Forgive Us Our Sins: Institutional Evil and Personal Responsibility

Visions and Voices: The USC Arts & Humanities Initiative

Wednesday, October 22, 2008 : 5:00pm

University Park Campus
Annenberg Auditorium

Admission is free.


Producer Tom Fontana, actor Wendell Pierce and other panelists study the reflection of 9/11 in TV series like The Wire and Oz.

This discussion will explore whether and how 9/11 affected American ideas about individual and corporate evil, as evidenced on such television shows as The Wire, The Sopranos, Oz and The Shield. Joining moderator Elijah Siegler, professor at the College of Charleston, will be Tom Fontana, executive producer of Homicide and Oz; Amy Hollywood, professor at Harvard Divinity School; actor Wendell Pierce of The Wire; and Javier Stauring, co–director of the Office of Restorative Justice of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

This event will be presented as part of Live From L.A.: Good/God and Evil, a series exploring the religious and ethical ramifications of 9/11 in broadcast television. The series will also include the event In the Name of God: Terror, Torture and Television, which will be held on Wednesday, September 10, at 7 p.m.

Organized by Diane Winston (Journalism and Religion) and Jane Iwamura (Religion and American Studies and Ethnicity). Co-sponsored by USC Annenberg Knight Chair in Media and Religion; USC Center for Diversity and Democracy; USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture; USC Davis School of Gerontology; Food for Thought; USC Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies; Kairos Church @ USC; Louchheim School of Judaic Studies; Religion, Identity, and Global Governance Project; USC Catholic Center; USC School of Religion; and USC Visual Studies Graduate Certificate program.