Conference to Revisit Kitty Genovese Tragedy

If there was a watershed moment in the perception of urban decay in late twentieth century, it could arguably be pinpointed to the 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese, a resident of Kew Gardens, Queens, whose screams purportedly went unanswered by neighbors while her assailant stabbed her repeatedly.

The "bystander apathy" phenomenon, chronicled in a New York Times article, triggered years of scholarly research by historians, sociologists, psychologists, and criminologists.

Fordham’s Harold Takooshian, Ph.D., professor of psychology and director of the Fordham Institute, has convened several conferences at the University examining the tragedy’s effect on Western society.

On March 8 and 9, Fordham will once again host a two-day public forum examining Genovese’s life. "The Kitty Genovese Memorial Conference: 50 Years Later," marks the 50th anniversary of her death.  Scholars, authors, and activists will examine the so-called "Kitty Genovese phenomenon," and review the many impacts of the tragedy. Speakers include the authors of four new books and a film about Ms. Genovese, and the victim's brother, William Genovese.

On Sunday, those who knew her will share memories of Genovese and a Mass will be celebrated in honor of her life. A meet-the-authors panel will follow, where the authors and a film producer will speak on why and how they did their work on the tragedy.

RSVP here.

-Tom Stoelker

UPDATE: Christiana Peppard, Paul Levinson to speak at NY’s Comic Con

Paul Levinson and Christiana Peppard

* This post was updated on Oct. 11. See updates at the asterisks. 

Fordham professors speak at several conferences throughout the year, and sometimes they’re high up on the pop culture scale.

Last May, for instance, Thomas Beaudoin, Ph.D., associate professor of theology at Fordham’s Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education, gave a presentation on “Secular Music as a Quest for More” as part of a panel at the very buzzworthy South By Southwest (SXSW) tech and music conference in Austin, Texas.

This Saturday, Oct. 12, Christiana Peppard, Ph.D., professor of theology, science, and ethics, will join a panel at New York’s Comic Con. *Paul Levinson, Ph.D., professor of communications and media studies, has recently been added to the panel. 

Hosted by Academy Award-nominated actor, James Woods, the panel will focus on “Tech Toys from the Future.” It is presented by Futurescape, a six-part series on the Science Channel.

According to show organizers, this “tech road show from the future” will feature notable “‘rock stars of the gadget world’ as they unveil the ‘latest and greatest’ in the world of technology.”

Attendees will also see exclusive footage from the upcoming season of Futurescape with commentary from the producers.

“Each episode of Futurescape will look at one idea or discovery that will critically alter life as we know it: Synthetic Biology, Predictive Analytics, Habitable Planets, Nano Technology.

“Woods will ask the big questions, ignite debate and reveal a stunning image of the future.”

That’s where Peppard will come in, as she’ll discuss some future aspects of synthetic biology. *Paul Levinson will discuss the civil rights of robots. (Yes, you read that right.) Here's how describes it:

"We invent robots to be our servants -- to do dangerous or tedious jobs that we would rather not do," Levinson says. "We try to make them more and more intelligent, so they do their jobs better. What happens when we make our robots so intelligent that they are sentient beings? Are we morally entitled to continue treating them as slaves? Or will our future robots be entitled to civil rights?"

Two Fordham professors and an Academy Award-nominated actor discussing the future? Sounds good to us!

New York Comic Con is the East Coast's biggest popular culture convention. Its show floor plays host to the latest and greatest in comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, toys, movies and television. 

-Gina Vergel