Critical Conversations on Civic Issues: Faculty & Film Series

Fall 2008 Series

ENVISIONING PEACE:

PEACE-BUILDING, PEACE-KEEPING AND NONVIOLENT CITIZEN ACTION

Earn credit by attending this spring's series. Click here!

*All events are held in 1102 South Campus Commons, building 1 Seminar Room unless otherwise stated.

See past semester Faculty and Film Series.

Monday, September 8, 7:00 pm
Why We Fight
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, “Why We Fight” is an unflinching look at the anatomy of American war-making. Granted unparalleled Pentagon access, the film launches a nonpartisan inquiry into the forces – political, economic, and ideological – that drive America to fight. Inspired by Dwight Eisenhower’s 1961 Farewell Address in which he warned American citizens about the dangers of the “military-industrial complex,” filmmaker Jarecki weaves unforgettable stories of everyday Americans touched by war with commentary by a “who’s who” of military and Washington insiders. Featuring John McCain, Gore Vidal, Richard Perle and other experts, “Why We Fight” explores a half century of U.S. foreign policy from World War II to the Iraq War, revealing how, as Eisenhower warned, political and corporate interests have become alarmingly entangled in the business of war.

Monday, September 15, 7:00 pm
Peace-Building in Aceh, Indonesia after the Tsunami
On the morning of December 26, 2004, an earthquake and tsunami severely affected the west coast of Aceh, Indonesia where armed conflict had persisted over 30 years. On August 15, 2005, a peace agreement was signed by all major parties in Helsinki leading to peace in the region!

Dr. Asna Husin is Director of the Peace Education Program, which promotes peace-building in Aceh through programs with Islamic clerics (ulama) and through peace education activities with over 100 high schools. She is an Islamic scholar, a peace activist, and a women’s rights activist, who has worked vigorously in the tsunami relief efforts. She holds a Ph.D. in Religion from Columbia University and a M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University.

Michael Beer serves as Director of Nonviolence International, a resource center for promoting nonviolence and peace-building around the world. He has actively participated in various social and solidarity movements in many countries including USA, Russia, Indonesia, Burma, Cambodia, East Timor, Zimbabwe, Kosovo, Syria, Nepal, Iran, and Palestine.