Communication - September, 2005
from Jerry Baldasty, chair

[Download a Microsoft Word version of the September, 2005 "Communication"]

Save the Date

October 4, 2005. Professor Patricia Moy gives the inaugural Cressey Professorship Lecture. 7 p.m. lecture, followed by dessert reception. Walker Ames Room, Kane Hall.

October 20, 2005. Department of Communication Open House and Alumni Hall of Fame celebration. 5:30-6:30 Open House; 6:45-7:45 Hall of Fame event; 7:45-8:30: Buffet.

Research

Howard, Philip N. New Media Campaigns and Political Culture. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006.

Williams, A. & Thurlow, C. (eds). (2005). Talking Adolescence: Perspectives on Communication in the Teenage Years. New York: Peter Lang.

Baldasty, Gerald J.. Vigilante Newspapers: A Tale of Sex, Religion and Murder in the Northwest. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2005. A book reading, sponsored by the University Book Store, will be on Tuesday, November 22, 7:30 p.m. in Kane 210.

Manusov, V., & Milstein, T. (2005). “Interpreting nonverbal communication: Representation and transformation frames in Israeli and Palestinian media coverage of the 1993 Rabin-Arafat handshake.” Western Journal of Communication, 69, 183-201.

Black, L. W. (2005). “Building connection while thinking together: By-products of employee training in dialogue.” Western Journal of Communication, 69, 273-292.

Thurlow, C. & Marwick, A. (2005). “Apprehension versus awareness: Toward more critical understandings of young people’s communication experiences.” In Williams, A. & Thurlow, C. (eds), Talking adolescence: Perspectives on communication in the teenage years (pp. 53-72). New York: Peter Lang.

Domke, David. "Petitioners or prophets? Presidential discourse, God, and the ascendancy of religious conservatives," Journal of Communication, accepted for publication August 1, 2005 (second author, with Kevin Coe).

Kielbowicz, Richard. “The Law and Mob Law in Attacks on Antislavery Newspapers,1833-1860,” Law and History Review (in press for 2006 publication).

Kielbowicz, Richard. “Testing the Boundaries of Postal Enterprise in the U.S. Free-Market Economy, 1880-1920,” in The Post, Communication and Transport, ed. John Willis (Hull, Quebec: Canadian Museum of Civilization, in press for publication in late 2005).

Schneider, Steven M., and Kirsten A. Foot. 2005. “Web Sphere Analysis: An Approach to Studying Online Action.” In Virtual Methods: Issues in Social Research on the Internet, edited by C. Hine. Oxford: Berg. 157-170.

Ceccarelli, Leah. "Let Us (Not) Theorize the Spaces of Contention," Argumentation and Advocacy, in press.

Warnick, B. (in press). "Critical literacy and the challenge of new media,” in Navigating the Network Society: The Challenges and Opportunities of the Digital Age. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Edited by Susan B. Kretchmer.

Tatum, Clifford (forthcoming, 2005), “Deconstructing Google bombs: A breach of symbolic power or just a goofy prank?” First Monday, 10(10)

Morgan, Sara. “More than Pictures? An exploration of visually dominant magazine ads as arguments." Journal of Visual Literacy, Autumn 2005 (in press).

Thurlow, C. & Jaworski, A. (2006 forthcoming). “The alchemy of the upwardly mobile: Symbolic capital and the stylization of elites in frequent-flyer programs.” Discourse & Society, 17(1).

Thurlow, C. (2005). “Relating to our work, accounting for our selves: The autobiographical imperative in teaching about difference.” Language and Intercultural Communication, 4(3), 209-228.

Kathleen Fearn Banks has recently completed reviewing proof sheets for her new book The Historical Dictionary of African American Television (which will be out in December) and for the special crisis communication edition of the Journal of Promotion Management (also to be published at year's end). The third edition of her book Crisis Communications: Casebook Approach is due in January.

Thurlow, C., Jaworski, A. & Ylänne-McEwen, V. (2005). “’Half-hearted tokens of transparent love’? ‘Ethnic’ postcards and the visual mediation of host-tourist communication.” Tourism, Culture and Communication, 5(2), 93-104.

