11/17/2004

Contact: Lisa Hall, African and African-American Studies, (785) 864-3054

KU to inaugurate Marwa Africana Lecture Series Nov. 18

LAWRENCE -- The African and African-American Studies Department at the University of Kansas will inaugurate its Marwa Africana Lecture Series Thursday, Nov. 18, with an appearance by scholar, author and documentarian Ali Mazrui.

Mazrui will speak on "A Crisis in Afro-Arab Relations?: Between Al-Qaeda and Darfur" at 7 p.m. in Room 110, Budig Hall. It is free and open to the public.

The lecture series was established last year through a gift from M.B. Marwa, a Harvard graduate and a Nigerian political and business leader. It is devoted to bringing distinguished leaders in Africa and the African Diaspora to KU to discuss matters of importance to Africana.

Mazrui, the Albert Schweitzer professor in the humanities and the director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at Binghamton University in New York, is the author of more than 20 books and numerous articles. His television work has included the 1986 series "The Africans: A Triple Heritage," jointly produced by the BBC and PBS.

An Oxford scholar, he has been chair of the board of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, Washington, D.C., and a board member of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University.

The lecture is sponsored by the Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost, and Office of the Dean of the Graduate School and International Programs. For more information, contact Lisa Hall by e-mail at lisah@ku.edu or call (785) 864-3054.

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