September 24, 2001
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Ohio State's news, experts and events give you more on the news
Experts
Media can tap expertise of Ohio State scholars – Ohio State faculty with expertise in foreign relations, the Middle East, Arab Americans and the war on terrorism are available to the media.
· Islamic history: Stephen Dale, professor of history, (614) 292-6722. An Islamic historian who specializes in the history of the eastern Islamic world, Dale has examined suicidal Islamic terrorists and can discuss Islamic history and some possible reasons behind Islamic suicide attacks. · U.S. Diplomacy: –Peter Hahn, associate professor of history, (614) 292-7200. A specialist in United States diplomatic history in the Middle East since 1940, Hahn cites a cultural clash between Islam and the Western world as the motivation behind the terrorist attacks on the United States. –Michael Hogan, professor of history and dean of the College of Humanities, (614) 292-1882. Hogan is a specialist in modern U.S. diplomatic history and national security studies. He can discuss foreign policy and national security issues as they relate to the terrorist attack and the American response. –Richard Herrmann, professor of political science, (614) 292-9843. Herrmann is an expert on U.S. foreign policy and Middle East politics. He has done work on relations in the Persian Gulf area, the role of Islam in politics, and relations between Arabs and Persians and between Pakistan and India. He has also studied both American and Russian relations with Islamic countries. · Middle Eastern Culture –Alam Payind, director of the Middle East Studies Center at Ohio State, (614) 688-4321. Payind is familiar with the culture, politics and religions of the Middle East and Afghanistan in particular. An Afghan native, Payind can speak about the opinions of leaders and citizens in the region concerning relations with the United States and the possibility of war. –Marsha Hamilton, associate professor and librarian at the Ohio State University Libraries, (614) 292-6314. Hamilton has studied American popular cultural images of Arabs, the Middle East, and Islam for 25 years. She can discuss some of the major concerns of Arab Americans during this crisis, how Arabs are portrayed in U.S. popular culture and common stereotypes of Muslims, Arabs and the Middle East. –Margaret Mills, professor and chair of the Department of Near East Languages and Cultures, (614) 292-7136. A scholar who has lived in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran, and conducted additional research in south and central Asia, Mills is an expert in the cultural politics of Afghanistan and surrounding nations. She says many of the problems facing the United States today might have been mitigated with a Marshall Plan-style aid package to help stabilize Afghanistan and rebuild civil society after the Soviet Union left there.News
Racial barriers to marriage stand in the way of immigrant assimilation – Despite America's legacy as a melting pot of cultures, immigrants coming to the U.S. in recent decades are not becoming part of American society as rapidly as European immigrants did a century ago, according to a study at The Ohio State University. Daniel Lichter, a professor of sociology at Ohio State, says one reason for the slow assimilation is the low rate of marriages between immigrants and natives. Looking at interracial marriage as a measure of assimilation, Lichter found low rates of interracial marriages not only among immigrants but also in the native-born minority population. The study shows that most interracial marriages are between whites and racial minorities rather than between different racial minorities. Contact: Daniel T. Lichter, (614) 292-2308. See http://www.osu.edu/researchnews/archive/marriages.htm
Events
Questions about Afghanistan? OSU faculty offers expertise – Sept 26. Responding to the need for knowledge about the Middle East following the terrorist attacks, Ohio State’s Middle East Studies Center offers “Afghanistan: How Much Do We Know?” The event is free and open to the public, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday (9/26) at Mershon Auditorium, 1871 N. High St. Panelists are Ohio State faculty members who have in-country experience and have conducted field studies in Afghanistan, including Alam Payind, director of the Middle East Studies Center and a native of Afghanistan; Margaret Mills, chair of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures; John Greisberger, director of Ohio State’s Office of International Education; and Stephen Dale, professor of history. Contact: Amy Weir-Ginnan, Office of International Affairs, (614) 292-1993.
Diversity Lecture Series begins new year with program on gay struggles – Sept. 26. Ten distinguished speakers will address issues of multiculturalism in the 2001-2002 President and Provost’s Diversity Lecture Series at The Ohio State University. The series kicks off on Wednesday (9/26) with “Learning from Laramie,” a look at the struggles of gays and lesbians in America by Beth Loffreda, author of Losing Matt Shepherd: Life and Politics in the Aftermath of Anti-Gay Murder. Loffreda, a professor at the University of Wyoming, will deliver her lecture at 9 a.m. at the Ohio Union Conference Theatre, 1739 N. High St. The series, a component of Ohio State’s Diversity Action Plan, is sponsored by the Office of the President and the Office of Academic Affairs. Contact: Frank W. Hale Jr. (614) 688-4255.
Festival celebrates the funnies – Sept. 28-29. The spotlight will be on virtuoso cartoonists at The Ohio State University Cartoon Research Library’s seventh triennial Festival of Cartoon Art, Friday and Saturday (9/28-29). The festival will welcome more than a dozen world-renowned cartoonists to lead discussions on artistic virtuosity, and will include two exhibitions – one showing the work of 19 historic cartoonists and the other displaying Calvin and Hobbes strips by Bill Watterson. Among the scheduled speakers: Lynn Johnston, author of the comic strip For Better or For Worse, editorial cartoonist Patrick Oliphant; and Jeff Smith, who founded Cartoon Books in 1991 to publish his comic, Bone, the epic adventure of Fone Bone and his friends. Most events will be held at the Ohio Union Conference Theatre, 1739 N. High St. Contact: Lucy Shelton Caswell, Cartoon Research Library, (614) 292-0538.
Chinese Studies hosts symposium – Sept. 28-29. Ohio State's new Institute for Chinese Studies offers its inaugural fall symposium titled “China and the U.S. in the 21st Century: Politics, Economics, and International Relations,” on Friday and Saturday (9/28-29) at the Mershon Center, 1501 Neil Ave. The event includes a keynote presentation by Sheng-tsung Yang, director general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago, and panels featuring OSU and visiting scholars in political science, law, business and anthropology. Contact: Institute for Chinese Studies, (614) 297-6893.
The person listed as Contact will have the best information about the story. Call on our media relations staff for help with any Ohio State story – Elizabeth Conlisk, (614) 292-3040; Amy Murray, (614) 292-8385; Lesley Deaderick, (614) 292-0569, and Shannon Wingard, (614) 247-6821.
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