Robin Wright, a foreign correspondent, television commentator and author of “Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World,” will speak Nov. 14 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Robin Wright, a foreign correspondent, television commentator and author of “Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World,” will speak Nov. 14 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Topics will include the diverse political, social, cultural and grassroots forces changing the Middle East and the Islamic world, including the Arab Spring uprisings. The free public program will be at 5:30 p.m. in Memorial Hall, 140 E. Cameron Ave.
Before the lecture, Wright will sign copies of her book during a free public reception, starting at 4 p.m. in Gerrard Hall, 160 E. Cameron Ave. Limited parking is available in the Swain and Hanes lots along Cameron and commercial lots on Rosemary Street.
Wright will engage in conversation with Hodding Carter III, UNC’s University Professor of Leadership and Public Policy and State Department spokesperson for President Jimmy Carter during the Iran hostage crisis. Hodding Carter, an Emmy award-winning journalist, joined the UNC faculty in 2006.
Wright comes to campus as the Frey Foundation Distinguished Visiting Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences.
She has reported from more than 140 countries on six continents for The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Time magazine, The Sunday Times of London, Foreign Affairs, the International Herald Tribune and other publications. She also has appeared on “Meet the Press,” “This Week,” “Face the Nation” and other broadcast news programs on every major network.
Publishers Weekly called “Rock the Casbah,” her fifth book, “an accessible and riveting account for readers looking to learn more about the post-9/11 Islamic world.”
Wright has won the U.N. Correspondents Association Gold Medal for coverage of foreign affairs, the National Magazine Award and the Overseas Press Club Award for “best reporting in any medium requiring exceptional courage and initiative.” The American Academy of Diplomacy named her journalist of the year in 2004. She has received a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation grant and has been a fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Brookings Institution.
The Huffington Post wrote: “…Wright is one of the most capable observers of the Middle East. … her chronicles of counter-jihad, anti-militancy and women’s mobilization are a timely contribution.”
The Frey Foundation Professorship was established in 1989 to bring to campus distinguished leaders from government, public policy and the arts. Alumnus David Gardner Frey chairs the foundation established by his parents, Edward J. and Frances Frey of Grand Rapids, Mich.
Book websites: http://www.robinwright.net, http://tinyurl.com/3zcgolp
Photo: http://uncnews.unc.edu/images/stories/news/government/2011/wright-robin.jpg
College of Arts and Sciences contact: Dee Reid, (919) 843-6339, deereid@unc.edu
News Services contact: L.J. Toler, (919) 962-8589, laura_toler@unc.edu