University Park, Pa - On Sept. 13, Penn State's Rock Ethics Institute will welcome the first speaker in its yearlong series, "War and Ethics." The series' first speaker is New York Times reporter and Pulitzer Prize-winner Chris Hedges, on "War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning."
The series will run from this September through April 2005, and will feature a total of eight speakers, drawn from around the country and from Penn State faculty. One of the speakers also is a Penn State alumnus, philosophy graduate and Emmy-award winning CBS News producer Peter Klein, who will discuss "Journalism, War and Ethics" in October.
All talks are free to the public on Penn State's University Park campus. Speakers, talk titles, dates and locations are as follows:
-- Monday, Sept.13: Chris Hedges, New York Times reporter and author of the book "War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning," on "War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning," 129 Waring Commons, 4 p.m.
-- Monday, Oct. 4: PSU alumnus Peter Klein, producer, CBS News 60 Minutes, "Journalism, War and Ethics," Foster Auditorium, 101 Pattee Library, 3 p.m.
-- Friday, Oct. 29: Jonathan Brockopp, associate professor of religious studies and history, Penn State, "Jihad and Islamic History," Foster Auditorium, 101 Pattee Library, 3 p.m.
-- Friday, Feb. 18: Panel discussion on "Ethics and Taboos of War," Foster Auditorium, 101 Pattee Library, 3 p.m. Panelists include: Christopher Byrne, research associate, Applied Research Laboratory and assistant professor of mathematics, Penn State; Timothy Lenoir, professor of history of science, Stanford University, and research professor of new media and society, Duke University; and Steven Walton, assistant professor of science, technology and Society, Penn State.
-- Friday, March 18: Lorraine Dowler, associate professor of geography and women's studies, Penn State, "Women on the Frontlines: Rethinking War Narratives Post 9/11," Foster Auditorium, 101 Pattee Library, 3 p.m.
-- Friday, April 8: Sohail Hashmi, associate professor of international relations, Mount Holyoke College, "Jihad: Holy War, Just War or Terrorism?" Foster Auditorium, 101 Pattee Library, 3 p.m.
The War and Ethics Speakers Series is sponsored by Penn State's Rock Ethics Institute; the Department of History and Religious Studies Program; the Department of Journalism; the Department of Political Science; the Science, Technology and Society Program; and University Libraries. These lectures also are being made possible with the support of a generous gift from Douglas and Julie Rock.
The Rock Ethics Institute at Penn State has as its mission to promote ethical awareness and inquiry in the University and in the public and professional sectors by supporting curricular innovations designed to improve moral literacy across the University curriculum, building collaborative research projects around ethically based initiatives and encouraging public dialogue on ethical issues. Douglas and Julie Rock established the Rock Ethics Institute through the establishment of an endowment in 2001.
For more information, visit the Rock Ethics Institute's Web site at http://rockethics.psu.edu