Dear JBMTI Members and Friends,

Jean Baker Miller has suggested that violence is the ultimate tragic
manifestation of nonmutual, power-over relationships....

I am excited to announce a very special JBMTI Members' Meeting, Friday,
April 23, 11:30 AM-1:00 PM in the Stone Center Solarium (see description
below). Victoria Firmo-Fontan is an international scholar who recently
returned from studying the violence that is destroying the lives of women
in post-Saddam Iraq. She is in America to present at the WCW Violence
Against Women Conference, but she has also agreed to speak at our JBMTI
Members' Meeting! I met Victoria in Paris when she presented at a
meeting discussing the global consequences of humiliation. She is doing
remarkable work. If you have been wanting a firsthand account of what's
really happening in Iraq, I hope you will be able to join us for this
presentation!

Because Victoria's topic is so important and timely, students, faculty and
staff from the Wellesley Centers for Women and from Wellesley College will
be invited to attend our meeting on a first-come-first-serve basis.
However, we will reserve seats for JBMTI Members, faculty and friends! If
you plan to attend, you must RSVP by Friday, April 19 (RSVP:
Lhartling@wellesley.edu).

I hope you can join us for this special opportunity to learn more about
the situation in Iraq.
Yours in connection,
Linda Hartling

PS. Seating is very limited, so reserve your place today! Please
remember to park in Grey Lot...THANKS!
****************************

POLARIZATION BETWEEN OCCUPIER AND OCCUPIED IN POST-SADDAM IRAQ:
HUMILIATION AND THE FORMATION OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE

Presenter: Victoria Firmo-Fontan

DESCRIPTION:
One year after the beginning of the Iraqi war, the month of March 2003
represents a turning point in the history of 'New Iraq', where in the eyes
of many Iraqis, distinctions between military and civilian personnel are
no longer made. In all parts of Iraq, every member of the International
Community may now represent 'The' occupier that deserves to die. Based on
participant observation in Fallujah and other parts of the so-called Sunni
triangle, this talk aims at analysing the mechanisms that led to such a
drastic polarization between occupier and occupied in New Iraq. The
dynamics of humiliation will emphasize polarization mechanisms facilitated
by a steady escalation of violence, biased media reporting and most
importantly the Iraqi code of honor."

PRESENTER:
Victoria Firmo-Fontan is a post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Sabanci
University in Turkey. She lectures in the MA Program in Conflict
Resolution and Analysis and also conducts research on conflict resolution
and the politics of communication. She holds a Ph.D. in Peace and
Development Studies. She published various papers on multi-track
diplomacy, human trafficking, the public diplomacy of armed groups and
the formation of political violence in post-conflict societies. Central
to her work has been a conceptualization of post-conflict processes
through the study of social, gendered, cultural, economic and political
humiliation. She Conducted filed research in Lebanon with the Hezbollah,
in Bosnia-Herzegovina on human trafficking and organized crime, and in
Fallujah (post-Saddam Iraq) with emerging armed groups. She is also
involved in gender training for peacekeeping operations, and has lectured
to various armed forces on this subject.

Linda M. Hartling, Ph.D.
Jean Baker Miller Training Institute, Web site: jbmti.org
Stone Center
Wellesley Centers for Women
http://www.wcwonline.org
e-mail: lhartling@wellesley.edu Phone: 781-283-3800

Wellesley College, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, MA 02481