Danielle Endres (with Barbara Warnick, Mike Xenos & John Gastil), (2005) “Effects of campaign-to-user and text-based interactivity in political candidate campaign websites,” Journal of Computer Mediated Communication 10(3).

Danielle Endres and Barbara Warnick, (2004) “Text-based interactivity in candidate campaign websites: A case study from the 2002 elections,” Western Journal of Communication, 68(3): 322-342.

Verena Hess (with Mike Xenos & Patricia Moy), (2005) “Communication and citizenship: Mapping the political effects of infotainment,” Mass Communication and Society, Vol. 8, 111-131.

Taso Lagos (with Lance Bennett, Victor Pickard, et al.), (2004) “Managing the public sphere: Journalistic construction of the great globalization debate,” Journal of Communication, 54:3, 437-455.

Taso Lagos & April Peterson (with Meg Spratt), (2005) “Of photographs and flags: Uses and perceptions of an iconic image before and after September 11, 2001,” Popular Communication, 3(2), 117-136.

Tema Milstein, (2004) Book review, “The Ethics of diet: A catena of authorities deprecatory of the practice of flesh-eating,” Ethics, Place, and Environment, 7 (3), 216-219; (2004).

D. Travers Scott, (2005) “Protest email as alternative media in the 2004 U.S. presidential campaign,” Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture, 2(1), 51-71.

Marcos Torres (with Patricia Moy, M. McCluskey & K. Tanaka), (2005) “Knowledge or trust? Investigating linkages between media reliance and participation,” Communication Research, 32, 59-86.

Conferences

Kirsten Foot and Steven Schneider co-authored two papers for presentation at the Internet Research 6.0 conference in Chicago in October, 2005, entitled "Studying Civic Engagement Through Links" and "Web Archiving as an e-research activity". Foot and Schneider will also present a paper on "Preserving Open Access through Web Archiving" at the Research in the Information Society conference in Tunisia, November, 2005, in conjunction with Phase II of the World Summit on the Information Society.

McGarrity, Matt. "Public Speaking Textbooks and Rhetorical Invention" A top paper in the Basic Course Division, National Communication Association.

Leighter, J., & Black, L. W. (2005). “’I’m just raising the question’: An analysis of ‘question(s)’ and meanings in public meetings.” Top Four Paper, Language and Social Interaction division, National Communication Association.

Morgan, Sara., “More than pictures? An exploration of visually dominant magazine ads as arguments.” National Communication Association.

Tatum, Clifford. "Emerging Methods for Analyzing A New Generation of Civic Engagement on the Web: Place, Space and Social Action in the Chinese Diaspora" Association of Internet Research.

Kaplan, Deborah. "Discourse and the politics of resistance, " panel for NCA (Critical & Cultural Studies Division). Deborah and co-authors Giorgia Aiello and Irina Gendelman are presenters on the panel and Lance Bennett is the discussant.

Kevin Coe, David Domke. Meredith Bagley, Sheryl Cunningham, and Nancy van Leuven, “Hyper-masculinity as political strategy: George W. Bush, the 'war on terrorism,' and an echoing press." Mass Communication & Society Division, Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication, San Antonio, TX, August 2005

Docan, Tony. "Internet Infidelity: Perceptions of Self-Infidelity vs. Partner Infidelity and Conflicting Views of Men and Women." (co-authored with Carol Docan). National Communication Association.

Warnick, B. "Online Memorializing: Remembrance, Consolation, and Mobilization on Selected Memorial Web Sites, 1997-2004." Association of Internet Researchers, Chicago, October 8, 2005.

Language and Global Communication Conference

Communication grad student Kristi DeVadder writes:

“This July, Giorgia Aiello, Irina Gendelman, Tema Milstein, Crispin Thurlow and I traveled to Wales to present at the Language and Global Communication Conference put on by Cardiff University’s Centre for Language and Communication Research. Papers were titled:

Giorgia Aiello and Irina Gendelman, “Communication in microfinance: An exploratory case study.”

