September 28, 2011
Reflecting on the most destructive terrorist attack ever
perpetrated on American soil, leading scholars, authors and artists
from across the United States and around the world gathered at St.
John’s University to take part in a two-day conference on 9/11 and
its aftermath.
The
conference, “Making Meaning of 9/11: Local Impacts, Global
Implications,” took place on September 16 and 17 on the
University’s Manhattan campus — just two blocks from Ground Zero.
“My hope is that this conference will help us to live beyond 9/11,
and at the same time weave it into the fabric of our lives,” said
Julia Upton, RSM, Ph.D., Provost of St. John’s University, in her
opening remarks.
Henry Giroux, Ph.D., a leading scholar in the field of critical
studies, delivered the keynote address, which was streamed live
online and through a feed to the Little Theater on the Queens
campus. “I think it’s important to take the subject seriously and
do it in a way that doesn’t merely memorialize it,” he said of the
two-day conference. “We need to find something in 9/11 that was
inspiring.”
Photo Gallery
Known around the world as one of the founding theorists of Critical
Pedagogy, Dr. Giroux has published 47 books and over 300 articles,
including many on the subject of 9/11. His stirring keynote
reflected on changes in our nation and our ideals in the decade
since that fateful day. “The unfolding sense of collective
vulnerability and loss drew us together in a kind of fragile blend
of grief, sacrifice, compassion and a newfound respect for the
power of common purpose and commitment,” he said. Dr. Giroux added
that the events of that day “…can and did give birth to enormous
political, ethical and social possibilities.”
Jan Hoffman, a reporter for The New York Times, reflected
on the countless portraits of 9/11 victims she wrote in her
poignant presentation, “Portraits of Grief Revisited.” Hoffman
spoke of the challenges she faced in writing countless portraits
over a twelve-month period. Through often heart-wrenching phone
conversations, she and several other Times reporters
interviewed the friends and family members of these victims in an
effort to honor their memory. “In scarcely 200 words each, we tried
to show that the life of a Twin Towers window washer could be as
rich and complex as that of a hard-charging bonds trader.”
Over the course of the two day conference, fifty
participants—including speakers from St. John’s and other major
universities — delivered more than 40 presentations on the
ramifications of 9/11 on art, culture, education, mental health,
society and international relations.
Closing speaker Joel Meyerowitz held what he called “an intimate
discussion” about his breathtaking photos that documented the
destruction and recovery at Ground Zero over the nine- month period
following the attacks. Initially, the award-winning photographer
and others were banned from shooting the site, as it was being
treated as an active crime scene. Fortunately, Meyerowitz
persisted. “I wanted to get in there and create an archive,” he
said. “We needed a historical record of this tragedy.”
His perseverance resulted in the creation of the 8,000-image World
Trade Center Photo Archive many of which he shared with the
audience that day. To date, more than four million people have seen
his 9/11 work in more than 200 cities worldwide.
Looking back on the two days of remembrance and reflection,
Meyerowitz commented, “Only through the exercise of the imagination
— through art, scholarship, reflection — can we possibly come to
terms with a horror of this magnitude.”