Date: Wednesday, September 2, 2026
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Location: Tate 473
The first Christian Faculty Forum monthly meeting of the new semester will be held Wednesday, September 2nd, from 12 to 1 pm in Tate 473, with Dr. Kevin Jones as our speaker. Dr. Jones is an associate professor and department head in UGA’s department of history. With the conflict with Iran dominating the news for so many months, along with the religious identity of that country, a better understanding of Iran’s history will shed light on the current reality. We are fortunate to have a scholar of Dr. Jones’ caliber at UGA and willing to address the CFF. Dr. Jones earned his PhD in History from the University of Michigan in 2013 and was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the George Washington University Institute for Middle East Studies in 2013-2014 before beginning his current position at the University of Georgia. The title of his talk is “Crowns and Turbans: Shi’i Islam and the Islamic Republic of Iran”. There will also be time for Q&A after Dr. Jones’ talk as well. The abstract is below.
Abstract: This talk will explain the roots of the Sunni-Shi’i sectarian divide, the mass conversion of Iranians to Shi’i Islam in the late medieval era, and the religious challenge to the secular Iranian state in the Islamic Revolution of 1978-1979.
A light lunch will be provided to everyone who sends in their RSVP by 5 pm, Tuesday, September 1st, by filling out the google form below. If you plan to attend but don’t need a lunch provided, please RSVP and indicate that as well.