Series of talks to examine culture, conflict in Iraq

The Division of International Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison announces a series of talks, “Three Perspectives on Iraq, Three Years Later,” to be held on the UW–Madison campus Monday, April 17, and Tuesday, April 18.

The talks will feature Columbia University professor Muhsin Al-Musawi, one of the Arab world’s leading literary critics; UW–Madison professor Neil Whitehead, author of several books on violence, warfare and terrorism; and Duke University history professor Alex Roland. The speakers will raise questions surrounding culture and power in conflict in Iraq; how violence can be a form of cultural expression; and how the war in Iraq may provide a window on the future of American military operations.

The series includes:

• Monday, April 17: “Reading Iraq: Culture and Power in Conflict” by Al-Musawi, a professor of Arabic literature at Columbia University. The talk will be held at 4 p.m. in Room 8417 of the Social Science Building, 1180 Observatory Drive. Sponsors are UW–Madison’s Division of International Studies, the Middle East Studies Program, the Department of African Languages and Literature, and Global Studies.
• Tuesday, April 18: “Wars without End: Addictive Violence and the Mission of Democracy” by Whitehead, a UW–Madison professor of anthropology and religious studies. The talk will begin at noon in Room 126 of Memorial Library, located on Library Mall. The event is sponsored by the Legacies of Violence Research Circle of the International Institute with the participation of the Memorial Library.

“The Long War Dead: The Politics and Reality of Casualties in Iraq” by Roland, a Duke University professor of history. The talk begins at 7 p.m. on April 18 in Suite 200 of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, 30 W. Mifflin St. It is sponsored by the Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy and co-sponsored by the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, the UW–Madison Department of History and the Harvey Goldberg Center.