[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/911-poster-1.jpg”]Today marks the fifth anniversary of an event that brought terror and chaos to North America, and forever changed the attitudes, thinking and policy of citizens and governments.

McMaster's English and Cultural Studies Department asks us to revisit the current discourses on 9/11 by attending the 2006 John Douglas Taylor Conference on Oct. 21. This year's conference title is “Beyond Ground Zero: 9/11 and the Futures of Critical Thought.”

The conference will attempt to shake up our current views by examining the ethical, cultural, political and pedagogical repercussions of the attacks and their immediate and long-term aftermaths.

“Holding the conference after September 11 demonstrates the importance of remembering and addressing the legacies of the attacks in sustained manner, rather than simply commemorating the anniversary of 9/11 on September 11 of each year,” explains Karen Espiritu, conference co-chair.

Speakers and discussion panels will aid participants in exploring aspects of 9/11 from various disciplines and fields in the humanities and social sciences such as critical theory, literary studies, cultural studies, sociology, anthropology, and philosophy.

Marc Redfield and Roger I. Simon are the plenary speakers at this year's conference. Redfield, from Claremont Graduate University in California, will present his paper, “Spectral Terror,” in the morning. Simon, from the University of Toronto's Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, will speak on “Altering the 'Inner Life of the Culture:' Monstrous Memory and the Persistence of 9/11” to close the conference.

In addition to the two plenary speakers, the full-day conference has three panel sessions in the morning and three more in the afternoon. Topics will include ethics and terror in the wake of 9/11, post-9/11 literature and film, homeland security, 9/11 conspiracy theories, 9/11 public remembrance, and justice and rights.

“The conference offers a chance to explore and learn about the many ways that 9/11 continues to shape and inform our lives,” says Espiritu, adding that students and faculty from other universities across Canada and the United States, as well as from Africa and Europe are expected to attend the conference.

For ticket and registration information click here. McMaster University students with a valid student ID may attend the conference for free, but they still need to register either online or on the day of the conference.