Biography - Kenneth R Glaudell

Professor Glaudell completed his BA (cum laude) in Political Science with a minor in Arabic at the University of Illinois (including a summer program in Arabic at the American University in Cairo in 1981). After doing research overseas (Pakistan, 1984-5), he completed a MA in Political Science with a minor in South Asian Studies and the Urdu language at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1987.
He completed his doctoral dissertation "An Afghan of Unknown Views: Sayyid Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and the Role of Shi'ism in Modern Islamic Political Thought" at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1996. His thesis demonstrates that al-Afghani, who claimed to be a Sunni Muslim Afghan from As`adabad in Konar Province in northeastern Afghanistan, was in fact a Shi`i Muslim from Asadabad, in western Iran.

While earlier historians had proven this point to their satisfaction using historical and physical evidence, Dr. Glaudell's dissertation analyzes the actual content and underlying philosophy of al-Afghani's writings to substantiate his Iranian provenance.
Since 1991, Dr. Glaudell has been teaching at a variety of colleges and universities in Wisconsin including: the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, the University of Wisconsin College System, Cardinal Stritch University, Mt. Mary College, Alverno College, Carroll College, Milwaukee Area Technical College, the University of Phoenix, and Troy University (Florida/Western Region). Well before the events of 9/11, he began to pursue an academic interest in political violence & terrorism, giving public lectures and creating & teaching courses on the subject for the University of Wisconsin System in 1996, 2000, and 2002. His regional areas of interest include South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and the Islamic nations of Southeast Asia.

Recent research and writing has included the following:

Forthcoming chapters on Malaysia and Indonesia in Defense and Security: A Guide to National Armed Forces and Security Policies of the World, Uk Heo & Karl DeRouen, Eds. (2004) Research Consultant, Alexis deTocqueville Institute: Work on a text on the late Governor Kohler (R-Wisconsin, 1951-1957), 6th Himalayan Languages Symposium: Paper title: “The Suspension of the Pakistani Constitution & its Implications for the Survivability of Minority Language Communities in Chitral District & Adjoining Areas”. In addition to his work with American Military University, Professor Glaudell is currently a part-time Professor in the Department of History and Political Science at Cardinal Stritch University, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he teaches courses in Middle Eastern Politics, the Politics of Cultural Pluralism, Political Philosophy, International Terrorism, and other subjects.