Conrad Grebel University College will be hosting a Peace week with John Sloboda, on October 15-16, 2003.
John Sloboda is an internationally recognized peace activist, British Psychology Professor and Iraq Body Count website creator. Within these venues at Waterloo/Conrad Grebel, he will talk about his peace networking and activist work. He also assisted Carol Ann Weaver in supplying names for her composition in memory of Iraqi civilian victims, Piece of a Rock, which will be performed in some of these events listed below. Sloboda's bio appears below.
Wednesday, October 15, 2003 Waterloo/Conrad Grebel University College
- 12:30 - 1:20: Noon Hour Peace Concert featuring "Piece of a Rock- In Memoriam of Iraqi Civilians"; Rebecca Campbell and Carol Ann Weaver, performers, with members of University of Waterloo Drum Circle. --Conrad Grebel Chapel, University of Waterloo, free admission.
- 4:30 - 5:15: Conrad Grebel Chapel Service, "Finding Ways to Make Peace" featuring John Sloboda, speaker, as well as Rebecca Campbell and Carol Ann Weaver doing "Piece of a Rock" - Conrad Grebel Chapel, University of Waterloo, free admission.
- 5:30 - 6:30: Community Supper, with John Sloboda, speaker, as well as Rebecca Campbell and Carol Ann Weaver, performers - Conrad Grebel Dining Hall. Dinner tickets need to be purchased via 519-885-0220x0.
Thursday, October 16, 2003, Conrad Grebel University College
- 12:00 - 1:00: Noon Brown Bag Seminar with John Sloboda discussing his work relating to peace networking and his Iraq Body Count website. --Board Room, Room 2109, Conrad Grebel (Academic Building). Free admission. Bring your own lunch.
- 1:00 - 2:30: public 'ecture by John Sloboda, and musical performance as part of PACS 201 and MUSIC 376 classes. Sloboda will lecture further on his work relating to peace networking, on his Iraq Body Count website, and on specific music composed in response to war; with a performance of "Piece of a Rock - In Memoriam of Iraqi Civilians" by Rebecca Campbell, vocalist, C.A. Weaver, keyboards, and members of the University of Waterloo Drum Circle. --Great Hall, Room 1111, Conrad Grebel (Academic Building). Free admission.
- 8:30 PM. Peace Concert with Rebecca Campbell, Carol Ann Weaver, and University of Waterloo Drum Circle doing "Piece of a Rock" - Student Life Centre, University of Waterloo. Free Admission.
John Sloboda is Professor of Psychology at Keele University, UK, where he has been a member of the Psychology Department for 29 years. His main reputation is in the area of the psychology of music, and he is the author of over 100 books and papers on this topic, including The Musical Mind (1985) and Music and Emotion (2001). He was Head of Psychology at Keele until August 2003. From September to December 2003 he is Visiting Fellow in the Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
He is a lifelong peace activist, and since the illegal NATO bombardment of Kosovo and Serbia in 1999, has devoted most of his energies to projects which challenge the assumptions of the "new humanitarian interventionism" and the "war on terror". He was involved in a project to assess the cost o the civilian population of Serbia of NATO bombing and sanctions, and in January 2003 co-founded Iraq Body Count, a non-governmental organization (NGO) devoted to maintaining and publishing a comprehensive record of civilians killed in the Iraq conflict. He is also editor of an anti-war news and comment website and mailing list, Peace UK. He is a consultant for the Oxford Research Group, a longstanding UK NGO, promoting non-violent policy alternatives to decision-makers. He is Web Resources Editor for Peace News.
In recent months Sloboda has been engaged in initiating projects which mesh his psychological research interests with his anti-war activism. With Brian Doherty of the School of Politics and International Relations at Keele, he has recently initiated a research project to try and understand the motivations and beliefs of those who engaged in direct anti-war protest for the first time in their lives during the lead up to the Iraq War, in order to help the peace movement understand how to turn itself from a fringe movement into a mainstream movement commanding the support of substantive sectors of the electorate.
For more information, contact Carol Ann Weaver.