War and terrorism in historical and political contexts topic of Nov. 7 Common Reading lecture

The Common Reading Program hosts a presentation by Clif Stratton titled “Parsing Violence: War and terrorism in historical and contemporary political discourse” on Mon., Nov. 7 at 4:30 p.m. in Todd 216. The public is welcome at this free event.

Stratton will explore the ways in which Western media and officials in government and academics discuss war and terror in cultural terms, and the historical decisions and political agendas that continue to produce political terror. The dichotomy often presented to us, Stratton said, assumes that war and terror are mutually exclusive, and that war is, if not desirable, at least justified, while terrorism is never justified. He will discuss how the historical relationship between war and terror complicates the black and white notions of legitimate versus illegitimate forms of violence.

Stratton is a clinical assistant professor in the Dept. of History and assistant director of the Roots of Contemporary Issues Program. In January 2016 he published Education for Empire: American Schools, Race, and the Paths of Good Citizenship, which examines the marginalization of minorities in the American school system.

The Common Reading Program began in Pullman in 2007 to help students, their teachers, and the community better engage in academically centered critical thinking, communication, research, and learning around a body of shared information presented in a single, specially selected book. This year’s book is I Am Malala which fits with the program’s 2015-2017 theme of “social justice and leadership.”

Contact:

Karen Weathermon, Common Reading Program co-director, WSU Undergraduate Education, 509-335-5488, kweathermon@wsu.edu

Emma Epperly, Communications and Marketing Junior Assistant, WSU Undergraduate Education, 509-335-9458, emmaepperly@wsu.edu