A prominent historian of the Middle East, Akram Khater, will be the next speaker on Denison University's series of lectures on the theme of "home." Khater will speak on "Syrian or Lebanese, Caucasian or Asian: A Case of (Mis)Taken Identities in the New World" at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday (Feb. 9) in Slayter Auditorium. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the McGregor Fund program, which is designed to enhance student intellectual engagement through shared, theme-related experiences both inside and outside the classroom.

Khater is the author of "Inventing Home: Emigration, Gender and the Middle Class in Lebanon, 1870-1920," a book that examines the experiences of peasants from Mount Lebanon who emigrated to the Americas and then returned home prior to World War I. He contends that their assertion of middle-class identity, which they had seen and experienced in America, profoundly shaped Lebanese society, especially its definitions of gender roles and family life. It is estimated that one third of Lebanon's population emigrated and that nearly half of those emigrants returned home prior to WWI.

An associate professor of history of North Carolina State University, Khater also serves as director of the college's International Programs in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. He earned a bachelor's degree in electronics engineering at California State Polytechnic University, a master's degree in history from the University of California - Santa Cruz and his doctorate at the University of California - Berkeley.

Khater was inducted into the North Carolina State University's Academy of Outstanding Faculty Engaged in Extension in 2003 and won the Outstanding Junior Faculty Award in 2000. A native of Lebanon, Khater also has written a volume on Sources for the History of the Middle East and serves as an editor of the History Computer Review. He is a member of the Middle East Studies Association, the Association for Middle East Women's Studies, the Triangle Islamic Studies Group and the Mediterranean Studies Group.

Calendar Listing:

CALENDAR LISTING: Denison University, Granville -- Middle East historian Akram Khater speaking on "Syrian or Lebanese, Caucasian or Asian: A Case of (Mis)Taken Identities in the New World"; 11:30 a.m., Thursday (Feb. 9), Slayter Auditorium (200 North Road). Free and open to the public. Contact 740-587-6251 to confirm information.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

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