Ethics in the Professions Series Symposium :
Torture & Interrogation

Nightwind

The University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill

First Day: September 12, 2008

Click HERE for details on Saturday's program.

This symposium will launch on Friday, September 12, with a dramatic reenactment of the realities of torture and interrogation performed by Hector Aristizábal, the Creative Director of ImaginAction. Nightwind is a harrowing solo performance, in which Hector Aristizábal reenacts his arrest and torture by the U.S.-supported military in Colombia. The performance will segue into an interactive workshop that will engage the audience in exploring ways to focus their emotional reactions into constructive action.

The aim of this program is to explore the ethical issues raised by the methods of interrogation practiced by the U.S. government, addressed from perspectives and disciplines ranging from psychology, law, philosophy and government. 

From the foundational issues regarding the historical practice and effectiveness of interrogation, this program will expand into exploring questions such as: What should be the limits of permissible interrogation? Under what circumstances can a society overstep these limits? What roles do professionals play in interrogation? 

This interdisciplinary program is intended for all audiences with the goal of fostering open discussion and greater understanding of the central issues on this important and timely subject.

This event is sponsored by the Parr Center for Ethics, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, the School of Law, the School of Public Health, Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, the Center for Global Initiatives, Curriculum in Peace, War and Defense, Department of History, Department of Philosophy, Department of Political Science, Department of Public Policy, Department of Religious Studies, Department of Sociology, Difficult Dialogues, the Institute for the Study of the Americas, the Triangle Center of Terrorism and Homeland Security, and Duke University's Kenan Institute for Ethics.

Location: Hyde Hall University Room, 7:30 pm. This event is free and open to the public as space permits.

Download Event Flier (pdf): Click Here

Saturday Symposium Participants include:

Philip Bobbitt - Professor of Law and Director of the Center for National Security at Columbia University; Senior Fellow in the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law at the University of Texas. He has served extensively in government, in both Democratic and Republican administrations, including Associate Council to the President, and senior directorships at the National Security Council.

Joseph Caddell - Lecturer, UNC Department of History; Retired Lieutenant Colonel of the U.S. Air Force Reserves.

Chuck Fager - Director of Quaker House in Fayetteville, a peace project next to Fort Bragg; founding member of The National Religious Coalition Against Torture (NRCAT), and member of NC Stop Torture Now.

Joseph Kennedy - Associate Professor of Law, UNC School of Law.

David Price - Congressman, 4th District of North Carolina, U.S. House of Representatives. Price currently serves on the House Appropriations Committee and is chair of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee.

Scott Silliman - Professor of The Practice of Law, and Executive Director, Center on Law, Ethics and National Security at Duke University.

Stephen Soldz - Director, Center for Research, Evaluation and Program Development at Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis, and founder of Psychoanalysts for Peace and Justice.

National Public Radio: Several of our program speakers will appear on the NPR program, The State of Things, discussing this topic on Wednesday, September 10.

For more information, please contact Lance Westerlund at lancew@unc.edu and (919) 843-5641.