Campus programs address violence, terrorism

NEW PALTZ — In the wake of the devastating terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, the State University of New York at New Paltz is sponsoring several programs addressing violence and terrorism.

Wednesday, Sept. 19 through Saturday, Sept. 22, the School of Fine & Performing Arts will hold its bi-annual “Arts Now” conference. This conference series studies the issues of contemporary art and culture, and this year’s conference explores the violent imagery in the visual and performing arts. The conference is entitled “Sites of Conflict: Art in a Culture of Violence.” It brings together a series of exhibits, performances and lectures with internationally recognized artists and educators, including Anna Deavere Smith, playwright, actor and professor at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University; Michael A. Bellesiles, Emory University professor of history and founding director of the Program for the Study of Violence; and James E. Young, professor of English and Judaic studies at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Detailed information about the conference is available online at http://www.newpaltz.edu/arts_now.

Thursday, Sept. 20, the Political Science Department will hold a symposium entitled “America at War.” Six members of the department will discuss various aspects of this crisis, leaving as much time as possible for audience input. The symposium begins at 5 p.m. and will be held in Lecture Center 102.

Monday, Sept. 24, R. Gregory Evans, Ph.D., the director of the Centre for the Study of Bioterrorism and Emerging Diseases at St. Louis University, will give a lecture entitled “Chemical and Biological Terror: The Challenge Facing the United States.” The lecture begins at 5 p.m. in Lecture Center 102.