LECTURE SERIES AT THE SIXTEEN ACRES BRANCH LIBRARY “America and the Middle East” Begins in January

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The Arab Spring – May 26, 1 - 2 pm

The Arab countries of the Middle East and North Africa won their freedom largely through the efforts of secular nationalists, often in the form of the military. Too often this new found independence was subverted by these same military leaders. The recent Arab Spring has brought calls for dramatic, revolutionary change that would bring new opportunities for people to be involved in the decision making of governing. Drawing upon his experiences while living in Egypt, Dr. Murphy will examine the promise of the spring and the reality of post revolutionary changes highlighting events of the Arab Spring in Egypt and Libya. For more information please call (413) 263-6858.

Free refreshments to follow provided by the Friends of the Springfield Library.

About the lecturer: Dr. Donald Murphy is a retired educator, most recently having taught at Bay Path College (Longmeadow, MA). He has a specialized knowledge of American and world histories. He lives in Sixteen Acres.

B.S. Northeastern University
M.A. University of Connecticut
C.A.G.S. Boston University
Ed.D. University of Massachusetts
 
"I was a teacher of history in public schools and later a high school principal in the U.S. and in Egypt.  After my work in public schools, I taught at Bay Path College and in this capacity I helped to develop, and teach, the history courses for the Bay Path College Saturday program.  These courses included U.S. History, as well as several offerings in World History. 
 
Additionally, for seven years, I led a team of history teachers that evaluated the credentials of those seeking to teach history, political science and humanities in Massachusetts.  This task included evaluating essay responses to specific topics that were wide ranging.  In this latter role I was the content resource person for each session on topics ranging from ancient history, the Enlightenment, and U.S. History, from the nation’s founding until today. Based on the topic, I prepared information for the scorers on the key elements and was the resource for them as they reviewed papers and had questions."