FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Aug. 19, 2002
Contact Ward Mullens
734.487.4400
ward.mullens@emich.edu

EMU CONFERENCE FOCUSES ON MANY IMPACTS OF SEPT. 11

YPSILANTI – The events of 9-11 made a nation mourn and left to make sense of the unthinkable. Today, nearly a year later, many are still grappling with the aftermath of the death and destruction left after the collapse of the World Trade Center, the attack on the Pentagon and the crash of Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.

Eastern Michigan University remembers and plans to reflect on those tragic events during a conference entitled “A Brave New World: The Lasting Effects of Sept. 11.” The all-day conference, scheduled Friday, Sept. 13, will include a lineup of more than 40 speakers who will address the events of 9-11 and explore the effects the tragedy has on the country psychologically, politically and on civil liberties

“This conference plans to provide a lasting look at this event,” said David Richard, an associate professor of psychology, who is chairing the conference. “This is a very complex set of issues to deal with. In a society that values free speech, the best thing to do is talk about this.”

Daniel Kaufman, an assistant professor of philosophy at Southwest Missouri State will provide the keynote at the breakfast in the McKenny Union Ballroom. His speech is entitled, “Modernity, Medievalism and the Clash of Civilizations: Reflections on the one-year anniversary of Sept. 11.”

Greg Leskin, a clinical psychologist at the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder will give the dinner address that evening. His speech is Stress, PTSD and Terrorism: the Sept. 11th Response at the Pentagon.”

“(Leskin) was on the emergency response team that went to the Pentagon,” Richard said. He will show picture slides and tell us about his experiences there.”

The conference will conclude with dinner and musical presentation entitled “EMU Remembers 9/11 in Music, Dance and Verse,” 8 p.m., Pease Auditorium. EMU music faculty performers, in a multi-media retrospective of the events and aftermath of Sept. 11, portray our country’s struggle to move from shock and terror, to grief and reflection, and hope for a better tomorrow.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
• Opening Ceremony and Remarks, 8:15-9 a.m., Ballroom
• Keynote Address: “Modernity, Medievalism and the Clash of Civilizations: Reflections on the One-Year Anniversary of Sept. 11,” presented by Daniel Kaufman, assistant professor of philosophy, Southwest Missouri State University, 9-10 a.m., McKenny Union Ballroom
• Symposium: “Psychological Reactions to Sept. 11,” 10 a.m.-noon, Ballroom
• Paper and Video: “Sept. 11 and the Arts,” 10 a.m.-noon, Guild Room
• Symposium: “Religion, Culture and Coping,” 10 a.m.-noon, Tower Room
• Free lunch and live entertainment, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Quad by Mark Jefferson
• Symposium: “Extremist Violence and Recovery,” 1-3 p.m., Ballroom
• Video: “9/11”, 1-2:30 p.m., Guild Hall
• Symposium: “Sept. 11 and the Academy, Implications for University Life and Pedagogy,” 1-2:30 p.m., Tower Room
• Symposium: “Surviving Trauma: Treating Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Avoidance Using Exposure Therapy,” 1-2:30 p.m., Faculty Room
• Paper: “Post Sept. 11 Spirituality,” 2:30-3:30 p.m., Tower Room
• Symposium: “Civil Liberties and Legal Issues in the Wake of Sept. 11,” 3-5 p.m., Ballroom
• Dinner and Invited Address: Stress, PTSD and Terrorism: The Sept. 11 Response to the Pentagon, 5:30-7:45 p.m., Ballroom
• Music Department Concert and Closing Ceremony: EMU Remembers 9/11 in Music, Dance and Verse,” 8 p.m., Pease Auditorium.
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