Baltimore, Md. – Benjamin R. Barber, author of the book Jihad vs. McWorld: How Globalism and Tribalism Are Re-shaping the World (Ballantine, 1996), and director of the Walt Whitman Center for the Culture and Politics of Democracy at Rutgers University, will discuss “Can Democracy Survive the War Between Jihad and McWorld?” at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) on Wednesday, April 10 at 3 p.m. in the Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery. Admission is free of charge. A reception and book signing will follow the lecture.

Since the events of September 11, Jihad vs. McWorld has become an international best seller. The book provides an “analysis of the central conflict of our times: consumerist capitalism versus religious and tribal fundamentalism.

Barber serves as director of the Walt Whitman Center for the Culture and Politics of Democracy at Rutgers University, where he also held the Walt Whitman Chair of Political Science. He has consulted widely with political and civic leaders, including former President Bill Clinton. He is author of fourteen books, and writes frequently for Observateur, Die Zeit and many other scholarly publications in the U.S. and Europe.

Barber's honors include Guggenheim, Fulbright and Social Science Research Fellowships, the Palmes Academiques (Chevalier) of the French government and the Berlin Prize of the American Academy of Berlin. He holds a B.A. and M.A. from Harvard University and a B.A. and an honorary Ph.D. from Grinnell College.

This Civil Society Lecture is sponsored by the Office of the Provost, Social Sciences Forum and the Political Science Department.

About UMBC
Founded in 1966, UMBC is a medium-sized, selective, public research university situated on 500 acres between Baltimore, Md. and Washington, DC. UMBC has an enrollment of more than 11,000 students in undergraduate and graduate programs in the liberal arts and sciences and engineering. A campus community rich in cultural and ethnic diversity, UMBC promotes cutting-edge research and creative activity. The campus is home to the nationally-known Meyerhoff Scholarship Program, the Shriver Center, and a number of major research centers. UMBC is a member of the University System of Maryland and is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.