DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

IMES Lecture Series
The Public Security Speak with ‘the Voice of Syria’: Syria’s First Experiment with Authoritarian Culture
With Keven Martin

Kevin Martin will speak about the culture of authoritarianism under Syrian military dictator Adib al-Shishakli, who dominated the country’s politics from 1949 to 1954. He will examine the way print and broadcast media were used to elaborate a cult of personality surrounding al-Shishakli, to celebrate authoritarianism, embodied in “The Leader,” and in the armed forces and security services under his command.

Dr. Martin is Assistant Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at Indiana University. His teaching fields include the modern Middle East, the
modern Islamic World, the modern Levant (Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq), and various aspects of the cultural history of the modern Arab world.

The IMES Lecture Series is supported by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Resource Center (NRC) grant program.