Daniel Hoffman Published in Middle East Times

Daniel Hoffman, a Knox senior, has always been passionate about political science. But Hoffman does more than just talk about the issues. So far, he's penned three op-eds for the Middle East Times, an independent news and analysis weekly that looks at the politics, culture and religion of the Middle East.

A political science major with minors in both French and Economics, Hoffman says he has always been eager to add to the discourse and that studying political science embodies what he likes most. "I debated in high school, and political science uses the same analytical skills," he says.

His three op-eds are excerpts from his Knox College senior Honors project, "The Shifting Face of Iraq: The New Politics of the Shi'a Majority," which examines the changing role of Islam and politics, and how it affects American foreign policy.

"Iraqis struggle to reconcile dueling identities drawn from competing religious, tribal and political allegiances," he says.

In his second op-ed, "Hard Questions for the New President," Hoffman states, "The greatest challenge to the United States in the Middle East lies not abroad but at home: supporting a constructive dialogue around the emerging forms of Islam in government. This will mean supporting leaders who govern best in the years to come, even if their speeches cite the Koran."

People are often identified by their religion, where they live or the language they speak. Hoffman's natural curiosity in how people relate with each other was the inspiration for his project. "I wanted to know how people interact and form a government that alters lives and affects the power of the situation."

Aside from the political lessons, Hoffman says the Knox Honors project was great for his style of learning. "And, I didn't want to water down the facts but be straight forward."

The book The Shia Revival written by Vali Nasr served as an inspiration for Hoffman's project. "Even during the process, when I would get frustrated and tired of my work, I would reread parts of the book. What a great lesson."

"The project was therapeutic, and I appreciated the time and freedom I had to work with professors as individuals."

After graduation, Hoffman plans to go to Washington D.C.

 

With support from a Richter grant, Daniel Hoffman spent six weeks living in the Congo during his junior year. "I got to see life from a different perspective and learned more about myself. I found out that I take a lot of things for granted, and in the end it was humbling. I realized that every perspective is an invaluable lesson for me."