More than a score of United States and international scholars will discuss “The Resurgence of Shiism” in a free, one-day conference about Shia Islam on campus on Saturday, March 25.

Among them will be Juan R.I. Cole, professor of modern Middle East and South Asian history at the University of Michigan, who will address the group at day’s end. “He’s a specialist in Shiism,” said Garay Menicucci, conference organizer and assistant director of the sponsoring UCSB Center for Middle East Studies. “Cole is often in the media, speaking about Islam. He’s a big deal.”

Other respected scholars participating in the conference, which is open to the public, include six UCSB faculty members. An opening workshop for secondary school teachers on teaching Shiite Islam will be led by Juan Campo from UCSB’s Department of Religious Studies and joined by faculty from Reed College, Loyola Marymount, and Claremont Graduate University.

Shia Islam is a major sect among the world’s 1 billion Muslims, second only to the majority practitioners of Sunni Islam. Nations with large Shiite populations include Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain, and Iran, the only nation where Shiites form a majority of the population.

An anthropologist from Santa Clara University, who has recently returned from an Iranian village, will report to the conference on her fieldwork.

“We hope to give the UCSB community and the public a scholarly and nuanced view of Shiism,” said Menicucci. “We will look at hot-button issues, too.”

A blend of the practical and the academic sets the tone of subsequent panels as participants choose among three venues that offer analysis of “Shiism and Politics,” “Shiism and Religious Practices,” and “Shiism and Politics in Practice.”

After lunch, a Middle East buffet that costs $10 a person, participants can select from “Shiism and Politics II” and “Shiism and History.”

Registration for the conference and lunch is online at <www.cmes.ucsb.edu> and should be completed as soon as possible, according to Menicucci.