UC Davis experts: Cultural impacts from terrorism

The University of California, Davis, has campus experts available to provide commentary related to how cultural issues are related to terrorism. If you are looking for sources on any additional related topics, please contact Claudia Morain, News Service, (530) 752-9841, cmmorain@ucdavis.edu.

Changing views of justice in film/books

Because communities look at justice differently when under threat, the public can expect a change in how filmmakers and novelists tell stories since the Sept. 11 attacks, says Nancy Morrow, a lecturer in English and humanities who teaches and writes on the representation of law and justice in film and literature. Along with increasing frequency of patriotism in film and literature, Morrow expects there will be more scapegoats portrayed. "We are likely to see laws that put security above such rights as privacy and due process," she says. Morrow studies the ways that issues of race, gender and class are treated in "legal fictions." She also writes on the ways in which the media shape and disseminate political discourse. Contact: Nancy Morrow, English, (530) 754-6270, nvmorrow@ucdavis.edu.

Altruism during the attack's aftermath

Psychology professor Robert Emmons can talk about why people are altruistic during times of crisis. His research is at the interface of personality, psychology and religion. He focuses on how religiousness and spirituality reflect core aspects of the self and identity, and how these aspects of the self are involved in well-being and personality coherence and integration over time. Emmons is an associate editor for the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of the Psychology of Religion, and a member of the American Psychological Association. He is the author of "The Psychology of Ultimate Concerns: Motivation and Spirituality in Personality." Contact: Robert Emmons, Psychology, (530) 752-8844, raemmons@ucdavis.edu.

The media and popular culture

Darrell Y. Hamamoto, professor of Asian American studies, specializes in media and popular culture. He can talk about how both the media and popular culture have changed since the Sept. 11 attacks. He has written extensively on both mainstream and independent media. Hamamoto's most recent work includes the edited anthology, "Countervisions: Asian American Film Criticism" (2000). His other books include "Nervous Laughter: Television Situation Comedy and Liberal Democratic Ideology" (1989) and "Monitored Peril: Asian Americans and the Politics of Television Representation" (1994). Contact: Darrell Hamamoto, Asian American Studies, (530) 752-5600, dyhamamoto@ucdavis.edu.

How artists are responding

Given the significant changes to visual art following other historic political traumas such as World War I, the Holocaust and the Vietnam War, it is inevitable that artists will produce work that incorporates their new sense of the world since Sept. 11, says art historian Blake Stimson. Already art exhibitions in New York, including one that opened before Sept. 11 with explicit terrorist themes, have been re-interpreted in light of the attacks. Stimson, an assistant professor in the Art History Program and co-director of the Critical Theory Program, writes and teaches about how political events of the 1960s transformed the social role of art. He is editor of "Conceptual Art: A Critical Anthology" (1999). Contact: Blake Stimson, Art History Program, (530) 752-5644, bstimson@ucdavis.edu.

The need for heroes

Jay Mechling, professor of American studies, can talk about the public need for heroes. He writes broadly about heroism and masculinity in American cultures. He also writes and teaches about the formulaic, mythological narratives filmmakers use to explain masculinity, violence and their connections. He has studies mass-mediated images of masculinity in film and television as well as in various organizations. His book, "On My Honor: Boy Scouts and the Making of American Youth," was published in fall 2001 by the University of Chicago Press. Contact: Jay Mechling, American Studies program, (530) 752-1983 (office) or (510) 865-8858 (home), jemechling@ucdavis.edu.

Media contact:

Claudia Morain, News Service, (530) 752-9841, cmmorain@ucdavis.edu

Top of page

Last updated January 22, 2004