By Mary Hawkins, The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication
PULLMAN – The recent Egyptian revolution and unrest in Arab politics will be examined in a free public lecture at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 15, in Smith CUE 203 as part of WSU’s Common Reading Tuedays series.
Speaker Lawrence Pintak, founding dean of The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, has more than 30 years of journalism experience across four continents. He recently published a book, “The New Arab Journalist: Mission and Identity in a Time of Turmoil,” and often is sought by media as an expert on Middle Eastern affairs.
The series features WSU faculty, staff, students and guests. Lectures focus on topics from the 2010-11 common reading book for freshmen, “Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” by Greg Mortenson.
Pintak, a former CBS News Middle East correspondent, said the dramatic scenes from Cairo and last month’s Tunisian revolt are the product of a “perfect storm” of media and popular discontent in the Arab world.
“The rise of Arab satellite television and the use of social media by political activists has changed the way Arabs see their world and has created a disconnect between the West and the Muslim world,” he said.
Pintak is in demand by newspapers as well as by radio and television networks in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia to provide context for the unrest in Egypt, Tunisia and elsewhere. He was scheduled to appear on the Feb. 14 edition of the PBS NewsHour TV program.
The Common Reading Program is part of the University College. For each of the past four years, the program has selected a book to be used in classes and programming across campus.
Book nominations for the 2011-12 school year are being reviewed by the selection committee. For more information visit http://CommonReading.wsu.edu or, on Facebook, http://facebook.com/CommonReading.