[imc-nyc-audio] war, death and freedom

[Tfaune at aol.com]

You are cordially invited to attend:

THOUGHTS ON WAR, DEATH, AND FREEDOM

Conference at NYU on the Psychology of Political Violence
Featuring Documentary Film FLIGHT FROM DEATH Narrated By Gabriel Byrne

On May 14th and 15th, NYU will host a two-day conference focusing on
current issues of political strife, violence, and human rights
entitled "Thoughts on War, Death, and Freedom."   The two-day event
will feature a number of accomplished theorists, researchers, and
practitioners who will convene for the shared project of exploring,
understanding - and perhaps remedying - the most pervasive pattern of
human history: our curious inability to peacefully coexist with others
and our attraction to violence. The diverse backgrounds and
perspectives of the speakers will make for a singularly rich
intellectual experience.

"Thoughts on War, Death, and Freedom" will begin at 9:30 AM Saturday
May 14 with a keynote presentation by Charles Strozier on Death,
Fundamentalism, and The New Terrorism.   Dr. Strozier is a
distinguished psychoanalyst, Professor of History at John Jay College
and the Graduate Center, and is also Director of the newly created
Center on Terrorism. He is the author of Apocalypse: On the Psychology
of Fundamentalism in America, and was awarded The Gradiva and Goethe
Awards for Psychoanalytic Scholarship for his study, Heinz Kohut: The
Making of a Psychoanalyst

Dr. Strozier's address will be followed by a screening of Patrick Shen
and Greg Bennick's multi-award winning documentary Flight from Death:
The Quest for Immortality, an 86-minute film narrated by Gabriel
Byrne. Hailed by some viewers as a "life-transformational film",
Flight from Death explores human beings' innate and subconscious fear
of death and portrays the impacts of that fear on our behavior,
specifically in regard to violence.  Following the work of the late
cultural anthropologist and social theorist, Ernest Becker, and his
Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Denial of Death, this is the first
documentary film ever to examine the manifestations of death anxiety
on spiritual, cultural, and psychological levels.  For more
information about the film and to view the trailer please go to
http://www.flightfromdeath.com.  Flight from Death has been recognized
with seven "Best Documentary" and "Best Feature" awards at film
festivals nationwide. Producer Greg Bennick will be attending the
screening.

The film will be immediately followed by an address by Sheldon
Solomon, Professor of Psychology at Skidmore College.  Dr. Solomon is
the foremost authority on Terror Management Theory and is co-author of
In the Wake of 9/11: The Psychology of Terror, a book that has been
called "the most comprehensive view written thus far explaining the
events of 9/11".

Other speakers include Sue Erikson Bloland, a practicing
psychotherapist in New York City and a faculty member at the Manhattan
Institute for Psychoanalysis.  Her recent book, In the Shadow of Fame,
is based largely on her experience growing up with her famous father,
Erik Erikson.  A workshop will be conducted by social critic Kirby
Farrell, Ph.D., professor of English at University of Massachusetts
Amherst.  Other presenters include Eli Sagan, scholar and author of
The Dawn of Tyranny, Hans-Jürgen Wirth, psychoanalyst and author of
9/11 as Collective Trauma, and Jerry S. Piven, Ph.D. who teaches
psychology at New School University and New York University. Dr. Piven
is the author of Death and Delusion: A Freudian Analysis of Mortal
Terror.

There is no charge for admission.  Donations accepted, $25 suggested,
but no one will be turned away due to lack of funds.

The conference is hosted by NYU and sponsored by The Ernest Becker
Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted to multidisciplinary
inquiries into human behavior, with a particular focus on violence. 
Dr. Becker was the author of Birth and Death of Meaning, his Pulitzer
Prize-winning Denial of Death and its companion Escape From Evil.  The
foundation supports research and application at the interfaces of
science, the humanities, social action and religion.

Registration and coffee will begin at 9:00 AM at New York University,
Silver Center, 32 Waverly Place/100 Washington Square, New York, NY. 
For reservations or more information contact me, Steve James at
203-341-9572, vxjames at gmail.com, or visit the Ernest Becker
Foundation's website at http://www.ernestbecker.org.
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