Joshua Landis, one of the leading scholars internationally in Syrian studies, will discuss “Syria at the Crossroads” at a President’s Associates dinner at the University of Oklahoma on Wednesday, Aug. 29, in the Molly Shi Boren Ballroom of Oklahoma Memorial Union, 900 Asp Ave.

Landis is the Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at OU and is regarded by many as one of the world’s leading experts on Syria and its surrounding countries. He is most notable for his “Syria Comment,” a daily blog on Syrian politics that attracts some 50,000 readers monthly, including officials in Washington, Europe and Syria.

“Joshua Landis is author of one of the most widely read blogs around the world on Syria. We are fortunate that he is a member of our own university community,” said President David. L. Boren. “He will discuss the current situation in Syria and factors which have led to it.”

He has lived over 14 years in the Middle East and speaks Arabic and French fluently. An award-winning teacher and the recipient of three Fulbright grants, Landis has lived four years in Syria, most recently spending 2005 in Damascus as a Senior Fulbright Research Fellow and has returned most summers until the revolution began.

Landis has written 63 articles on Syria and the Middle East, which includes more than 28 online publications. His most recent works, “Stay Out of Syria” and “Why Asad is Likely to Survive to 2013,” appeared in Foreign Policy and Middle East Policy, respectively.

Because of his expertise, Landis is a recurrent traveler to Washington D.C., where he consults with the State Department and other government agencies. He is frequently interviewed by a wide range of broadcast media and most recently appeared on the PBS News Hour, CNN, NPR and BBC. In addition, he has been widely quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, L.A. Times and is a guest analyst for NPR and BBC radio.

Landis also is a highly sought-after lecturer and has spoken at numerous venues, including the Brookings Institute, United States Institute of Peace, Middle East Institute and Council on Foreign Relations.

Landis teaches Political Islam, International Relations in the Middle East, Islam, the Modern Middle East, Culture and Society in the Middle East and the U.S. in the Middle East. Heearned his doctoral degree from Princeton University after earning his master’s at Harvard.

Limited seating is available by reservation for OU students, faculty and staff, with overflow seating available to the public. For reservations, more information and accommodations on the basis of disability, please call the OU Office of Special Events at (405) 325-3784.