Six years ago, the world closed the chapter on the bloodiest century known.

In the wake of that, where is our thinking, our will and our knowledge about the violence now in our streets and homes, and on our battlefields?

And how, if at all, are we countering it with knowledge, visions and practices of alternatives?

West Virginia University’s faculty in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences’School of Applied Social Sciences plan to address those questions and more inViolence and its Opposites: A Series of Conversations,a planned program of dialogues between the campus and community on the state of the world today.

The first gathering,First, Let’s Talk About America at War,will be from 7-9 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 2), in the Mountainlair’s Rhododendron Room.

Admission is free, and the public is invited to share ideas on the issues surrounding socially and politically sanctioned violenceand America’s current involvement in war.

The goal of the gathering, organizers say, is the simply listen and learn. Artwork, poetry, research, philosophical insights, history, stories of activism and other contributions are welcome.

WVU ’s NOVA Institute is co-hosting the series. For more information, contact Dolly Ford at dolly.ford@mail.wvu.edu or 304-293-3501, ext. 3102.