Ebrahim Afsah, associate professor of international law at the University of Copenhagen, will deliver a lecture titled "Contingency, Essentialism, and Path-Dependency: Why the Conventional Wisdom on Islamic Society is Wrong," hosted by the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning. For more than a decade, Muslim led societies have been scrutinized for ongoing violence leading many to question the foundation of the Islamic religion. Instead of focusing on the contents of The Quran, Afsah will discuss the historical context that led to the unstable situation and how the current state of affairs resulted from people's choices. A reception will follow the lecture. Co-sponsored by Middle East Studies and the Department of Religious Studies, the event begins at noon in Pembroke Hall, Room 305, 172 Meeting St.