Tariq Ali in Sydney

UK activist, historian and author Tariq Ali, will speak about the political revolution across Latin America and its implications for the Middle East at Sydney Ideas, the University of Sydney’s International public lecture series. Here are the details:

Fresh from a tour of Latin America, the author of Pirates of the Caribbean: Axis of Hope (2006) will discuss how the views of Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez – the foremost challenger of American foreign policy – have polarised Latin American.

In his engaging and well-informed style, Ali will discuss his first-hand experience with the political leaders and systems of Latin America and show how Latin America is challenging the “Washington Consensus” of US policies that aim to expand the role of market forces and constrain the role of the state.

Ali’s lecture, titled “Latin America and the Arab World: Resistance and Occupation,” will take the Sydney Ideas audience through a world divided between privilege and poverty and will show how the situation in Latin America could not be more different to the Arab world. Both Latin America and the Arab world have sparked intense hostility from the West by challenging neoliberalism, but according to Ali, the resistance in the Middle East is divided and without the social vision to unite people.

Sydney Ideas event details (www.usyd.edu.au):

What: “Latin America and the Arab World: Resistance and Occupation”. Tariq Ali at Sydney Ideas, the University of Sydney’s international public lecture series.

When: 6.30pm, Tuesday, 26 June, 2007Where: The Seymour Theatre Centre, Cnr Cleveland St and City Rd, The University of Sydney.

Cost: $20/$15 concession. A limited number of free tickets are available for Sydney University staff and students. (Contact box office for availability.)

Bookings: (02) 9351 7940