THE 1999 PROVIDENCE CONFERENCE ON
THE JFK ASSASSINATION:
FROM EVIDENCE TO TRUTH AND JUSTICE
THIRD ANNOUNCEMENT
With just one month to go, the 1999 Providence Conference is beginning to
assume a distinctive shape. For details of the conference, see the Second
Announcement. This Third Announcement describes four distinctive features of
this conference, some of which we believe to be new and unique to JFK
conferences at any level. They are: (1) its broad nature, as evidenced by the
scope of the two initial talks; (2) its focus on the future, as evidenced by the
twin themes of "Truth and Justice" and "The Continuing Relevance
of the JFK Assassination"; (3) its educational round-table; and (4) the
participation of students from Ken Rahn's JFK class at the University of Rhode
Island.
Distinctive Feature 1: Two broad initial talks. The formal
presentations will begin on Saturday morning with extended presentations by our
two co-chairmen Charles R. Drago and Kenneth A. Rahn. People who know us
understand that our outlooks on the assassination are about as different as
those of any two researchers can be. We have decided to take advantage of these
differences by using them to set a broad stage for our conference. We will each
give hard-hitting 45-minute presentations, Charlie first, then Ken, in which we
will systematically lay out what we know about the assassination and how we know
it. After each talk, the audience (including the other speaker) will have 30
minutes to register any and all comments, provided only that they remain civil
and intellectually defensible. We hope that key points made by speakers and
audience can serve as points of reference throughout the remainder of the
conference. Preview of the talks: Charlie will stress that it's time to
move on, to identify the killers, and to reach justice; Ken will stress that
it's time to stop and rethink everything before taking another step. Who will
carry the day? Come and find out!
Distinctive Feature 2: Focus on the future. Our conference will be
very forward-looking. Not only is one of its main themes, "The Continuing
Relevance of the JFK Assassination," clearly oriented that way, but a
second one, "Truth and Justice," is as well. Furthermore, the
educational round-table and the participation of Ken's students both are clearly
concerned with the future. Thus, when viewed from a distance, three of our
distinctive features deal with the future, and more than half the conference
will be about looking ahead.
Distinctive Feature 3: Educational round-table. One of the advantages
of a small, regional conference is its flexibility. When we noticed that at
least four of our attendees were actively giving courses on the JFK
assassination, we decided to take advantage of this critical mass of ideas and
experience and add a round-table discussion on teaching the JFK assassination.
The featured participants will be K. A. Rahn (URI), Martin Kelly (Hobart &
William Smith Colleges), William Cheslock (Chatham High School, Mass.), and
Bruce Getzan (Gloucester County College, NJ). The informal participants will be
the entire audience, including students from Rahn's URI course. The four
instructors will lead off by summarizing their courses and their distinctive
features. The moderator (Drago) will then present a series of important topics
and solicit comments from each of the instructors. The floor will then be thrown
open for any and all questions and comments. We look forward to a stimulating
and helpful discussion. We invite any other teachers of JFK courses in the
region (or anywhere else) to join us!
Distinctive Feature 4: Participation of URI students. Past JFK
conferences have spoken of educating students, and some have brought one or two
students to observe. This conference may be the first to actually have an entire
class presenting talks (in lieu of term papers). We hope you will agree that
these students, most of whom knew nothing about the assassination until three
short months ago, have come a long way in that time.
Preliminary schedule
Friday 16 April 1999
7:3010:00 p.m.: Social hour in the President's Lounge, second floor of CCE. A relaxed setting in which presenters and attendees can meet, socialize, and exchange ideas.
