News Tips: Story Ideas for Sept. 11 Anniversary
Duke faculty members from a variety of disciplines are available to comment about the second anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks
Thursday, August 28, 2003
Duke University faculty members from a variety of disciplines can be reached for commentary about the second anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Story ideas and contact information include:
AMERICAN CITIES THRIVE AFTER SEPT. 11: Many observers speculated that terrorist attacks would lead some Americans to move away from large cities, to places that seemed like less obvious targets. In fact, there is no indication that this has happened. Census Bureau estimates suggest that the population of New York City actually increased by 22,000 between July 1, 2001, and July 1, 2002. The Sept. 11 attacks may have made American cities look more vulnerable, but the attacks also made them look more civil. Jacob Vigdor, assistant professor of public policy studies, can be reached at (919) 613-7354 or by email at jvigdor@pps.duke.edu.
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DOES U.S. NEED A SEPT. 11 MEMORIAL?: Memorial rituals, which take different forms in various cultures, can serve many functions -- psychological, social and even political. Traditionally, ritual has given otherwise formless grief an outlet and closure, says Katherine Pratt Ewing, professor of cultural anthropology. Is ritual still important in our individualistic culture? In the U.S., the interest in taking a commemorative census of a tragedy -- by displaying photographs or inscribing names -- gives material shape to a newly fashioned community, says Van E. Hillard, assistant professor of the practice of rhetoric, who has examined commemorative practices such as the NAMES Project Quilt and roadside memorials. Commemoration of the events of Sept. 11 also have a special resonance for African Americans, whose mourning and funeral practices memorialize a history of inexplicable and irresolvable tragedy -- an experience many Americans have shared in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, according to Karla Holloway, author of Passed On: African American Mourning Stories. Holloway, William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of English and Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, can be reached at (919) 621-7698 or by email at kholloway@asdean.duke.edu. Ewing can be reached at (919) 684-5170 or by email at ewing@socsci.duke.edu. Hillard can be reached at (919) 660-4369 or by email at vhillard@duke.edu.
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CHURCH ATTENDANCE -- TWO YEARS LATER: Attendance in churches swelled in the days and weeks following the Sept. 11 attacks. As thousands streamed to churches for the first time in years, many ministers brought the war into their sermons -- and sometimes American flags into their churches. Despite much publicized discussion of a newly awakened spirituality among Americans in the ensuing weeks, those attendance figures have returned to pre-Sept. 11 levels. Did churches miss an opportunity -- or exploit the situation? For commentary, contact: William H. Willimon, dean of Duke Chapel, professor of Christian Ministry in the Duke Divinity School and author of more than 50 books, at (919) 684-2177 or will@duke.edu; or Stanley Hauerwas, Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics in the Duke Divinity School, at (919) 660-3420.
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PREACHING AFTER A CATASTROPHE: Richard Lischer, a professor of preaching at Duke Divinity School, has prepared "Ten Suggestions for Preaching after a Catastrophe;" he can be contacted at (919) 660-3421 or rlischer@duke.edu.
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A LINK BETWEEN LITERATURE AND VIOLENCE?: Do killers, artists and terrorists need one another? In the new book Crimes of Art and Terror, to be published on the eve of the Sept. 11 anniversary, Frank Lentricchia and Jody McAuliffe explore how political extremism and avant-garde artistic movements have fed upon each other for at least two centuries. McAuliffe, an associate professor of Theater Studies, can be reached at mca@duke.edu or (919) 660-3363; Lentricchia, professor of literature and Theater Studies, is at frll@duke.edu or (919) 684-6172.
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AMERICAN PUBLIC'S TOLERANCE OF CASUALTIES: Will the American public continue to tolerate casualties in Iraq? Yes, as long as people consider the mission important for American national interests and the best possible alternative, say two Duke political science professors. It is also important for the president to show continued resolve and convince the public that the mission will ultimately be successful, say Peter D. Feaver and Christopher Gelpi, co-authors of a new book on civilian and military attitudes toward war and casualties. Feaver, director of the Triangle Institute for Security Studies, can be reached at (919) 660-4331 or by email at pfeaver@duke.edu. Gelpi can be reached at (919) 660-4318 or by email at gelpi@duke.edu.
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SOWING SEEDS FOR FUTURE CATASTROPHES?: The response of the Bush administration to the Sept. 11 attacks "has turned a pathological crime into a messianic event," says Ebrahim Moosa, an associate research professor in Duke's Department of Religion and co-director of the Center for Study of Muslim Networks. Rather than uniting the international community around law and order, the United States' unilateral actions after Sept. 11 has alienated the Muslim world and sown the seeds for future catastrophes, Moosa says. He can be reached at (919) 270-3431 or moosa@duke.edu.
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DEVASTATING ECONOMIC IMPACT: Beyond the psychological damage, what impact has Sept. 11 had on the United States? Frederick Mayer, an associate professor of public policy studies and political science, says the economic impact has been devastating. Mayer says federal spending for the war on terror, the war on Iraq and homeland defense are only part of the cost. Less visible costs include the immense amount of lost productive time spent waiting in airports, lost business and research opportunities because of difficulties foreign professionals now face in entering the United States and the huge drop in foreign tourism to the United States that is largely related to border hassles. Mayer can be reached at (919) 613-7338 or fmayer@duke.edu.
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WAR ON TERRORISM JEOPARDIZES PERSONAL LIBERTIES: Aspects of the Bush administration's "War on Terrorism" are coming under increased criticism. Attorney General John Ashcroft is on the road defending the expansive use of the surveillance tools contained in the Patriot Act, a piece of legislation passed only weeks after Sept. 11. Civil rights attorneys are questioning the constitutionality of detaining American citizens at U.S. military installations while denying them access to attorneys and failing to charge them with any crimes. Also, the international community continues to rail against the detention of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. Professor Scott Silliman of Duke Law School, who also serves as Executive Director of the Center on Law, Ethics and National Security, can comment at (919) 613-7138, or silliman@law.duke.edu.
