The title of Mr. Decherf's talk is drawn from Harvard University professor Samuel Huntington’s controversial thesis. Both men were colleagues last year when Mr. Decherf was a fellow at Harvard's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. The consul general will take issue with several of Professor Huntington's conclusions and discuss French president Jacques Chirac's recent proposal to initiate what he calls a "dialogue" of civilizations, instead.

Dominique Decherf is the Consul General of France in Chicago and holds a doctorate in Law from the Panthéon-Sorbonne in Paris and M.A.'s in Political Science and Oriental Languages. During his tenure with the French government, he has been stationed in Saudi Arabia, Jerusalem, Angola, Tanzania, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Liberia. He was a fellow at Harvard University's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs during the 2000-2001 academic year  and has published on such topics as religion and international affairs, human rights, and foreign policy.

For information about this talk, please contact the Department of French and Italian at 608.262.3941