International perspectives on 9/11 focus of Oct. 27 roundtable

Panel to include members of McDonnell International Scholars Academy

“Remembering 9/11: International Scholars’ Perspectives” is the focus of a roundtable discussion to be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, in the Mallinckrodt Multipurpose Room on the lower level of the Mallinckrodt Center on the Danforth Campus of Washington University in St. Louis.

Wertsch

Free and open to the public, the event is part of a multi-faceted archival memory project launched in September by the American Culture Studies (AMCS) program in Arts & Sciences. In addition to hosting discussions and campus-wide reflections throughout the 9/11 anniversary year, AMCS is gathering new and historical artifacts pertaining to 9/11 memory at WUSTL.

While 9/11 has firmly embedded itself in the landscape of American life, the Oct. 27 roundtable will focus instead on the significance 9/11 holds for members of the international community.

Participants (all current scholars of the university’s McDonnell International Scholars Academy) will discuss the repercussions of 9/11 in the international community and describe how they have come to view 9/11 and its remembrance while living and studying in the U.S.

Founded in 2005, the McDonnell Academy provides leadership training for outstanding students from top educational institutions across the globe pursuing professional or graduate training at WUSTL. It also serves as a means for the university to learn more about the global community.

James V. Wertsch, PhD, associate vice chancellor for international affairs and director of the McDonnell International Scholars Academy, will offer opening remarks and host the roundtable exchange. Once the McDonnell scholars have made their preliminary comments, audience members will be invited to participate in a discussion of changing perceptions of 9/11 in communities across the world.

The panel participants are all doctoral candidates at WUSTL. They are:

  • Minchao Jin in the Brown School;
  • Elad Gilboa in electrical engineering in the School of Engineering & Applied Science;
  • Mehmet Morali, in energy, environmental and chemical engineering in the School of Engineering & Applied Science;
  • Lenny Ramsey in neuroscience in Arts & Sciences; and
  • Ziyan Zhang in chemistry in Arts & Sciences.

Earlier this fall, AMCS hosted “Washington University Remembers 9/11: A Panel Discussion” and invited members of the WUSTL community both to memorialize the tragic event and reflect upon its significance.

The program now invites anyone from the community – students, faculty, staff and administrators – who feels the resonance of 9/11, from daily life to institutional response, to participate in the project by contributing artifacts such as interviews, written reflections, speeches, oral histories, university communications and original works of art.

For more information, visit remembering911.wustl.edu or contact Heidi Kolk at (314) 935-5216 or hkolk@artsci.wustl.edu.