KINGSTON, R.I. -- April 8, 2003 -- The University of Rhode Island will host a panel discussion on race, nationalism and war on Saturday, April 12 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at its University Club. The club is located at 95 Upper College Road on the Kingston campus. The symposium is free and open to the public.

Sponsored by the Southern New England Consortium on Race and Ethnicity, the symposium is timely. "The discussion isn’t just about the war today. Instead we plan to look at the broader issues that are being played out in Iraq. We want to present different ways of looking at the subject to understand it in a broader context," says Rae Ferguson, URI assistant professor of history and consortium steering committee member. A URI undergraduate, Keri Ducharme, a political science/journalism/photography major, will exhibit her work, a satirical look at Saddam Hussein. Here are the full details:

8:30 a.m.: Coffee and pastries.

9 a.m.: Welcome: Rae Ferguson, consortium steering member.
9:10 to 10:10 a.m.: Panel 1

Chaired by Rashida Outlaw, a URI graduate history student

o "America’s Stepchildren: Liberians in the U.S." –Paul Khalil Saucier, African Studies, Rhode Island College.

o "Mozambique in the 20th Century, Decolonization, Civil War, and a Case Study for Peace Negotiation"—Ami Cutler, URI Department of History.

o "Relationships Among Religiosity, Dogmatism, and Moral Reasoning"—Adviye Tolunay, URI Department of Psychology.

10:10 to 10:20 a.m.: Break

10:20 to 11:50 a.m.: Panel 2

Chaired by Amy Potenza, URI student majoring in history and women’s studies.

o Adrienne Noelle Werge, Rhode Island School of Design, photographer born in Vietnam.

o "Projecting Domestic Racial Tension Abroad: Native Americans and Vietnam" — Valerie Karno, URI Department of English.

o "Race, Nationalism, and War in Latin America" – Rosie Pegueros, URI Department of History.

o "Race, Nationalism, and War: An Anthropological Perspective on Iraq"—Richard Lobban, Anthropology Department/African Studies, Rhode Island College.

12:15 p.m.: Lunch, exhibit by Keri Ducharme.