Lambda of Texas, Texas Tech’s Phi Beta Kappa chapter, is pleased to once again host a PBK Visiting Scholar: Dr. Jamsheed Choksy, Distinguished Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington. The Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar Program offers undergraduates and other members of our university community the opportunity to spend time with eminent intellectual leaders for the purpose of facilitating the exchange of ideas and increasing interest in Phi Beta Kappa.
Dr. Choksy will deliver his principal lecture tomorrow on Thursday, October 4, 2018, at 6:00 p.m. in the Senate Room (125) of the Texas Tech Student Union Building. Entitled “State and Faith in Iran: Recent History as a Key to Understanding the Present,” the talk will discuss how Iran’s geography, natural resources, international relations, and domestic changes combined with foreign influences and interventions produce a political system in which the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government (not dissimilar to those of the U.S.) become subordinate to a theocratic establishment.
Dr. Jamsheed Choksy's writings and lectures explore why human existence is viewed as a struggle between good and evil, and how beliefs and practices shape people's lives and actions. He is a leading authority on the Arab conquest of Iran, Iraq, the Persian Gulf, and Central Asia, the spread of Islam, and the impact of faith on politics, international relations, and security. He is a member of the National Council on the Humanities, and has held fellowships from the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton), National Endowment for the Humanities (Washington, DC), Guggenheim Foundation, the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (Stanford), American Philosophical Society, and the American Academy of Religion. His many publications include Conflict and Cooperation: Zoroastrian Subalterns and Muslim Elites in Medieval Iranian Society.
Summary of event details:
Jamsheed Choksy - Distinguished Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington
“State and Faith in Iran: Recent History as a Key to Understanding the Present”
Date/Time: Thursday, October 4, 2018 at 6:00 p.m.
Location: Senate Room (125) of the TTU Student Union Building
We greatly look forward to seeing you at this memorable event.
