London and New York
December 3, 2001

On September 11, 2001, two hijacked planes crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, another struck the Pentagon in Washington, DC, and a fourth came down in rural Pennsylvania. As it became clear that the US had experienced the worst attack on its territory, resulting in the loss of thousands of lives, people across the world rallied in condemnation of these terrorist acts.

Then came the urgent questions: "Why did this happen? Who is responsible? How should we respond?"

Even those of us who have spent our careers teaching and doing research in the area of international affairs are struggling to explain such violence and brutality and to come to terms with our changed world. But as academics, it is surely our responsibility to offer some insights into the roots of terrorism and the history of religious extremism and political violence and to consider what the future holds. And as we move forward, we can examine the political and historical and significance of the response of the US government and the international community and contribute to the dialogue about policy and the future world order.

Fathom sought our assistance in creating an online learning resource that would provide information and thoughtful analysis to anyone who is looking for ways to think about what is happening in today's world. The result--Fathom's Special Learning Center, "September 11: Before and After"--is a collection of relevant articles, lectures, panels, interviews, seminars, courses, reference sources, book recommendations and related links selected from Fathom's 13 member institutions.

Some of this material is taken from Fathom's archive; many other contributions have come since September 11th and will continue to be added over the coming months. Many respected experts are represented, including Bruce Hoffman at RAND, Rashid Khalidi from the University of Chicago, Mary Kaldor of the LSE, and Eric Foner of Columbia University. We have also included a selection of essential readings from the CIAO (Columbia International Affairs Online) database.

To learn about--and learn from--the events of September 11th, we must acknowledge the complexities and interdependencies of the modern world system. A notable feature of the Learning Center, then, is the inclusion of learning materials from a very wide range of disciplines. If, as many analysts argue, terrorism has traditionally risen in part from the disillusionment of people who feel they are not the masters of their own fate, then we must look closely at phenomena such as fundamentalism, imperialism, nationalism and democratization, along with issues such as economic development and the status of women. And while the World Trade Center was a proud symbol of New York City, there are those who considered it a symbol of US hegemony and globalization. Because we want to explore the multifaceted links betweeen globalization and the causes, but also possible resolution of, the present crisis, we have devoted an entire section of the learning center to the study of globalization.

In recognition of the fragility of global security and the sophisticated networks through which terrorists operate, we include introductions to some of the insurgencies and sites of conflict in different parts of the world (from Northern Ireland and Israel to Chechnya and Kashmir). In doing so, we have drawn from various periods of history (from the age of Alexander the Great to medieval times to the post-Cold War era.)

The Fathom Learning Center offers a broad range of perspectives originating from diverse religious, political and geographic vantage points. You will therefore find contributions here that engage in tough issues and respectfully question certain ideologies and policies. We invite you to join the upcoming discussion boards and share your questions and ideas with other users, while demonstrating tolerance of difference and avoiding hateful language or unjust speculation.

Finally, we hope that this Learning Center will serve as an archive for the online preservation of knowledge and debate from leading scholars and experts at a critical moment in history, as well as a record of the expressions of members of the Fathom community through the discussions.

We offer our sincere hope that by sharing knowledge and keeping open minds, we can work to prevent human tragedy on the scale that we have seen in recent weeks and build a world that is inclusive and just.

Dean Lisa Anderson
School of International and Public Affairs
Columbia University

Dr Katerina Dalacoura
Department of International Relations
Center for the Study of Human Rights
London School of Economics