Santa Clara University

Political Science Professor Cynthia Boaz, from Sonoma State. Professor Jane Curry from Santa Clara University, and Professor Farid Senzai from Santa Clara University will speak on a panel regarding: Should the United States Promote Democracy Throughout the World?

Professor Cynthia Boaz, an assistant professor of political science, is an expert in global nonviolent struggles, strategic nonviolent conflict, political development, quality of democracy, media coverage of war and conflict, women-led movements in US and Iran and the Burmese pro-democracy movement. She is an academic advisor for the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict.

For more information, please visit her website.

Professor Jane Curry teaches courses in Comparative Politics.  Currently, these include the Introduction to Comparative Politics as well as Democracy and Democratization, Post Communist Systems, Media and Politics in Developed States, Race and Ethnic Politics in Developed States (including the US), and Negotiation and Mediation of International Conflicts.  She is also teaching a special Critical Thinking and Writing set of courses as a part of Santa Clara University's new CORE curriculum.  These are on Making Change Happen: 1968 and 1989 and Beyond.

She is currently completing a book on the People's Revolutions in Serbia, Georgia, and Ukraine based on her interview research in those countries in 2006 and 2007.  It is a part of the debate on democracy promotion versus internal causes for these dramatic events.  This is a continuation of her work on Poland, the communist and post communist experiences.  She is a co-editor with Sharon Wolchik, George Washington University, of Politics in Central and East Europe.  In addition, she has just had an entry on Mass Media and Politics acepted for the International Encyclopedia of Political Science.  Her previous work has been focused more on Poland and Central and East Europe during the communist period, in transition, and currently: 6 other books and numerous articles in scholarly and opinion journals.

For more information, please visit her website.

Professor Farid Senzai is an assistant professor in the political science department at Santa Clara University. Farid Senzai teaches Politics of the Middle East. He also teaches courses on U.S. foreign policy, international relations and comparative politics, with an emphasis on the Middle East. His current research explores U.S. democracy promotion in the Middle East, U.S. relations with the Muslim world and a national study of Muslims in America.

For more information, please visit his website.