Dr. Deepa Kumar is a well-known author who has spoken at dozens of university and community forums on Islamophobia, Political Islam, US foreign policy in the Middle East and women and Islam, Kumar has shared her expertise in media outlets that include BBC, The New York Times, NPR and USA Today. She began researching the politics of empire shortly after September 11, and her second book titled Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, examines ways in which the “Muslim enemy,” has historically been mobilized to suit the goals of empire. Dr. Kumar spoke at Evergreen February 26th, 2016.
Willi Unsoeld was a pioneering mountaineer whose first ascent of Everest’s West Ridge made him a legend.
He came to Evergreen as a founding facullty member and after his passing, donors established The Willi Unsoeld Seminar Series to honor his work and memory. This year’s event ties to Willi’s guiding philosophy that “the ultimate goal of all education is to help people treat each other better.” Dr. Deepa Kumar will present on the topic “In Search of Monsters to Destroy”: Islamophobia, the War on Terror and US Imperialism.
Willi Unsoeld, for whom the series is named, achieved fame for his first ascent of Mt. Everest’s West Ridge in 1963. But Unsoeld is often remembered in Washington as a mentor, philosopher and founding faculty member at The Evergreen State College, Unsoeld embodied the interdisciplinary spirit of the small liberal arts college. Past Unsoeld speakers have included Jim Hightower, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Terry Tempest Williams and Tom Hornbein.