Saturday 17 April 1999
9 a.m.12 p.m.: Opening session
9:009:30: Welcoming remarks by Rahn, Drago, and
Gerry Tyler, head of URI's Political Science Department
9:3010:45: Major presentation by co-chairman Charles R. Drago: Sinful
Harvest: The Reaping and Marketing of Lies in the Field of JFK Assassination
Inquiry
10:4512:00: Major presentation by co-chairman Kenneth A. Rahn: Toward An
Epistemology of the JFK Assassination
12:001:15 p.m.: Lunch (on your own)
1:155:30 p.m.: Afternoon session
1:151:55 Stewart Galanor: A History of the
Medical Evidence
1:552:35 Rex Bradford: New Medical Evidence in the JFK Assassination
2:353:15 W. Anthony Marsh: The Zapruder Film Is Authentic
3:153:55 Martin Kelly: To Bury JFK
3:554:10 Coffee break
4:104:50 John McLoughlin: "Little" Orphan "Annie" and
"Big Daddy" Warbucks: New England's Fascists and the JFK Assassination
4:505:10 David Sullivan (URI JFK class): Was A Sabot Used in the JFK
Assassination?
5:105:30 Dawn Vigue (URI JFK class): The Psychology of Marina Oswald
5:307:30 p.m. Dinner (on your own)
7:3011:00 p.m.: Evening session
7:308:10 Laurel King: The Continuing
Relevance of the JFK Assassination
8:108:50 Andrew Winiarczyk: The Kennedy Assassination: Crime of the (20th)
Century or Endless Wound?
8:509:30 William Cheslock: How Books on American History Report the JFK
Assassination to High-School Readers
9:3011:00 Educational round-tableTeaching Courses On The JFK
Assassination
Sunday 18 April 1999
911 a.m. Talks by students in K. Rahn's URI
class PSC482G Political Science Seminar: The JFK Assassination (Please come and
support these hard-working students!)
11 a.m.12 p.m. Closing session
12:00 p.m. Conference adjourns
George Michael Evica
George Michael Evica, whom many anticipated seeing at this conference, has
withdrawn. We regret his decision and hope that he will choose to join us in the
future.
Keynote speaker
In the spirit of innovation, we have decided to forgo having a keynote
speaker. Instead, we will use that time to allow more of our regional
researchers to speak, to extend the opening talks by the co-chairmen, and to
provide for the educational round-table discussion. We are particularly pleased
by the opportunity to offer the educational discussion. Perhaps this will be the
beginning of regular meetings of teachers of JFK courses.
Last-minute, short presentations
In tune with the small, flexible nature of this conference, we will try to
accommodate a few last-minute, short presentations as time permits. If you have
something you can say in just a few minutes, come prepared, and we will do our
best to fit you in! We ask only that you prepare as carefully as you would for a
regular presentation and that you do not run over your allotted time.
Comments or questions?
Feel free to submit any last-minute comments or questions to either
co-chairman:
If you are using regular mail, send to
K.A. Rahn
GSO Box 48
South Ferry Road
Narragansett, RI 02882-1197
or
C. Drago
12 Stephen Hopkins Court
Providence, RI 02904.
Fax numbers are also available: K. Rahn at (401) 874-6898 and C. Drago at (401) 274-7297.
Don't forget the web site, where all the latest news can be found:
http://karws.gso.uri.edu/Spring1999Conference/ProvConf-Intro.html
For your convenience, we include a brief registration form below. To register, you may mail this form to either cochairman, send the information to either of us by E-mail, or download the MS Word version of the form from the web site and submit it as an attachment. Please send the registration fee by check at the time you register. Although there will be no penalty for registering on-site, we will appreciate early registration.
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REGISTRATION FORM
THE 1999 PROVIDENCE CONFERENCE ON
THE JFK ASSASSINATION:
FROM EVIDENCE TO TRUTH AND JUSTICE
Friday through Sunday, April 16-18,
1999
The University of Rhode Islands Feinstein College of Continuing Education
Providence, Rhode Island.
Name: _____________________________________
Address: ____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
Telephone: Work: ________________ Home: ___________________
E-mail: Work: ___________________ Home: ___________________
Regular registration @ $35 ____ Student registration @ $15 ____
I intend to present a paper: Yes _____ No _____
If "yes," give title: __________________________________________