Symposium: The Destruction of Civilization and the Obligations of War

"The Destruction of Civilization and the Obligations of War," a symposium that reflects on serious questions that have arisen in the aftermath of the Iraq War, will be held 2-5 p.m. Oct. 8 in the Pendleton Room of the Michigan Union.

Artwork for the symposium, “The Destruction of Civilization and the Obligations of War.” Above: An image created by Elisabeth Paymal. Below: “War,” a piece by Ann Arbor sculptor Jane Bunge Noffke. “War” has been bronzed and will be displayed near the entrance to the Michigan League’s Pendleton Room during the Oct. 8 symposium.

The panel of speakers will include William Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International USA, on the "Tainted Legacy of 9/11 and the Ruin of Human Rights"; Stephen Darwall, U-M professor of philosophy on "What Were and Are Our Obligations in Iraq?"; Piotr Michalowski, U-M professor of ancient Near Eastern languages and civilizations, on "Ancient Mesopotamia: An Antique Land and a Ravaged Past"; and Keith Watenpaugh, a historian from LeMoyne College, on "The Politics of Mnemocide: Libraries, Archives and the Future of Iraq's Past."

President Mary Sue Coleman will introduce the program that looks at the devastation of libraries, the looting and destruction of the National Museum in Baghdad, the collapse of medical care in the days immediately following the cessation of fighting, and the ecological damage in cities, villages, deserts and cultivated lands.

These catastrophes raise powerful questions regarding obligations—and the limits of those obligations—on the part of those who make war, in regard to place, history and people. The point of the symposium will be to come to a clear understanding of the depth of loss, and to revisit the question of what makes the conduct of war just.

Ann Arbor artist Jane Bunge Noffke's bronze sculpture, "War," will be installed in the hall outside the Pendleton Room while the symposium is underway. In her vision of war, there are only losers.

The symposium, free and open to the public, is presented by the Institute for the Humanities and the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies, with support from the International Institute and the School of Social Work.

For more information, call (734) 936-3518 or visit http://www.lsa.umich.edu/humin .

—Eliza Woodford, Institute for the Humanities

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