MILLS HOSTS RENOWNED MOROCCAN AMERICAN SCHOLAR/AUTHOR TO DISCUSS “THE CULTURAL POLITICS OF REGIME CHANGE” 

Anouar Majid to Lecture on Monday, April 9

Oakland, CA - Anouar Majid, described by Princeton professor Cornel West as “one of a few towering Islamic intellectuals,” will appear at Mills College on Monday, April 9, 2007, to discuss "The Cultural Politics of Regime Change." Majid is considered a leading figure in examining the place of religion and Islam in postcolonial theory and the culture of globalization.

The event is free and open to the public at 7 pm in the Mills College Student Union, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613. A public reception will be held before the talk at 6:30 pm.

Majid, chair of English, teaches a variety of courses in the humanities at the University of New England in Maine. He is the author of three books and a novel: A Call for Heresy: Why Dissent is Vital to Islam and America (forthcoming in 2007); Freedom and Orthodoxy: Islam and Difference in the Post-Andalusian Age (2004); Unveiling Traditions: Postcolonial Islam in a Polycentric World (2000); and Si Yussef (1992), considered the first Moroccan novel published in English. Majid is working on a project tentatively titled Specters of the Moor: Islam and Minorities in the Modern West.

According to Majid, despite the discourse of liberty that informs the U.S. venture in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East, the process of political transformation is unlikely to enshrine new freedoms for Muslims. He points out that because the notion of "regime change" is limited to politics and does not address the cultural and social foundations of Iraqi or Afghani societies, U.S. intervention is more likely to rehabilitate religious fundamentalism by shrouding it in the aura of democracy. 

The event is sponsored by the Mills College French and Francophone Studies Department, the Office of the Provost and Dean of Faculty, the Women's Studies Program, the Government Department, the Muslim Students Association, Student Diversity Programs, and the Office of Spiritual and Religious Life.

Mills College is a nationally renowned, independent liberal arts college offering innovative degree programs for undergraduate women, and graduate degree and certificate programs for women and men. Consistently recognized as one of the top 100 liberal arts colleges in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Mills currently ranks among the top 20 most diverse liberal arts colleges. The New York Times recently selected Mills as one of three leading California colleges for students to consider.

In 2006, the Washington Monthly College Rankings named Mills a leading liberal arts college based on community service, research spending, quality of preparation for graduate education, and social mobility. In addition, The Princeton Review’s annual guide, the Best 361 Colleges (2007) included Mills for the second year in a row among top U.S. institutions offering students an outstanding undergraduate education.

Nestled in the foothills of Oakland, California, on 135 lush acres, Mills provides a dynamic liberal arts education fostering women’s leadership, social responsibility, and creativity.

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