policy strategy that encompasses both national and energy security.

Wednesday, September 27, Capitol Theater, 7-8:30 pm
The Dilemma of Fundamentalism–Martin E. Marty

Professor and ordained minister Martin E. Marty (professor emeritus,
University of Chicago Divinity School), one of the world’s most
prominent theologians and a recipient of a National Humanities Medal,
on the dilemma of fundamentalism as opposed to constructive religious
practice, with an emphasis on how this problem pertains to the Middle
East.

Wednesday, October 4, Promenade Hall, 7-8:30 pm
Beyond the U.S. Veil: Women in the Middle East–Mary Layoun

How do women in the Middle East live or imagine their roles in society?
What does "democracy" mean for them? UW-Madison's Mary Layoun,
a professor of comparative literature with an emphasis on the history
and culture of the Middle East, will draw upon recent works of nonfiction,
fiction, film, and history to discuss the status and promise of women
in the Middle East.

Wednesday, October 11, Overture Lobby, 7-8:30 pm
Paths to Peace–Nadav Shelef and Ali Abootalebi

Nadav Shelef, a UW-Madison professor of Israel studies, and Ali Abootalebi,
a political science professor at UW-Eau Claire, present their views on
possible paths to peace in this embattled region.

The "Understanding the Middle East" series is sponsored by the
Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation.
The Wisconsin Academy thanks the foundation for its generous support.

The nonprofit Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, founded in 1870, connects people and ideas from all areas of knowledge and all walks of life to advance thought and culture in our state. The Wisconsin Academy's many programs include an art gallery for Wisconsin artists; a quarterly magazine about Wisconsin thought and culture (Wisconsin People & Ideas); public forums such as the Academy Evenings series; and the “Future of Farming and Rural Life in Wisconsin,” a public policy program that brings citizens together with farmers, universities, state and federal agencies, conservation organizations, agribusiness leaders, and other stakeholders to shed light on a sector that is at the heart of Wisconsin’s identity and economy. For more information please visit www.wisconsinacademy.org.