Lycoming College is pleased to announce Middle Eastern expert, Avi Melamed, will share his insights about events unfolding overseas at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 15.
The free event is open to the public and will be held in Honors Hall located at the corner of 4th and Basin on the Lycoming College campus. The speaker is sponsored by the department of political science and Global Affairs Affinity Community, which is one of several residential campus communities formed as part of a new program where students and faculty explore thematic academic interests beyond formal classroom boundaries.
Melamed, an educator and strategic intelligence analyst, will address the unstable and constantly changing environment of the Middle East that presents both hazards and opportunities in his lecture “GPS-Navigating the Middle East in the 21st Century.” His briefing provides the background to today’s current events and includes real-time analysis of events in the Arab and Muslim world. He also discusses the current and projected impact of these events on the local, regional and global level and predicts where the future might lead.
A noted author and frequent contributor in Arabic, Hebrew and English to worldwide news outlets, Melamed is the Fellow of Intelligence and Middle East Affairs for the Eisenhower Institute of Gettysburg College. He was a former Israeli intelligence official and senior official on Arab affairs. As an Israeli-Jew with a unique understanding of Arab society and culture, Melamed spent more than 20 years living in Arab cities and communities throughout the region, often in high-risk positions at sensitive times.
Melamed’s latest book, “Inside the Middle East: Making Sense of the Most Dangerous and Complicated Region,” is scheduled for release later this year.