Sept. 20: Pierre Atlas on “What I did on My Summer Vacation: Reflections on Cuba and Israel”

Pierre Atlas will discuss his recent trips to Israel and Cuba as the lead-off for the Indiana Council on World Affair's Distinguished Speakers series in its new location of The Marten House

When: Wednesday, September 20 Social hour 5:30-6:30; dinner 6:30-7:15; talk 7:15-8:45

Where: The Marten House 1801 West 86th Street Indianapolis 46260 (NOT Butler University)

In May 2006, Pierre Atlas represented Marian College on a 6-day trip to Cuba with members of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and Catholic Relief Services. The goal of the trip was to deepen the relationship that exists between the Indy Archdiocese and Catholic Charities-Cuba, and in particular with the Archdiocese of Camaguey, and the group spent time in both Camaguey and Havana.

In June, Pierre was one of 22 American academics invited to participate in a two-week workshop on the Arab-Israeli conflict sponsored by Tel Aviv University. The group met with Israeli and Palestinian scholars, journalists and activists and traveled throughout Israel, including up to the Lebanese border where they saw Hizbollah flags flying on the other side. Two weeks after his return to the US, the Lebanon conflict erupted.

At the Marten House (not Butler University!) Pierre will share his experiences from Cuba and Israel, and will offer his analysis of both the current crisis in the Middle East and the potential challenges and opportunities of a post-Fidel Cuba.

Pierre Atlas is an assistant professor of political science and director of the Franciscan Center for Global Studies at Marian College. He also writes a bi-weekly opinion column for the Indianapolis Star and a monthly online column for RealClearPolitics.com.

Did I mention this will be at The Marten House 1801 West 86th Street Indianapolis 46260? Don't go to Butler!

This will be a great talk, you should not miss it. For more information about Pierre's trips, see the Inter/View at the forerunner of "Views -- PR&I," which will be part of the soon to be launched electronic magazine Provocate.

Reservations for this special talk and dinner (at the Marten House!) should be made by calling 317-566-2036, or e-mailing cmatthewfox@gmail.com. E-mail reservations must have the subject heading "ICWA Dinner Reservations" and must contain all contact information, including name, address, telephone, and number of reservations being made. All reservations must be received by the end of the day Thursday Sept. 14. This is also the date by which any cancelations must be received.

Dinner for ICWA members is $22 per person, $24 for non-members. If you would like to attend only the talk, the cost for ICWA members is $3; for nonmembers, the talk alone is $4.

Oh yeah, it is at The Marten House, not Butler.

If you like this event ... Pierre is hosting an important Lebanese expert at Marian College, Akram Khater, on September 14. Khater was on the trip to Israel Pierre will discuss. All three films showing for the "My Daily Constitution" Film Festival are connected to Pierre's talk: Control Room is about the Arab News network Al-Jazeera; Persons of Interest is about Muslims in the US; and Our Brand is Crisis is about the attempted export of American-style political flim-flam to young democracies (perhaps the fate of Cuba soon).