Description
Renowned experts, Barnaby Rogerson and Eugene Rogan, take a deep dive into the watershed moments that helped make and, at times, break the modern Middle East.
In his new book, The House Divided, Rogerson argues that at the heart of the Middle East’s conflicts and proxy wars is a 1,400-year-old schism between Sunni and Shia, which created a slender fault-line across the region shaping its religious, ethnic and national identities and rivalries.
Meanwhile, Rogan’s new book, The Damascus Events, charts the outbreaks of disorder across the Levant in the crisis years of the Ottoman Empire, when increasing social tensions resulted in the massacre of thousands of Christians in the beleaguered Syrian capital.
Join our experts as they unpick the chequered history of the modern Middle East and ask some challenging questions of a diverse region that is both incredibly culturally rich and yet fragile from the effects of empire and past and present power rivalries.
Please note, this venue has changed from the printed programme.
About the Authors
Barnaby Rogerson
Barnaby Rogerson is an author, publisher and journalist. Together with his partner Rose Baring, he runs Eland Publishing, which specializes in keeping the classics of travel literature in print. He has also written dozens of travel articles, book reviews and historical essays on various North African and Islamic themes, for Vanity Fair, Cornucopia, Conde Nast Traveller, Geographical, Traveller, Guardian, Independent, Telegraph, House & Garden, Harpers & Queen and the TLS.
Professor Eugene Rogan
Eugene Rogan teaches the modern history of the Middle East at the University of Oxford, where he serves as Director of the Middle East Centre. He is author of The Arabs: A History (Penguin, 2009, 2017), The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East (Penguin, 2015), and The Damascus Events: The 1860 Massacre and the End of the Old Ottoman Order. His works have been published in 19 languages.
About the Chair
Aaqil Ahmed
Professor Aaqil Ahmed is the former Head of Religion and Ethics at both the BBC and Channel 4. He is currently a Media, communications and diversity consultant and a Professor in media. Aaqil is a Non Executive Director of a number of organisations including The Advertising Standards Authority, OFCOM and The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.
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