?A Day of Learning with Dr. Omar Ali?
May 15, 2012 10:00 am ? 2:15 pm with lunch– $10 per person
7400 York Road, Suite 100
10 a.m. ? noon ?Independent Voters and the 2012 Election?
Dr. Ali will examine the history of independent political movements in the United States?from the Abolitionists and Populists of nineteenth century to the Civil Rights movement and today?s movement for non-partisan political reform. Forty percent of voters currently self-identify as neither Democrat nor Republican. Who are these independent voters and what, if anything, do they have in common with the Occupy movement and other movements for political and economic changes in the nation?
Lunch: Noon ? 1 p.m.
(chicken salad, pasta/veggie salad, tomato/cucumber salad, rolls, cookies, soft drinks)
1 pm. ? 2:15 p.m. ?Islam and the African Diaspora in the Indian Ocean World?
Most of us are familiar with the contributions of Africans and their descendents in the making of the Atlantic world, but few of us know about the contributions of Africans to the cultures and societies of the Middle East and South Asia. Based on an exhibit that Dr. Ali did for the New York Public Library, he will discuss how Africans shaped both Islam and the societies into which they migrated across the Indian Ocean world. Documentary clips, coupled with art history, will be included.
Omar H. Ali is Associate Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He received his Ph.D. in History from Columbia University and previously served on the faculty of the History Department at Towson University. Dr. Ali is the author of several books and has appeared on CNN, NPR, and PBS.
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Towson University is a component of Center for Professional Studies(CPS) and the Division of Economic and Community Outreach (DECO).
For more information, please contact Jacqueline Gratz, jgratz@towson.edu,
410-704-3437 or Lynne Haas, lhaas@towson.edu, 410-704-3688.
