On the evening of Sept. 10, professors from eight different departments at the University of Colorado at Boulder will gather for a public teach-in titled "9/11 One Year Later: How Have We Changed?"
Speaker presentations will begin at 6:30 p.m. in room G1B30 of the Duane Physics building on the CU-Boulder campus, according to organizer and CU-Boulder religious studies Professor Ira Chernus. Admission is free.
"The purpose of this really is to give the university and the wider community a chance to think about the impact of the Sept. 11 events in a thoughtful and reflective way," he said.
A similar event was held at CU-Boulder last Sept. 24th, Chernus said, and it was very well attended. While the discussion will involve controversial topics, Chernus doesn't expect emotion to prevent a productive exchange of ideas. "We want civil discourse - thought without overriding emotion. This is an opportunity to do that in a more formal, structured way."
He noted that the event has nothing to do with the appearance of Palestinian leader Hanan Ashrawi, who is scheduled to speak at CU-Boulder Sept. 14.Ìý
Chernus will be joined by Mohammed Akacem of economics, Frank Beer of political science, Patricia Raybon of the School of Journalism, Alison Jaggar of the women's studies and philosophy departments, Mimi Wesson of the School of Law, Tom Mayer of sociology and Patricia Limerick of the history department.
Akacem, an adjunct professor at CU-Boulder who also teaches at Metro State, plans to talk about the reaction to the attacks by the Arab and Islamic community in the United States and abroad. "Many have said that the Arab and Islamic world has not condemned, in the strongest terms, the terrorist acts of 9-11," he said.
"Arab Americans and Muslims' lives have been made more difficult since 9-11. We need to remember that those who committed the horrible acts of 9-11 were not true Muslims, even if they claimed to be. Their terrorist act in no way speaks for or represents what 1.2 billion Muslims stand for, or what Islam teaches," he said.
Akacem's discussion will likely include current conflicts, too. "I am sure that Iraq will come up, since it is in the news and is tied indirectly to this subject and the whole issue of why the Arab world is opposed to an attack," he said.
Beer said the past is important because it helps people think about the present and future. "I think this teach-in is important, not just in terms of looking back at Sept. 11, but now as our country engages the question of other possible military activities, particularly in the Middle East and Central Asia.
Several of Beer's writings concerning the terrorist attacks are available at his Web site, .
The observance of Sept. 11 poses the question of what to do next, said Limerick, who chairs CU-Boulder's Center of the American West. "After the attacks, everyone said, 'Things will never be the same,' but, in quite a number of ways, we slipped back into old habits. It's a case study, for me, in how impoverished American society is in rituals of memory," she said.
Raybon will suggest that events of mythic proportions, like the Sept. 11 tragedy, demand a heroic response from the news media.
"We already know that the news media can rise to expectations during moments of great crisis. It's the moments after a crisis - and at otherwise ordinary times - that they disappoint us," Raybon said. "At worst, the news media seem out of touch, even irrelevant.ÌýAlso, they leave people feeling unprepared to cope in a crazy, complex world. Correcting these problems will take heroic change within news organizations. I hope to humbly suggest a few ways that could happen."
The teach-in is sponsored by the Boulder Faculty Assembly and the Office of the Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs.