Tumult in Iran: The Islamic Revolution at 30: Roger Cohen

Presented By: The Graduate Student Council and the Caltech Y Social Activism Speakers Series

This event is the first in a series presented by the Graduate Student Council and the Social Activism Speaker Series: A Series on Iran: Struggle of a Nation.

Roger Cohen arrived in Iran days before the election and witnessed first-hand the events leading up to and immediately following it. In the first event of Social Activism Speakers Series on Iran, Cohen will share his insights and personal account of this critical event. He writes, "Three days after the June 12 election, Iran rises up. Full of fear, people descend toward the broad central avenue between Enquelab (Revolution) and Azadi (Freedom) Square. But when they see the vast crowd -- later estimated at 3 million people -- their fear evaporates. Seldom have dignity and silence achieved such power ... A banner says, 'Silence will win against the bullets. 'Ahmadinejad has called his opponents 'dust.' A man says to me: 'We are dust but we will blind him.' I ask a young woman her name. 'My name is Iran,' she says. Young and old, shopkeeper and student, men and women march side by side. ... One thing was clear that day: the Islamic Republic, 30 years after the Revolution, would never be quite the same."

Cohen is the foreign editor of The New York Times. He joined The Times in 1990, and served as a foreign correspondent for more than a decade before becoming acting foreign editor on September 11, 2001, and foreign editor six months later. Previously, Cohen served as foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal and Reuters, reporting from the East Meditteranean, South America, and Europe. Cohen has recently appeared on the Charlie Rose and Tavis Smiley shows, and his accounts of the unfolding drama in Iran have been widely read. Cohen is also the author of "Soldiers and Slaves: American POWs Trapped by the Nazi's Final Gamble" and "Hearts Grown Brutal: Sagas of Sarajevo," an account of the wars of Yugoslavia's destruction. He has also co-written a biography of General Norman Schwarzkopf, "In the Eye of the Storm."

This event is made possible by the generous support from the Moore Hufstedler Fund. A Series on Iran: Struggle of a Nation is a forum aimed at bringing various perspectives in raising awareness of and encouraging dialogue on the recent events in Iran.

For further information, contact the Caltech Y at [email protected] or (626) 395-6163.