Irina Gendelman and Giorgia Aiello, “From fast food to slow food: Challenging global modes of consumption through symbolic production.”

Tema Milstein, “Attracting global tourism to Israel: The roles of tourism officials, the press and reality in the discursive construction of normalcy.”

Crispin Thurlow and Giorgia Aiello. “National pride, global capital: A social semiotic analysis of corporate branding in the airline industry.”

Kristina De Vadder and Crispin Thurlow, “Selling the global village: The commodification and exploitation of languages and intercultural communication in ‘alternative’ tourism.”

“The July 7 bombings in London’s transport network happened the day the conference opened—a somber start that reminded us all of the relevance of the many issues we’d come together to discuss.

“As a first-time presenter, I was thrilled and terrified to be there. I’d expected maybe a dozen people at our talk, but nearly a quarter of the conference’s 120 attendees turned up. Ironically, presenting was the best part for me. Engaging with people interested in our research gave me great insights and a confidence boost. While conference networking was important, conversations and camaraderie with my colleagues from the UW were invaluable reminders of what a talented community of scholars we have here on our own ‘home turf’.

“We all felt extremely fortunate to be a part of this event and are grateful to the Department and the Laura Crowell Fund for its generous support. Thanks also (and especially) to Crispin Thurlow (and his colleague Adam Jaworski) for their tireless work in coordinating this amazing exchange.”

For those interested, paper abstracts and information about the LG&C conference are available here.

International Communication Association

Giorgia Aiello, “‘Talking back’ as a strategy in identity formation: The European Union vs. the U.S. on issues of (audio)visual representation.”

Fiona Clark & Katherine Hall, “Content analysis as a public health research tool,” poster.

Irina Gendelman, “Communication and broken windows: Graffiti debates.”

Sue Lockett John, “Myth and newspaper competition: When story-bearers are the story,” Journalism Studies Division top student paper.

Tema Milstein, “Questioning the discourse: A critical exploration of the interplay of dominant and resistant messages about animals at the zoo.”

Leah Sprain, “‘The process--it’s where the magic is’: Group process and ideological commitment in Conversation Café.”

Nancy Van Leuven, “Women and the news,” panel chair.

Jun Young (with Kirsten Foot), “E-cruiting: Construction of work in Fortune 500 recruiting websites.”

Grants

Kirsten Foot received a grant of approximately $7,000 from the UW College of Arts and Sciences for cross-national comparative analysis of the Web in 20 national elections that took place in 2004.

The Catherwood Library at Cornell University has licensed software from her WebArchivist.org research group for $15,000, for a yearlong project to build an archive of Web sites produced by labor-related nongovernmental organizations.

Crispin Thurlow has received a $1000 travel grant from UW's Graduate School following his invitation to present a keynote speech at the International Conference on Language and Social Psychology in Bonn (Germany) in July 2006. This is a significant honor, in recognition of his having received the Jim Bradac award for Outstanding Research by a Junior Scholar in July 2004.

Phil Howard has received an Arts and Sciences Curriculum Development Award to develop curricular content and website template for involving undergraduates in original research into the communication strategies of issue-specific lobby groups. This project will link coursework in political communication with our Department's public scholarship goals. The class, Communication Technology and Politics (COM407/ POL451), explores how political organizations use new information technologies to construct public opinion. The larger goal of the award is to experiment with group learning techniques that may be transportable across the social science curriculum at the university.

People

Karen Rathe attended the The Poynter Institute's weeklong "Diversity across the Curriculum" seminar in May. She writes, “It was a wonderful, stimulating experience. Nearly 20 years ago when I had a seminar at Poynter, our group of 15 had one person of color. In May, nearly half of our group was made up of persons of color; all of the faculty we worked with were either black or Latino. Twenty years ago the buzz phrase for promoting diversity was ‘It's good for business’ (in addition to being morally right in terms of promoting fairness, etc.) This time, the phrase was, ‘Diversity is a part of doing excellent journalism.’ The workshops were finely tuned and offered many ways to build the concepts of diversity into many segments of a given class, as opposed to just offering a class on ‘Diversity and Journalism.’ There was ample time also to share ideas and teaching strategies with the others attending the seminar, a very talented bunch; most were Com PhD's; four of us came over from TV or newspapers in the past five years to teaching. The seminar also addressed gender/GLBT issues; one evening we met with a panel that featured a Protestant minister who is a lesbian, a longtime editor with the St. Pete Times, also a lesbian; and a transgendered woman (MTF) who is an evangelical Christian. I have continued to stay in touch with other participants in the seminar.”

