The symposium will address the complex issues related to extremist jihadi groups in the Middle East. The panelists will introduce the topic by providing detailed background information on these groups as well as the on area itself. They will then provide an up-to-date analysis on the current situation in these regions. It will conclude with a discussion of the implications for U.S. foreign policy followed by a Q&A session.
Recording available here.
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- Dr. Amr Al-Azm, Associate Professor of Middle East History and Anthropology at Shawnee State University - "Challenge and Response: The Rise of Radical Jihadi Islamic Groups in Syria and Iraq from Al-Qaeda to ISIS"
- Dr. Alam Payind, Director of the Middle East Studies Center - "Extremist Jihadi Groups throughout the Region and into Pakistan"
- Dr. Richard Herrmann, professor and chair of the Department of Political Science - "The Implications for U.S. Foreign Policy"
Guest speaker: Amr Al Azm, Associate Professor of Middle East History and Anthropology at Shawnee State University
Amr Al Azm was educated in the UK, reading Archaeology of Western Asiatics at the University College, London and graduated with a doctoral degree in1991. He was the Director of Scientific and Conservation Laboratories at the General Department of Antiquities and Museums (1999-2004) and taught at the University of Damascus until 2006. From 2006-2009 he became a visiting Assistant Professor at Brigham Young University. Currently he is an Associate Professor of Middle East History and Anthropology at Shawnee State University in Ohio.
Whilst working in Syria Amr Al-Azm was a first hand observer and sometime participant of the reform processes instigated by Bashar Al-Assad thus gaining insights into how they were enacted and why more often than not they failed. Furthermore he is an outspoken member of the Syrian opposition and a keen follower and commentator on current events in Syria and the Middle East in general. He has appeared as a Syria expert on leading television networks, including the CNN, BBC, Al-Jazeera, PBS and his voice can be heard regularly on NPR. He has written articles in numerous journals, and major media outlets including guest editorials for the New York Times and Time Magazine.
Amr Al-Azm is a founder and board member on The Day After project (TDA) and currently manages the Heritage Protection Initiative (HPI) for cultural heritage protection at the TDA. He is also a member of the ASOR Cultural Heritage Initiatives team.
This event is co-sponsored by the Mershon Center for International Security Studies and the Middle East Studies Center.
Parking and Accessibility
Faculty, staff and students with an Ohio State parking pass may park in the appropriate spots in any of the campus parking lots or garages. There is a small lot off Pennsylvania Avenue behind the Mershon Center. The closest parking garage is the 9th Avenue West Garage. Off-campus visitors may use one of a few meters in the small lot off Pennsylvania Avenue behind the Mershon Center, or more reliable paid parking can be found in the Safe Auto Hospitals Garage near the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center at 185 Westpark Street. Further parking accessibility information is located here.
For more information about this or other activities, please get in contact with the Middle East Studies Center, (614) 292-5897 To support our programs please go to our development page to donate, or consider joining our team!
