New Canaan Library is pleased to announce this year’s guest lecturer for the William Attwood Memorial Lecture series is Cynthia Miller -Idriss, Professor, School of Public Affairs and School of Education, Director of Research, Center for University Excellence (CUE), Director, Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab (PERIL), American University.

The Attwood Lecture will be held via virtual video conference on Thursday, March 4, 2021 at 7 PM EST. Zoom sign in information will be provided upon registration at newcanaanlibrary.org. Dr. Miller-Idriss will speak about her most recent book, Hate in the Homeland: The New Global Far Right, and conclude the talk with a moderated question and answer session.
Dr. Cynthia Miller-Idriss is Professor in the School of Public Affairs and in the School of Education at American University in Washington, DC, where she directs the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL) in the Center for University Excellence (CUE). Dr. Miller-Idriss also serves as Director of Strategy and Partnerships for the Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right (CARR) in the United Kingdom and is a member of the international advisory board for the Center for Research on Extremism (C-REX) in Oslo, Norway. Dr. Miller-Idriss has testified before the U.S. Congress, has briefed the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee, and frequently serves as a keynote speaker and expert panelist on trends in white supremacist and far-right extremism to global academic and policy communities. She appears regularly in the media as an expert source and political commentator, including recent appearances on CNN with Fareed Zakaria, PBS News Hour, MSNBC Hardball with Chris Matthews, The Today Show, and Good Morning America as well as in global media outlets in over a dozen countries. Her most recent books are Hate in the Homeland: The New Global Far Right (Princeton University Press, 2020) and The Extreme Gone Mainstream: Commercialization and Far Right Youth Culture in Germany (Princeton University Press, 2018). In addition to her academic work, Dr. Miller-Idriss writes frequently for the mainstream press on youth radicalization, far-right extremism, and education, with recent by-lines in Foreign Affairs, Politico, The Boston Globe, CNN, The Guardian, Le Monde, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, among others. Prior to her arrival at American University in August 2013, Dr. Miller-Idriss served on the faculty of New York University for a decade and previously taught at the University of Maryland and the University of Michigan. She holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Sociology and an M.P.P. in Public Policy from the University of Michigan, and a B.A. (magna cum laude) in Sociology and German Area Studies from Cornell University. She is married to New Canaan native Shamil Idriss and wrote part of Hate in the Homeland in the New Canaan library.
The William Attwood Memorial Lecture honors longtime New Canaanite, William Attwood. During his career as a journalist, diplomat, and editor, he helped define the times as well as shape the causes in which he believed. By enabling the Library to present distinguished speakers, the lecture honors William’s memory and his lifetime interests in journalism, government, literature, and politics.