David Domke was a NCA Doctoral Honors Seminar facilitator, July 25-28, for the mass communication division. David also gave a talk in June at a Democratic National Committee western regional meeting (Helena, MT), on "The echoing press: A strategic politics perspective on U.S. news media." He has also written numerous items for popular media, including the Baltimore Sun, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Counterpunch.org, Commondreams.org,, and Mediatransparency.org, He and Crispin Thurlow led a workshop on "The power of articulation: Language, identity, and political strategy,” with FaithForward, in Seattle in June. [Faith Forward is an interfaith religious group]

Gerry Philipsen gave the keynote address to the Annual Awards Assembly of the
Seattle Debate League (high school and middle school) in June at the John Stanford Center; the keynote address title: "The Power of Debate."

Congratulations to Mary Lynn Veden, who has received the 2005 James Golden Outstanding Student Essay in Rhetoric Award for her paper, "Rewriting Reality, Resisting Authority: A Rhetorical Reading of 'Realist Style' in the 2002 'Leaked' Alberto Gonzales Memorandum to President George W. Bush." This is a very prestigious and competitive national award for undergraduate and MA students. She will be receiving her award at the NCA Convention, and presenting her paper there as well (on Saturday, November 19, 3:30 p.m., Sheraton Hotel, Beacon H room).

Doug Underwood reviewed John Durham Peters' new book, Courting the Abyss: Free Speech and the Liberal Tradition, for the Journal of Media and Religion.

Edith Manosevitch received the Top Paper Award for the Mass Communication Theory and Research Division at the 2005 NCA Doctoral Honors Seminar - July 25-28 in Norman, Oklahoma. The paper came from her dissertation project, "Argument Repertoire and Media Discourse". She has also been selected to receive a Mortar Board Alumni/ Tolo Foundation scholarship for the 2005-2006 academic year. Congratulations!

Sara Morgan has been selected as a fellow to the 2005 Simpson Center Institute on Public Humanities for Doctoral Students this September.

Kathleen Fearn Banks is serving as a member of the Faculty Council on Student Affairs, with a term running to 2008.

Barbara Warnick is serving as a member of the Faculty Council on Educational Outreach, with a term running to 2008

Jerry Baldasty is serving as the director of the UW Teaching Academy for 2005-6. The Academy oversees the university’s key teaching/learning workshops, including the Large Lecture Collegium, the Provost’s Workshops, Faculty Fellows and the Institute for Teaching Excellence. Members of the Teaching Academy advisory committee include Lisa Coutu, David Domke and Don Wulff. Jerry is also chairing the provost’s Committee for Improvement of UW Undergraduate Education. Verena Hess is the committee’s Research Assistant.

Welcome to our new colleagues

Gina Neff joins the Department after teaching in Department of Communication at UC San Diego. Before joining UCSD's faculty, she was a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of California's Institute for Labor and Employment at UCLA. She received her Ph.D. in sociology from Columbia and has an M.Phil. in sociology from the City University of New York. Her dissertation was entitled "Organizing Uncertainty: Individual, Organizational and Institutional Risk in New York's Internet Industry, 1995-2003." She did a B.A. at Columbia in economics and Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures. Her research focuses on work in media industries with particular emphasis on the information technology sector. She also works in organizational communication with a focus on the role of technology in the constitution of social networks.

Ralina L. Joseph received her Ethnic Studies Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of California, San Diego. Her dissertation, "New Millennium 'Mulattas': Post-Ethnicity, Post-Feminism, and the Mixed-Race Excuse," investigates how contemporary representations of multiracial African American women are used for neo-conservative political agendas. Her undergraduate degree is from Brown University, where she majored in American Civilization.

