Stories this week at WFU

IS IT LEGAL FOR THE U.S. TO GO TO WAR WITH IRAQ? – Jonathan Marks, a practicing English barrister and visiting scholar in the Wake Forest University School of Law, is leading a new class in the university’s political science department this semester that deals with legal responses to acts of terrorism. The course deals with several highly-publicized acts of terrorism, but Marks and the students find themselves dealing more and more with the ongoing talk of a U.S. war in Iraq as a response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. “My goal in teaching this class is to help students understand the legal arguments for and against military or criminal action against any state that is believed to be sponsoring terrorism,” says Marks, an international law expert. “Because of the nature of the times we are living in, we find ourselves discussing daily the topics that are played out on the news.” For more information or to arrange an interview with Marks, contact Jacob McConnico at mcconnjn@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

HOMELAND SECURITY IN HISTORY – Wake Forest history professor Ed Hendricks is available for comment on Cold War civil defense strategies. Hendricks is teaching “Fallout Shelters and the Cold War: Weapon, Propaganda, or Survival Technique” this semester. For a generation who was in elementary school when the Berlin Wall fell, the terrorist attacks have provided a new lens through which to view the Cold War and the civil defense strategies it spawned, he says. “The course shows the students that we have faced these kinds of threats before and we lived through it,” Hendricks says. To arrange to interview Hendricks or to visit Hendricks’ class, which meets on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, contact Cheryl Walker at walkercv@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

SPEAKER TO DISCUSS ROLE OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN – As the nation celebrates February as Black History Month, a Wake Forest speaker will address the role of African-American women in a Feb. 26 lecture. Marlese Durr, associate professor of sociology and anthropology and director of women’s studies at Wright State University, will present “Social Distance, Acceptance and Gatekeepers: New Spaces and Places for African-American Women” at 4 p.m in Tribble Hall’s DeTamble Auditorium. Durr is currently working on a book, “African-American Women: Gender Relations, Work and the Political Economy in the Twenty-First Century.” To arrange an interview, contact the News Service at 336-758-5237.

EXPERTS AVAILABLE TO COMMENT ON WAR-RELATED ISSUES – The News Service has prepared a list of university experts available to comment on stories related to a potential war in Iraq. Sources range from experts on international law to presidential communication. To request the list, contact the News Service or access it here.