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Posted: 10/08/21

Acclaimed Journalist, Author Looks at Immigrant Experience for IBC Bank & Commerce Bank Keynote Speaker Series

 

Author and Journalist Roya Hakakian
Roya Hakakian  

A timely exploration of immigration and the hardships faced by resettling in America will take center stage at the Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) IBC Bank and Commerce Bank 2021-2022 Keynote Speaker Series Wednesday, Oct. 13 at 3 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom.  

TAMIU’s A. R. Sanchez, Jr. School of Business, and the Center for the Study of Western Hemispheric Trade present the lecture as part of a series sponsored by IBC Bank and Commerce Bank.

Admission is free and open to the public.

Former refugee and naturalized American Roya Hakakian will focus on the immigrant narrative and seeks to reveal to native-born Americans all they take for granted about their own country during a lecture titled, “A Beginner’s Guide to America for the Immigrant and Curious.”

In addition to the in-person lecture, a live broadcast will be available via WebEx Events. To view online, search for Webex Event #2456 347 3698, or visit https://go.tamiu.edu/roya.

Hakakian has collaborated with several leading journalism entities, including 60 Minutes and ABC documentary specials. Her most recent film, Armed and Innocent, was commissioned by UNICEF and narrated by Robert DeNiro. The film focused on underage children involved in wars around the world and was nominated for several documentary film awards at festivals around the world.

She is the author of two collections of poetry in Persian and was listed among the leading voices in Persian poetry, according to the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World. Additionally, she contributes to the Persian Literary Review and served as editor of Par Magazine.

Her book, Assassins of the Turquoise, was named the Notable Book of 2011 by the New York Times Book Review. Her most recent publication, A Beginner’s Guide to America for the Immigrant and the Curious, was released in March 2021.

Hakakian’s writing, including opinion columns, essays, and book reviews, has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. She has also contributed to the Weekend Edition of NPR’s All Things Considered.

A founding member of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, she currently serves on the board of Refugees International. Previously, she was a fellow at Yale University’s Davenport College and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

For more information, contact Amy Palacios, associate director, Center for the Study of Western Hemispheric Trade, at 956.326.2820 or amy@tamiu.edu or visit offices in Western Hemispheric Trade Center, room 221.

Additional information is also available at  facebook.com/tamiucswht.