Media Tip Sheet: Colorado State University Experts on Topics Relating to the 10th Anniversary of 9/11

As the 10th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, Colorado State University is providing the following list of faculty members who can discuss various topics related to 9/11 and how the world has changed. The following list is intended for reporter use only and not for publication.

Muslim American discrimination
Lori Peek is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology and co-director of the Center for Disaster and Risk Analysis at Colorado State University. She is an expert on the human and behavioral consequences of disaster and is author of “Behind the Backlash: Muslim Americans after 9/11” (Temple University Press, 2011). Peek traveled to New York City just weeks after the terrorist attacks and spent the following two years interviewing and observing 140 young Muslim American men and women. She can speak about the rise in hate crime and discrimination that Muslims have endured since 9/11 and can address the myriad ways that Muslims have adapted to the exclusion they have felt. To speak with Peek, contact Kimberly Sorensen at Kimberly.Sorensen@colostate.edu or (970) 491-0757.

Psychological effects of trauma
Michael Steger, associate professor of counseling psychology and applied social psychology, can talk about the psychological effects—both good and bad—of traumatic experiences; how some people report personal growth following tragedy; how some people are haunted by intrusive reminders of a trauma; and how many experience both positives and negatives. He can talk about why traumatic events like 9/11 can cause posttraumatic stress disorder and what research suggests is the best current treatment for the disorder. To speak with Steger, contact Emily Wilmsen@colostate.edu or (970) 491-2336.

Middle East politics
Gamze Cavdar is an assistant professor of political science at CSU. Cavdar’s research interests include Middle East politics with emphasis on Islamist movements, democratization and gender. She has published on Islamist groups in Turkey, Egypt and Jordan as well as electoral processes in Iraq and Palestinian territories. To speak with Cavdar, contact Kimberly Sorensen at Kimberly.Sorensen@colostate.edu or (970) 491-0757.

Jihadist ideology
James Lindsay is an associate professor of Middle East History at CSU and is available to speak about the issue of Islamic jihadist ideology that animates al-Qaeda and its fellow travelers. Lindsay teaches a course on jihad and has published a critical edition, translation, and commentary on a classical jihadist text. To speak with Lindsay, contact Kimberly Sorensen at Kimberly.Sorensen@colostate.edu or (970) 491-0757.

Water scarcity and international conflict
Luis Garcia, chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Professors Neil Grigg, Terry Podmore and Evan Vlachos can talk about water scarcity and changing climates and how that combination can create the potential for international conflict. To speak with Garcia, Grigg, Podmore or Vlachos, contact Emily Wilmsen at Emily.Wilmsen@colostate.edu or (970) 491-2336.

Ecosystem threats
Diana Wall, biologist and founding director of the School of Global Environmental Sustainability, can talk about environmental degradation – the changes in climate, air, water, land and biodiversity – and resource scarcity that is leading to conflicts and issues regarding security within nations. To speak with Wall, contact Emily Wilmsen at Emily.Wilmsen@colostate.edu or (970) 491-2336.

Colorado economy since 9/11
Martin Shields, regional economist at CSU, can talk about the state’s economy over the past 10 years and how the events of 9/11 may have affected the regional economy. To speak with Shields, contact Emily Wilmsen at Emily.Wilmsen@colostate.edu or (970) 491-2336.

America and the clean-energy agenda
Bryan Willson, director of the Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory, can talk about benefits and the barriers to a national energy policy focused on diverse, domestic, clean and affordable energy resources. To speak with Willson, contact Emily Wilmsen at Emily.Wilmsen@colostate.edu or (970) 491-2336.

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