Scholar of Globalization to Speak March 11 in UA’s Aronov Lecture Series

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Dr. Arjun Appadurai, a noted social scientist, scholar of globalization and currently the John Dewey Distinguished Professor in the Social Sciences at The New School in New York City, will give The University of Alabama department of religious studies’ 2007-2008 Aaron Aronov Lecture.

His lecture, “The Offending Part: Sacrifice and Ethnocide in the Era of Globalization,” is at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 11 in Smith Hall Room 205 on the UA campus. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Appadurai’s lecture will address his recent work on violence, culture and globalization. His previous work on globalization, media and cultural flows has been drawn upon by social scientists, architects, designers, media scholars and humanists. He is working on the links among design, social science, urban forms and globalization.

He is the author of numerous books and articles, most recently “The Fear of Small Numbers” (2006). He has served as an adviser or consultant to numerous international organizations, including UNESCO, the World Bank and the Ford Foundation. He is the founder of a nonprofit organization in Mumbai, India, called PUKAR, or Partners for Urban Knowledge Action and Research, and is the founding co-editor of the academic journal Public Culture.

The Aaron Aronov Lecture Series, established in 2002, is named after the late Aaron Aronov. Its aim is to introduce to the UA community a nationally recognized scholar of religion who is capable of reflecting on issues of wide relevance to scholars from across the humanities and social sciences. In addition to the department of religious studies, the 2007-2008 Aronov Lecture is cosponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences, anthropology, African-American studies, English, history, New College and Women’s Studies.

UA’s College of Arts and Sciences is the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All American Team.

For more information, visit www.as.ua.edu/rel/events.htm, or contact Dr. Steven Ramey at sramey@as.ua.edu or 205/348-4218.