The Olivet College Humanities Department is hosting a book release party and signing featuring Dustin Byrd, assistant professor of humanities, Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 3 p.m. in the college’s Burrage Library Lecture Room.

The event is being held in conjunction with the release of Byrds book, “Ayatollah Khomeini and the Anatomy of the Islamic Revolution in Iran.”

The book attempts to explain how and why Ayatollah Khomeini was able to lead the Iranian people in their successful revolution against the shah of Iran. Bringing together the sociological study of charisma by sociologist Max Weber and the critical psychology of Erich Fromm, especially his analysis of the “prophet” and “priest,” Byrd develops a theory of “prophetic charisma,” which attempts to explain how Khomeini’s thoughts and actions made him uniquely qualified to guide Iran from under the shah’s dictatorship. Byrd pays close attention to the importance of authority and how Khomeinis authority to lead the revolution is tied with the charismatic authority that began with the prophet Muhammad.

For more information, call (269) 749-7382.

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