Kingston, R.I. – August 27, 2014 – A British university professor widely known for his work in the Middle East and North Africa on political, social and economic impacts of counter radicalism and de-radicalism will speak at the University of Rhode Island in early September as part of URI’s Distinguished Visiting International Scholars Program.
Professor Hamed El-Said, chair and professor of international business and political economy at the Manchester Metropolitan University Business School in the United Kingdom will also meet with students, faculty and administrators throughout the week and speak at two free public forums.
• On Monday, Sept. 15, he will lecture on “The Rise of Political Islam in the Arab World,” from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at the URI University Club, 95 Upper College Road on the Kingston campus with a reception to follow. The forum is free and open to the public. , Registration is required as space is limited. Please register now.
• On Thursday, Sept. 18, in conjunction with the UN International Day of Peace, El-Said will be part of a panel discussion on “New Approaches to Countering Global Terrorism,” at Swan Hall, Agnes Doody Auditorium, 60 Upper College Road on the Kingston campus. A reception will be held from 6 to 7 p.m., with the panel discussion to begin at 7 p.m. introductory video remarks will be made by U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, chairman of Armed Services Committee. Reed formerly served in the U.S. Army and was a professor of social sciences at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Along with El-Said and Reed, Marc Genest, a terrorism expert and professor of the strategy and policy department at the Naval War College and former URI professor of political science and recipient of the university’s teaching excellence award, will also present.
El-Said serves as a consultant to the United Nations on matters of violent extremism, counter-radicalization and de-radicalization, advisory services to the Jordanian Government on Privatization and Trade Liberalization, and is founding member of the Centre for International Business and Innovation.
He is best known for his work on economic and political reforms in the Arab World; the social and economic impact of International Monetary Fund/World Bank Stabilization and Structural Adjustment Programs in the Middle East and North Africa.
El-Said’s visit is supported by URI’s Distinguished International Visiting Scholars program through URI’s Office of the Provost, with additional support from the URI Center for Nonviolence & Peace Studies, and the Departments of Political Science, Philosophy, and Economics. Scholars from all over the world come to URI for weeklong events with students, faculty and administrators and free public forums.
This release was written by Rachel Smith, a graduate assistant for the URI Marketing and Communication Department.