Dr. Paul M. Sniderman, professor of political science at Stanford University, will speak on “Muslims and Multiculturalism in Western Europe” at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, March 18, in Room GR 2.302 of Green Hall at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). There will be a reception immediately following the lecture in the Green Center Commons.
Sniderman’s talk, which is part of the Cecil and Ida Green Distinguished Lecture Series and is free and open to the public, will focus on The Netherlands, where writer, TV producer, filmmaker and talk show host Theo Van Gogh was assassinated on Nov. 2, allegedly at the hands of an Islamic extremist.
Sniderman will analyze what is driving the conflict between Muslim immigrants and Western Europeans. One popular answer is that it is material self-interest; another is that it is fear of crime and concern for personal safety. Sniderman’s research, however, demonstrates that both of these explanations are wrong. Instead, he says, the conflict is driven by both a clash of values and a fear that the national identity is threatened.
Sniderman has received the Harold D. Lasswell Award for distinguished scientific lifetime contribution to the study of political psychology and has written 12 books and more than 50 articles. He has been a Guggenheim fellow, a Mellon fellow, a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, and is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
For more information on the lecture, please contact Dr. Jim Murdoch, dean of UTD’s School of Social Sciences, at 972-883-4989 or at murdoch@utdallas.edu.