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Falmouth Forum Series 2004-2005
"U.S.-Arab Relations and the al Jazeera Factor"
William A. Rugh
January 7, 2005 - Lillie Auditorium, 7:30 PM.
Lectures are free and open to the public.
America's involvement with the Arab world goes back little more than half a century, but the Arab-American relationship has changed markedly over those few decades. Arabs at first had overwhelmingly positive attitudes toward the United States, while many tended to be highly critical of some other countries. Today the roles are reversed. Public opinion polls show the U.S. president among the least admired and also demonstrate alarming support for al Qaida and Usama bin Ladin, America's Enemy Number One. Despite these troublesome signs, Arabs have by and large maintained their respect and admiration for most aspects of American society and culture. In his lecture, William Rugh will offer some ideas and analyses to explain these contradictions.
William Rugh was a U.S. Foreign Service Officer from 1964 to 1995, serving in Washington and at seven Middle Eastern diplomatic posts including U.S. Ambassador to Yemen from 1984 to 1987 and to the United Arab Emirates from 1992 to 1995. From 1995 until 2003 Rugh was President and CEO of an American non-profit organization called AMIDEAST that undertakes educational projects in the Middle East. Currently he is an Associate of Georgetown University's Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, an Adjunct Scholar at the Middle East Institute, a Trustee of the American University in Cairo, and a Board Member at AMIDEAST. Rugh holds a Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University. He was an adjunct professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University from 1987 to 1989 and has published numerous journal and op-ed articles on Middle Eastern subjects. In March 2004, Praeger/Greenwood published his book Arab Mass Media and in December 2004, the Public Diplomacy Council in Washington D.C. published a book that he edited titled, Engaging with the Arab and Islamic Worlds Through Public Diplomacy: A Report and Action Recommendations.
A buffet dinner precedes each lecture at 6:00 pm, in the Swope Dining Room. Tickets for the dinners must be purchased in advance. For more information, contact the MBL Communications Office at: (508) 289-7423 or
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