Speeches look at changes in ISR

More than 200 people attended a symposium at Rackham Auditorium last night about the psychology of ethnic conflict.

The event was part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the Institute for Social Research and also commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Katz Newcomb Lectures.

These lectures were established to recognize the achievements of Dave Katz and Ted Newcomb, two former University social psychologists who studied group interaction.

Psychology Prof. James Jackson, one of the event coordinators, said the sessions will tackle perplexing questions in social science.

"We want to understand why people hate others based on group characteristics such as ethnicity," Jackson said. "How do collections of individuals deal with notions of differences? How can we apply this to make things better for the future?"

LOUIS BROWN/Daily Michael Berenbaum, president and chief executive officer of the survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, Los Angeles, Calif.

To help discuss and answer these questions, Jackson has gathered experts in political science and sociology, as well as intellectuals in the public sector. Jackson said the goal is to cover various aspects of ethnic conflict .

Univeristy President Lee Bollinger's brief comments on freedom of speech in relation to ethnic conflict were followed by the keynote address given by Michael Berenbaum, president and chief executive officer of the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation in Los Angeles.

His talk, entitled "The Holocaust and its Remembrances," described changing views of the Holocaust since World War II.

Berenbaum stressed listening to the voices of those who survived in order to confront and fully understand its reality.

"The devil in the Holocaust is in the details. The evil is more evil. The good is more good," Berenbaum said. "The Holocaust is the absolute event by which all other events are measured."

Patricia Gurin, a psychology and women's studies professor, emphasized the importance of analyzing genocidal episodes individually.

"Because the Holocaust is an extreme example, you run into trouble when you base everything on the lessons learned. You have to look at each case on its own," Gurin said.

Many students attended the session to gain more understanding of the Holocaust. LSA junior Eileen Sherwin said she was came because of a class.

"I'm taking a class about the Holocaust, so I thought it would be interesting and educational to hear Mr. Berembaum speak," Sherwin said.

The Katz Newcomb Lectures will run through November. In April, the ISR will sponsor a case study investigation of ethnic conflict.

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