Based on the Biblical story in Judges, the English poet John Milton's closet drama Samson Agonistes raises fascinating and complex questions about religion. politics and violence. As part of the continuing worldwide celebrations of the quadricentennary of Milton's birth, this symposium uses Samson as a spring board for discussions of religion and violence in the modern world.

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Panel Discussion: Samson Agonistes and Religious Violence
Wesley House

Chair: Jeffrey Shoulson (UM), Stanley Fish (FIU), Susanne Woods (UM), John Rumrich (UT-Austin), Regina Schwartz (Northwestern), Feisal Mohamed (UIUC)

8:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Graduate Student Seminar and Workshop: Milton, Samson, and the Scholars
Room Change: 210-01 Merrick

9:30 AM - 11:45 AM
Interdisciplinary Panel: Religion and Violence
CBC 254

Fred Frohock (UM Political Science), Erik Larson (FIU Religious Studies), Richard S. Olson (FIU Political Science), Irene Oh (UM Religious Studies), Rob Rosen (UM Law School),

3:00 - 5:00
Reader's Theater Production of Samson Agonistes
DM 150

Thursday, January 22
6:00 Pm - 10:00 PM
Public Lecture: An Introduction to Samson Agonistes (with screening of Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah)
Andrew Strycharski, Assistant Professor, FIU
PC 447
(Sponsored by FIU Chapter of Sigma Tau Delta)

Saturday, February 21
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Paradise Lost Marathon Reading
GC Pit
(Sponsored by FIU chapter of Sigma Tau Delta)

Friday, April 3
Literature, Religion, Ethics, Violence: A Graduate Student Conference
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Graham Center Ballroom East
(Sponsored by FIU Graduate English Association)