SAN FRANCISCO, July 12, 2002

WHAT: More than a dozen Bay Area middle school and high school social studies teachers will gather on the San Francisco State University campus next week to learn how to explain and answer questions about the tragic, historical events of Sept. 11. The teachers, who are coming from schools in San Francisco, San Mateo, Pacifica, San Carlos and across the Bay Area, will take part in a special week-long summer academy titled "Understanding the World After September 11" from July 15-19. Led by noted S.F. State faculty experts in areas such as American foreign policy, Islamic culture, civil liberties and terrorism in the world today, the session is believed to be one of the first of its type as teachers prepare lessons for the upcoming anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

WHEN: Monday, July 15-Friday, July 19 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

WHERE: Room 371 in the HSS Building at San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave., S.F.

SCHEDULE OF SESSIONS:

• Impact of the tragedy of Sept. 11 on the world (Monday, 10 a.m.)
• Terrorism in the world today (Monday, 11 a.m.)
• American foreign policy (Monday, 2 p.m. and Tuesday, 1 p.m.)
• The FBI and counter-terrorism activities (Monday, 3 p.m.)
• The politics of the Middle East and Central Asia (Tuesday, 9 a.m.)
• Islamic culture (Tuesday, 2 p.m.)
• Women and Islamic culture (Wednesday, 11 a.m.)
• The geography of Afghanistan (Wednesday, 2 p.m.)
• Curriculum development discussions (Wednesday and Thursday. 3 p.m.)
• The psychological aftermath of the Sept. 11 tragedy (Thursday, 10 a.m.)
• The impact of Sept. 11 on the economy (Thursday, 2 p.m.)
• Model United Nations workshop (Friday, 9 a.m.)
• The impact of events on free speech (Friday, 1 p.m.)
• Emergency management and terrorism awareness issues (Friday, 3 p.m.)

S.F. STATE SCHOLARS: Session leaders include former American Ambassador David Fischer, an authority on the roots of terrorism; Maziar Behrooz, a noted historian on Islamic culture; Professor of International Relations Dwight Simpson, a widely quoted expert on the Middle East; Minoo Moallen, a scholar on Islamic fundamentalism and chair of women studies; Michael Graham, an authority on civil liberties and chair of political science; and Joel Kassiola, a noted scholar on social policy and dean.