Anti-Immigrant Fanaticism in U.S. and Europe Focus of Roundtable Discussion at NYU’s Institute for Public Knowledge—Dec. 9

New York University’s Institute for Public Knowledge will host a roundtable discussion, “The Background of Xenophobia: Cultural and Political Roots of Anti-Immigrant Fanaticism in Europe and United States,” on Friday, December 9, 6-8 p.m. at 20 Cooper Square, 5th Floor Conference Room (between 5th and 6th Streets). Subways: 6 (Astor Place); N, R (8th Street).

The event, part of the Reset-Dialogues on Civilizations Series, is free and open to the public. For more information and to RSVP, go to: http://www.nyu.edu/ipk/events/205. Reporters interested in attending must RSVP to Juliana DeVries at juliana.devries@resetdoc.org. Photo ID required for entry.

In Europe and the United States, economic and social uncertainty, the arrival of new waves of immigrants, and the persistence of a perceived threat from Islamist terrorist groups have laid the groundwork for xenophobia. We see extremism bubbling to the surface in the demonstrations against Park51 or in anti-Hispanic rhetoric, in hyper-nationalist parties in Europe or in the pseudoscientific anti-Islamic literature in the Norway shooter’s possession. This roundtable discussion will examine the cultural and political roots of these fanaticisms as they affect public life from the Netherlands to France, from Arizona to New York.

Participants include: Seyla Benhabib, Eugene Meyer Professor of Political Science and Philosophy at Yale University and director of its Program in Ethics, Politics, and Economics;
Benjamin Barber, Distinguished Senior Fellow at Demos and president and director of the international NGO CivWorld; Ian Buruma, Luce Professor of Democracy, Human Rights, and Journalism at Bard College; Jytte Klausen, Lawrence A. Wien Professor of International Cooperation at Brandeis University and an affiliate at the Center for European Studies at Harvard University; and Giancarlo Bosetti, director of Reset-Dialogues on Civilizations.