Syracuse University kicks off six-part forum series Jan. 15 to educate the community-at-large on issues surrounding the potential war in Iraq

Syracuse University kicks off six-part forum series Jan. 15 to educate the community-at-large on issues surrounding the potential war in IraqJanuary 07, 2003Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

As the United States moves towards possible military action in Iraq, Syracuse University will launch a six-part forum series aimed at fostering discussion on the issues surrounding a potential war. “Syracuse University Forum: War in Iraq” will begin on Jan. 15 and continue through April 3.

“The purpose of the series is to educate the community about the many facets of the conflict between the U.S. and Iraq,” says the Rev. Thomas V. Wolfe, dean of Hendricks Chapel and chair of the committee that is organizing the forum series. “We are attempting to put a face on the issues and create an atmosphere of openness and sharing.”

“This is just the type of learning we should all be engaged in,” says Vice Chancellor and Provost Deborah A. Freund. “I hope to see all members of our communities there, learning and sharing their perspectives.”

Each forum will be held from 7-8:30 p.m. in Studio A of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and is open to the University and greater Syracuse communities. Those attending should use the Waverly Avenue entrance of the building

The speakers for the Jan. 15 forum, “Iraq: A Historical Mosaic,” will be Mehrzad Boroujerdi, associate professor and director of graduate studies in the Department of Political Science in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, and Goodwin Cooke, former U.S. ambassador to the Central African Republic and Professor of Practice in the Maxwell School’s International Relations Program. Dean Wolfe will serve as moderator.

The series will continue on Jan. 30 with “Media Coverage of the War.”Subsequent forums will be held on Feb. 13 (“War in Iraq: Implications for Foreign Policy”) and Feb. 27 (“War and the Many Faces of Civil Liberties”), March 20 and April 3 (topics for both to be announced).

Boroujerdi, a Middle East expert, is the author of “Iranian Intellectuals and the West: The Tormented Triumph of Nativism” (Syracuse University Press, 1996). Also, he is general editor of the “Modern Intellectual and Political History of the Middle East” series published by Syracuse University Press and the book review editor of the International Journal of Middle East Studies.

In 2000-01, Boroujerdi served as a scholar-in-residence at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C. He was the 1997-98 recipient of the Maxwell School’s Daniel Patrick Moynihan Award for outstanding teaching, research and service by a junior faculty member.

Cooke is a graduate of Harvard University. He joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1956 and held a variety of appointments in embassies in Pakistan, Yugoslavia, Belgium, Canada, Ivory Coast and the Central African Republic, where he served as ambassador. He joined SU in 1981 as vice president for international affairs. He is currently professor of international relations in the Maxwell School.