The weekly update on the Secular Policy InstituteÔÇÖs Fellows
by Madeline Schussel
Last week, SPI Fellow Elham Manea, Professor at the University of ZurichÔÇÖs Institute for Political Science, solidified publication plans for her next book, Women and Shari’ah Law: The Impact of Legal Pluralism in the UK, which will be released in 2016. She has already published numerous academic and nonfiction books in English, German, and Arabic, in addition to two novels. Her latest was a book entitled The Arab State and WomenÔÇÖs Rights: The Trap of Authoritarian Governance. Manea is a Ph.D. and Fulbright scholar specializing in studies of the Middle East. Her research compares the gender and general politics (including ÔÇ£democratizationÔÇØ and ÔÇ£civil societyÔÇØ) of countries in the Arabian Peninsula and MENA regions. She also serves as a consultant for Swiss government agencies and international human rights organizations. Recently, the Swiss Federal Council appointed her as a Member of the Federal Commission for WomenÔÇÖs Issues.
If youÔÇÖre in the Netherlands or Germany, there is still time to catch Skeptic Society founder SPI Fellow Michael Shermer on tour for his latest book, The Moral Arc. He will be in Nijmegen March 13th, in Cologne March 15th, in Dusseldorf March 16th, in Tilburg March 17th, in both Eindhoven and Leiden March 19th, and in Amsterdam March 20th for his final Europe stop. A full schedule of event dates and locations is available on the bookÔÇÖs website.
Shermer also appears in Merchants of Doubt, a new Sony Classics documentary feature about climate change. The movie is already playing in select theatres in New York and Los Angeles and is being released in San Francisco, Chicago, and D.C. this week. Next week, the film will add San Diego, Denver, and Houston to this list, and it will hit Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Seattle (among many other cities) by the end of the month. Nationwide releases will continue throughout April. For a full list of theatres and to buy tickets, visit the distributorÔÇÖs website.