August 19, 2004
September project prompts exhibits
The September Project has grown exponentially since it started as a UW communication professor’s idea for a day of discussion and deliberation at public and academic libraries on Sept. 11. From a handful of participating sites this spring, the total has now grown to about 230 sites in 40 states, as well as individual libraries in Australia, Japan and The Netherlands.
But not, unfortunately, at the UW. As Sept. 11 falls between quarters of instruction at the UW, no formal activities will take place on campus that day. David Silver and Sarah Washburn, the co-directors of the project, suggest participants see their Web page (www.theseptemberproject.org) to find activities taking place in a public library near their home on that day.
As if to make up for their absence on Sept. 11 itself, however, the UW’s libraries have created a number of informative and interactive exhibits on the themes suggested by The September Project.
Over at Suzzallo Library, Jessica Albano, communication studies librarian, said “the ideas just flowed” when she and others there brainstormed ideas for Sept. 11-related exhibits to show. The displays at Suzzallo will go up on Sept. 1 and remain until Oct. 21.
Meanwhile, Lynda Ekins, facilities manager for the Odegaard Undergraduate Library, and a committee that oversees window displays for the library, have designed exhibits where visitors of all cultures that make up the UW community can respond to the questions, “What is citizenship?” and “What is democracy?” These have already opened and will remain up until Oct. 21.
Exhibits also will be available for viewing until Nov. 1 at the UW Tacoma Library. And along with the displays, there also will be ample opportunity for people to register to vote or to update their voter registration.
Here are exhibits scheduled for Suzzallo Library:
- The September Project, an Introduction (Suzzallo Espresso, first floor): Learn about the project and its beginnings.
- Pen & Ink Politics: Editorial Cartoons and the War on Terrorism (Microforms and newspapers, ground floor): A portfolio of about 30 political cartoons that show the variety of global perspectives on 9/11 and the events that followed.
- Could You Become an American Citizen? (Suzzallo Espresso, first floor): Citizenship is automatic for those born in the U.S. But immigrants must pass a civics test exam to earn citizenship. Could you pass that exam?
- Form Your Own Opinion on Fahrenheit 911: Read Government Documents: (Suzzallo Espresso, first floor): A display that focuses on available government documents from libraries and the Web that relate to themes in Michael Moore’s controversial documentary.
- Civil Liberties & War: The Japanese American Experience (Suzzallo Espresso, first floor): What happens when war and civil liberties clash? A look back to 1942 and the incarceration of 100,000 Japanese Americans.
- America: Land of Religious Freedom? (Suzzallo Espresso, first floor): A poster that describes how America has sought to preserve religious freedom through separation of church and state, which also embraces controversies over the ideal of religious freedom in a diverse society.
Exhibits at the Odegaard Undergraduate Library:
- What is citizenship? What is democracy? (first floor lobby): Visitors are invited to give their own responses to the questions, “What does democracy mean to you?” and “Is citizenship local, national or international?” Responses — through prose, poetry or art — will be displayed at the library and posted to a virtual exhibit.
- Statement of Rights (first floor lobby): Study statements of human rights from around the world. Copies of the United States Bill of Rights, the Magna Carta, the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights and statements of rights from nations around the world will be available for reading.
- Films examining democracy (room 220): Watch films that study questions of democracy and civil liberties in time of war. Films include: Caught in the Crossfire: Arab Americans in Wartime; Watch What You Say: Free Speech in Times of National Crisis; Clear and Present Danger: The Evolution of Modern Terrorism; Free Speech for Sale; Justice for All: A Public Hearing, plus filmed interviews on the state of political opposition and dissent in the U.S., and two lectures filmed at the UW, Jihad, Terror, War & Justice and The Taliban & Global Terror.
At Allen Library:
- Reading 9/11 Through Children’s Books (exhibit case, first floor): How have Sept. 11, terrorism, the Middle East and the Iraq War been depicted in books for children? Explore through this display of American and international children’s books.
At the UW Tacoma Library:
- Libraries Under Attack: Afghanistan, Iraq and the U.S.: A poster display that explores the threat to libraries and their destruction in Afghanistan, Iraq and the U.S.
- Political cartoons: Responses to 9/11-related issues in editorial cartoons.
- Northwest Detention Facility: Information on the center, which is located in Tacoma and managed by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, the investigative bureau of the Department of Homeland Security.