Welcome back to John Gastil, who returns after a sabbatical leave in 2004-5. John writes: “The sabbatical was a wonderfully productive and regenerating year. The bulk of my time, I collected and stitched together large datasets on the experience of jury service and on the interplay of cultural values, public opinion, and deliberation. I also finished an edited book with Peter Levine, The Deliberative Democracy Handbook . Other sabbatical projects included: assembling a replica of a Mayan pyramid in front of our house using broken sidewalk rubble from a construction site next door; visiting actual Mayan temples in Central America with my parents; visiting Australia's coasts and working with the Western Australian government on citizen deliberation; integrating the Election Day computer simulation with LegSim, a legislative game developed by John Wilkerson (UW Political Science); and cheering on the 2004 (and 2005?) WNBA Champion Seattle Storm.”

Alumni

Many thanks to Paul Ford for his work in revising our alumni web site. Please take a look.

Thanks, too, to Anna Fahey and Victoria Sprang.

Recent Communication/UW Alumni visitors have included Neil McReynolds, former editor of Eastside Journal, former press aide to Gov. Dan Evans; who spoke to Community Journalism: News Lab on July 6 and Sally J. Clark, Daily alum (editor in chief, 1990; former editor of the Seattle Gay News; recent master's grad in Public Policy); who now works for Lifelong AIDS Alliance. She spoke in Community Journalism: News Lab on July 25. Two other Community Journalism: News Lab visitors were alumni Ian Ith and Stephanie Dunnewind.

Alumna (and 2005 Hall of Fame member) Lori Matsukawa is the 2005 recipient of Asian American Journalists’ Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes an Asian American who has demonstrated courage and commitment to the principles of journalism over the course of a life's work. Matsukawa, a co-anchor with NBC-affiliate KING 5 in Seattle, first joined the station in 1983 as a reporter and co-anchor for a news show called "Top Story." From 1984 to 1990, she also co-hosted "Celebrate the Differences," a weekly KING 5 minority affairs program. Matsukawa is a founding member of AAJA's Seattle Chapter and served as chapter president and co-chaired the 1991 national convention in Seattle. The award judges said: “Beyond her professional achievements, what really stood out was her continuing support and dedication to the advancement of Asian American journalists. Matsukawa is clearly a leader whose influence and actions inspire change. She has made it her mission to build a culture of diversity in newsrooms by mentoring hundreds of young Asian American journalists."

Bequests.

We have a new endowed scholarship ($86,000) , from the estate of Robert and Marilyn Mathis Patterson. Robert Patterson was professor emeritus at Castleton State College in Castleton, Vermont, where he taught history from 1960 until his retirement in 1988. Marilyn Mathis Patterson was a 1948 UW graduate in journalism, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Delta Pi, and recipient of the UW Faculty Medal while she was a student here. She died June 3, 1991.

Arden Benthien, UW class of 1937 (Comparative Literature) bequeathed $37,206 to the UW to be split between the Department of Communication and the School of Nursing. Mr. Benthien, 1910-2004, was the longtime managing editor of the Idaho Free Press. Prior to that he worked as a farm reporter for NW Farm News in Bellingham and for the Anchorage Daily Times as a photographer. At his request, Mr. Benthien's gift will be used for support for students studying print journalism.

The September Project

The September Project is a grassroots effort to encourage public events on freedom, democracy, and citizenship in libraries on or around September 11. September Project events are activities of reflection, discussion, and dialogue about the meaning of freedom, the role of information in promoting active citizenship, and the importance of literacy in making sense of the world around us.

More than 600 public, academic, school, and military libraries in 25 countries participated in 2005 – including groups in Australia, Bangladesh, Cuba, Cyprus, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Peru, Serbia and Montenegro, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, the US, and Venezuela. Approximately 445 libraries in all 50 states and the District of Columbia hosted events about freedom and democracy in September. The Project includes public libraries, many academic libraries (community colleges, colleges, and universities), school libraries (K-12), and a number of military base libraries. Locally, UW Libraries (Bothell, Seattle, Tacoma) hosted events and 10 other Puget Sound-area community colleges, colleges, and universities participated. Nine branches of the Seattle Public Library worked with the ACLU of Washington to host events.

