Role of Jihad in Islamic politicsApril 8, 2009 KALAMAZOO--"The Politics of Jihad in Islamist Thought" is the topic of a lecture Wednesday, April 15, on the campus of Western Michigan University. Dr. Roxanne L. Euben, the Mildred Lane Kemper Professor and chair of the Department of Political Science at Wellesley College, will speak at 7 p.m. in the Kirsch Auditorium of WMU's Fetzer Center. The event, which is free and open to the public, is the Institute of Government and Politics' 2008-09 Samuel I. Clark Lecture, named for a political scientist who was the founding dean of the Lee Honors College. A reception in the Fetzer Center lobby will follow the talk. Also during her visit, on Thursday, April 16, Euben will talk about her 2006 book, "Journey to the Other Shore: Muslim and Western Travelers in Search of Knowledge," at noon in the Political Science Library on the third floor of Friedmann Hall. She will use the book title as a springboard for a discussion about post-9/11 challenges to doing research on Islam and Muslim political thought. Euben specializes in the comparative study of Western and non-Western political thought, Muslim political thought and Muslim feminist theory. Her other major book in that area is "Enemy in the Mirror: Islamic Fundamentalism and the Limits of Modern Rationalism." She earned her doctoral degree at Princeton University in 1995. Contact For more information about both events, contact Dr. Susan Hoffmann, associate professor of political science, at susan.hoffmann@wmich.edu or (269) 387-5692. Media contact: Deanne Molinari, (269) 387-8400, deanne.molinari@wmich.edu WMU News |