Dialogue

Nonviolence in the Time of Terror

Date: July 26, 2007
Time: 7:30pm to 9:30pm
Location: Cal Poly Pomona, Bronco Student Center (BSC), Centaurus Room

Based on interviews with activists involved in “terrorism” around the world, Professor Juergensmeyer attempts to get inside their minds and see the world from their points of view. He contends that nonviolent responses are far more effective than military action in quelling terrorism and bringing about a peaceful world. His talk will be followed by a dialogue with the audience. His books will also be available for purchase and book signing.

Event Flyer

Mark Juergensmeyer

Mark Juergensmeyer, is Director of the Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies, professor of Sociology, and affiliate professor of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He writes on global culture, religious violence, conflict resolution and South Asian religion and politics. He has published more than two hundred articles and twenty books, including most recently AHandbook of Global Religions and Religion in Global Civil Society. A new edition of his handbook of conflict resolution, Gandhi’s Way,includes a case study of nonviolent responses to terrorism.His widely-read Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence is based on interviews with religious activists around the world and was listed by the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times as one of the best nonfiction books of the year. A previous book, The New Cold War: Religious Nationalism Confronts the Secular State,was cited as a notable book of the year by the New York Times.

He is the 2003 recipient of the Grawemeyer Award for contributions to the study of religion, and is the 2004 recipient of the Silver Award of Spain’s Queen Sofia Center for the Study of Violence. He received an Honorary Doctorate from Lehigh Universityin 2004. He was recently elected president of the American Academy of Religion.

Since the events of September 11, Juergensmeyer has been a frequent commentator in the news media, including CNN, NBC, CBS, BBC, NPR, Fox News, ABC's Politically Incorrect, and CNBC's Dennis Miller Show.