Dr. Shervin Malekzadeh, Colgate University, will give a presentation on contemporary Iran, and specifically on the protests that went on there from September of 2022 until early 2023 and the conditions in the country that caused them. He will take a historical view of present events, tying the current tragedy to the optimism of 2009-2019, a period in which Iran’s democratic movement was making concrete, if incremental, gains on the “system.” Lunch (Bahnwich) and refreshments will be served.