Conference on “Clash or Dialog of Civilizations”
The Institute of Interfaith Dialog (IID), and the Intercultural and Interfaith Dialog Student Association (IIDSA) hosted a panel discussion on Samuel Huntington’s theory of clash of civilizations on April 29th, 2010 at Alderson Auditorium. In 1992, political scientist Samuel Huntington put forth the theory of the Clash of Civilizations.
He suggested that since the cold war clash of ideologies had come to an end, that in the future, conflict would instead be focused around the concept of differing cultures and religions. He delineated several different areas of the world as particular 'cultures' that might face conflict with each other. Among those he listed as potential enemies were the West and the Muslim World. This conference tried to find answers to following questions: "Is the clash of civilizations inevitable? What should / can be done?" The speakers included Dr. Beverly Mack, Professor at African Studies, KU, Rev. Tom Brady, Senior Pastor, First United Methodist Church, Dr. Abdulbaki Agbas, Professor at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, and Dr. John J. Kennedy, Professor at Political Science, KU.
