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Biography
Pierre Atlas was born in Texas and grew up in California. As an undergraduate political science major in Toronto, Canada, Pierre studied the world from a different perspective than most Americans. It was an eye-opening experience and only increased his interest in American and international politics. After a stint in the U.S. Army, where he studied Arabic, Pierre began his graduate studies at the University of Arizona and culminated with a Ph.D. from Rutgers University. In both degree programs, he majored in comparative politics and specialized in the Middle East.
Prior to obtaining a full-time position at Marian University, Pierre taught courses in political science as a part-time lecturer at Marian University, Butler University, and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. He became Marian University's first assistant professor of political science in 2002, and in 2003 chaired Marian University's Global Studies Task Force. He was appointed director of The Franciscan Center for Global Studies in January 2004. In December 2007, the center was renamed The Richard G. Lugar Franciscan Center for Global Studies.
Pierre’s doctoral dissertation examined the political struggles within the Zionist movement and between Jews and Arabs in pre-1948 Palestine. He has presented conference papers, written articles, and co-authored a book chapter on Israeli politics and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He has also conducted research on civil wars in comparative perspective and is co-author of a journal article on civil war in Sudan, Zimbabwe, Chad, and Lebanon. He has written several entries for the Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa, Second Edition (Macmillan Reference 2004) and will have an entry in the forthcoming Encyclopedia of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, edited by Cheryl Rubenberg (Lynne Rienner Publishing).
In the summer of 2004, Pierre traveled to Israel and Jordan where he met with academics, officials, and Franciscans, and presented a paper at an academic conference at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In May 2006, he represented Marian College on a six day trip to Cuba, sponsored by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and Catholic Relief Services. In June 2006, he traveled throughout Israel as one of 22 American academics invited to participate in a two-week workshop on the Arab-Israeli conflict sponsored by Tel Aviv University, meeting with Israeli and Palestinian scholars, journalists, and activists. In November 2007, he presented a paper on grassroots peace education projects between Israelis and Palestinians at the Middle East Studies Association conference in Montreal, Canada.
In June 2008, Pierre spent ten days in Turkey on an interfaith dialogue trip sponsored by the Holy Dove Foundation in Indianapolis. In November 2008, he presented a paper on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process at the Middle East Studies Association conference in Washington, DC. In March 2009, he organized and accompanied six Lugar Fellow Global Studies students for the inaugural Lugar Spring Break Internship in Washington, DC. |