Lecture on stereotypes of Arabs set for tonight

Laurence Michalak, vice chairman of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of California-Berkeley, will discuss "Images and Their Consequences: The Arab in American Popular Culture," at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14, in Room 180 of the Law School.

Michalak, a cultural anthropologist, will examine the stereotype of Arabs as seen in different genres of American popular culture, including songs, jokes, political cartoons, wrestling, comic strips, fictional novels and cinema. A Peace Corps volunteer in Tunisia in the 1960s, he went on to serve as associate director of the Peace Corps in that country. Michalak's current research focuses on Islam in Europe and North America.

His talk is preceded by a 7:30 p.m. reception. The event is co-sponsored by the Peninsula Chapter of the World Affairs Council and the Stanford Center on Conflict and Negotiation.

Admission is $5 for members of the council, $7 for non-members and free for students. For more information, call (415) 293-4600.