PP&E and Urban Studies Seminar Series

Security and State Transformation

This year's seminar series will continue as a collaboration between PP&E and Urban Studies. We have received another Founders Endowment grant for the series. The theme for the coming year is Security and State Transformation, a theme of immense importance for understanding our contemporary national and global order. Security is one of the key organizing concepts of the modern nation state. Arguably, national security has radically transformed the nation state, so much so that many scholars refer to it as the "national security state." It has been a transformation with enormous implications for democracy, civil liberties, human rights, and war and peace. In the United States, the national security paradigm has taken on new dimensions following September 11, 2001. In addition, a "human security" framework has emerged that emphasizes threats to populations, dangers from infectious diseases, environmental destruction, economic instability, and shortages of food and water." Several of the faculty in PP&E and Urban Studies are engaged in research that touches on these concerns and several courses offered at UW Tacoma touch on them as well. Because of this, we anticipate a broad interest in this Seminar Series among students and faculty of Urban Studies and IAS.

Joel Migdal is the Robert F. Phillip Professor of International Studies in the University Of Washington’s Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies.
“The U.S. as a Permanent Player in the Raucous Middle East.”
Thursday, October 27th
12:30 pm
Location: MAT 214

Dr. Migdal was the founding chair of the University of Washington’s International Studies Program. Dr. Migdal was formerly associate professor of Government at Harvard University and senior lecturer at Tel-Aviv University. Among his books are Peasants, Politics and Revolution; Palestinian Society and Politics; Strong Societies and Weak States; State in Society and Boundaries and Belonging. In 1993 he received the University of Washington’s Distinguished Teaching Award; in 1994, the Washington State Governor’s Writers Award; in 2006, the Marsha L. Landolt Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award; and in 2008, the Provost Distinguished Lectureship.