Haleh Esfandiari - Iranian-American Scholar and author of My Prison, My Home
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 3 p.m. - Research I, Room 163
Scholar and journalist Esfandiari, founder of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Middle East Division, was detained and then imprisoned in her native Iran by authorities who suspected her of plotting to overthrow the Iranian government. Her new memoir, My Prison, My Home: One Woman's Story of Captivity in Iran, offers a behind-the-scenes account of her harsh ordeals and ultimate release, a poignant memoir of growing up in Iran, and an on-the-ground history of relations between the U.S. and Iran under four presidents.
The Life and Work of Vasily Aksyonov
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 6 p.m. - Harris Theater
Child of the gulag, exiled from his homeland, the Russian writer touched the lives of Mason's students during the years he served here as a Robinson Professor. With changes in the political climate, he was able to return to Russia, where he was welcomed as a hero. His most popular novels, The Burn, The Island of Crimea, and Generations of Winter, have been republished continually and sell out immediately throughout the Russian-speaking world. Many-times laureate, Aksyonov is considered one of the greatest Russian novelists of the 20th century. Join a panel of writers and scholars who knew him and his work, and see how his work made him a legend in his time.
Russ Banham - Business Journalist and author of The Fight for Fairfax
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 7 p.m. - Johnson Center, Room C
The author of The Fight for Fairfax discusses the past half-century of efforts to transform Fairfax County, Virginia, from a suburb of Washington, D.C., into a vibrant economic hub in its own right, boasting modern industries, high paying jobs, superior public schools, multicultural workforce and abundant open spaces.
September 14, 2009