The September Project was the subject of an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education titled “Academic Libraries Join in Marking September 11 With Discussions of What Freedom Means.” An excerpt from that article, written by Brock Read:

Libraries around the world plan to mark the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, by asking patrons to come together and mull over some weighty topics -- like freedom, democracy, and citizenship.

That's as it should be, according to David Silver, an assistant professor of communication at the University of Washington. Mr. Silver has helped to organize The September Project which encourages libraries to use the month to engage their communities in conversation about the meaning of freedom.

"It's an appropriate time to have these discussions, not only about September 11, but about the world that has come out of September 11," he said.

Mr. Silver started the venture last year with Sarah Washburn, who had worked with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's U.S. Library Program. The September Project immediately struck a chord: Almost 500 libraries participated last year, holding voter-registration drives, readings of the Bill of Rights, and other events.

This year the roster of participants expanded to include about 620 libraries, 100 of them affiliated with colleges -- including some in such far-flung locales as Ethiopia, Nicaragua, and Northern Cyprus.

"With 10 to 15 libraries in India and 8 or 9 libraries in Bangladesh signing up," Mr. Silver says, "I'm fascinated to see what they think about issues of freedom and democracy." ….

The project's goal, Mr. Silver says, is simply to help libraries pique the interest of their patrons.

He notes approvingly that some college libraries -- such as those at the University of Kansas and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington -- have chosen to work in tandem with local libraries in their communities in an effort to broaden the appeal of their exhibits and events.

"Working with the community like that," says Mr. Silver, "makes librarians stronger, and more relevant, scholars."

Fellowships, Scholarships & Awards

Giorgia Aiello, Graduate Scholarship, Washington State Credit Union, 2005.

Whitney Anspach, Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship in German studies, UW Jackson School of International Studies, 2005; Instructional & Developmental Communication Division Student Teaching Award, International Communication Association (ICA), 2005.

Ted Coopman, Illinois Initiative for Media Policy Research Travel Fellowship, “Can Freedom of the Press Survive Media Consolidation?” Conference, Urbana-Champaign, IL, May 2005.

Research Mentor Center (RMC) Volunteers

Many thanks to the volunteers who staffed the RMC – an invaluable research and writing center for our students – in 2004-2005: Avery Alix, Whitney Anspach, Meredith Bagley, Diane Beall, Ted Coopman, Natalie Debray, Tony Docan, Kate Dunsmore, Louisa Edgerly, Maria Garrido, Isaac Gottesman, Jessica Harvey, Pattijean Hooper, Sue Lockett John, Sara Morgan, Stephanie Smith, Leah Sprain, Dru Williams.

In the Press

Crispin Thurlow was quoted in a Seattle Times article (September 3, 2005) titled “Popular Web site MySpace attracts teens, but some parents concerned.” An excerpt of the article, by reporter (and Comm alum) Stephanie Dunnewind:

“Browsing MySpace.com, with its bikini-clad pictures and graphic language, was enough to convince Jeff Allen to say "no way" to his daughter's request to join friends on the hugely popular social-networking site. … Launched less than two years ago, the site boasted 21.2 million visitors in July, up from 15.5 million visitors in May, according to the comScore Media Metrix.

“Teen communication is all about social relationships; now that's just moved online,” said Crispin Thurlow, a University of Washington communication professor. "Kids have always wanted to hang out and not tell their parents what they're doing," he said. As for the provocative language, teens like to "play with the rules, to deliberately break taboos," noted Thurlow, who edited "Talking Adolescence: Perspectives on Communication in the Teenage Years," out later this month. The shorthand instant-messaging lingo adds to the sense that the site is for teens by teens — not adults.

Roger Simpson, and the Dart Center, were mentioned in a San Antonio Express News article (September 11, 2005) titled “When News Brings Tears.” An excerpt from that article:

Much like 9-11, Katrina is an unfathomable tragedy that replays in the mind long after we turn the page or change the channel. And much like that terrible Tuesday in 2001, a media-obsessed public must again process domestic disaster
and the many raw photos and news feeds that accompany it. And no matter how harrowing the similarities or differences between these
catastrophes, we continue watching. No matter how much it hurts.

