Robin Rowland thinks Israeli and Palestinian leaders could learn a little from the world of jazz.

“They need to be adaptive, to be flexible,” said Rowland, professor and chairman of communication studies at Kansas University. “They need to take themes and play them in different ways.”

Jazz may not have much impact on Middle Eastern politics, but there’s little doubt politics have affected the creative process of artists in the region.

It’s a scenario that has played out in countries around the world, with warfare, politics and other cultural factors shaping music, dance and other arts.

That relationship between conflict and creativity is the subject of a new lecture series that kicks off tonight. The four-part series is co-sponsored by the Hall Center for the Humanities and the Lied Center, both at Kansas University.

The talks, which will be led by KU faculty, correspond with the Lied Center’s World Series.

The first event, at 7:30 tonight at the Hall Center’s conference room, focuses on Israel and coincides with an Oct. 1 performance by the Avishai Cohen Trio. Presenters will be Rowland; Deborah Gerner, professor of political science; and Jack Winerock, professor of music.

Additional talks, which run through April, will be on China, Ireland and Cuba. Each presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer session.

“We thought by explaining the cultural and political background of these countries and the musical traditions of these countries, people would maybe enjoy the music more and differently,” said Victor Bailey, director of the Hall Center.

Karen Christilles, associate director of the Lied Center, said she expected the lecture series to be popular.

“After 9-11, our attendance for world events is up significantly,” she said. “We’ve always had strong interest in world programming, but it seemed to be even more. With the arts, now more than ever, it seems important to give people a sense of something bigger, something stronger we’re all connected to. Also people were really wanting to learn about the world we’re living in and what’s going on outside Kansas and the USA.”

Christilles said the conflicts that shape art aren’t just from warfare and politics. In China, she said, it’s the tension between the traditional lifestyle people tend to live at home and the modern world that has developed in cities.

She said in some cases, conflicts stifle creativity. That tends to happen in dictatorships that limit artwork.

In other cases, the conflicts can inspire artists.

“I think both things operate,” Christilles said. “Oppression can shut down (creativity), but I think in many areas of the world, government inflicting restrictions in a very rigid way shows that the human condition is not meant to survive very long in that state. The need to create and the impulse to grow and understand is greater than what a government can impose on people.”