"Katrina is certainly similar (to 9-11) and it's probably a difference in degree. Not in terms of the devastation but in terms of whether people are
staying glued to their TV sets or whether they're continuing on with other activities," says Roger Simpson, director of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Simpson says most people glued to the news are in the Gulf Coast and other affected areas. Those outside the region, he says, probably move back and forth between the daily routine and concentrating on Katrina's impact.
….
As Simpson notes, 9-11 was "a sudden, stunning event." With Katrina, meteorologists predicted the hurricane's potential for damage days before it made landfall.

Roger Simpson of the Dart Center and other experts urge parents to watch the news with their children at all times and encourage them to ask questions and talk about what they're seeing. Help them put into context that, yes, this is a tragedy but people are trying their hardest to make life better for hurricane victims.

Taso Lagos was mentioned in a recent Seattle Times article written by alumnus Stuart Eskenazi. An excerpt:

As a new day dawns on the Acropolis tomorrow, 16 University of Washington students who have spent the past month studying in Athens will climb to the top
to remember the tragedy of 9/11, celebrate the power of democracy and plead for international solidarity.

The students and their instructor, Taso Lagos, each will remove a pinch of dirt from a small plastic container, collected from a garden near the World Trade Center site, and sprinkle it at the base of the Acropolis. They then will ascend to the Parthenon, the international symbol of democracy and monument to ancient Greek civilization.

There, they will hear the recitation of a letter from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg resolving that "today, tomorrow, and in all the days to come, we will carry ourselves with the determination, bravery, and grace worthy of the heroes of 9/11."

Students then will be asked to say a few words about what democracy and the day means to them. A moment of silence will follow.

"The ceremony is going to be a fitting end to conclude our time in Athens by reflecting upon our experience and what we have learned," said Holly Lange, a sophomore in the UW honors program. "We have met new people and have seen new things and, for many of us, were exposed for the first time to another culture."

Lagos and his students have invited U.S. Embassy officials and Greeks from the Plaka district that surrounds the Acropolis to join them for the ceremony, which will begin at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow Athens time (11:30 tonight Seattle time).

The dirt being used is compost collected by Lagos from Battery Park's Liberty Community Garden, which was rebuilt after serving as a staging area following
the World Trade Center attacks. The compost's origin tracks back to here, created from a mountain of flowers that mourners had left at Seattle Center's fountain after 9/11. A delegation from Seattle later delivered a large quantity of the "Million Flower Compost" for use in sustaining the Lower Manhattan garden.

The Athens honors seminar, which ends tomorrow, encouraged students to develop
leadership skills by studying Greek history and culture, which laid the foundation for Western democracy. Lagos has challenged his students to think about community in a more global context.

"My experience from traveling is that everyone I have met has been kind and understanding," said Aaron Black, a junior. "There are many cultural differences, but on a basic level, everyone is pretty much the same."

Lagos bore witness to that lesson last summer while volunteering in Athens during the Summer Olympics. On the anniversary of 9/11, he went to the Acropolis with a video camera and interviewed tourists about democracy, freedom and patriotism -- and how each of those concepts touched upon the attacks and their aftermath.

--

The Department of Communication will be one of the sponsors of a UW conference (Oct. 28-29, 2005), "Feminist Dialogues on Social Justice: Forging Articulations Across U.S.-Based Anti-Racist and Transnational Feminisms.” This conference is the culminating event for the “Feminist Conversations” that were convened on campus in 2004-05. The mission of the series is to conceptualize analytic and political connections across international and intra-international perspectives, communities and movements, seeking to inspire analyses that will have implications for the study of historical and contemporary national and transnational formations of gender, race, class, sexuality, and other systems of social inequalities.

Participants in the conference include scholars such as Haunani Kay Trask, Jasbir Puar, Gayatri Gopinath, Rod Ferguson, Tina Campt, and Renya Ramirez.

[Download a Microsoft Word version of the September, 2005 "Communication"]