UW-Madison will hold a teach-in Friday and Saturday to better educate students on the current military conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Panels of faculty, students and community groups will discuss various topics, including counterinsurgencies and nation-development complications in the two countries.
UW-Madison faculty, many who are experts on the area, organized the event.
Joseph Elder, a professor of sociology and languages and cultures of Asia, said the teach-in was planned after President Barack Obama announced the deployment of 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan Dec. 1.
""At that point, people who knew about the area felt we had a responsibility to share our information,"" Elder said.
Elder said the teach-in will provide students with critical information on Afghanistan.
""I hope that students get a lot of information, since a lot has been concealed or misinterpreted by the administration,"" Elder said.
According to Elder, the first UW-Madison teach-in was held April 1, 1965, when the U.S. was beginning to become seriously involved in the Vietnam War.
He said the teach-in began in the afternoon with a few graduate students and professors. The event grew to approximately 1,000 students and 26 faculty members before it concluded at midnight.
That teach-in was organized by a group of faculty members who specialized in southeast Asia, felt the war was a serious mistake and found it important for them to share their knowledge of Vietnam, according to Elder.
""[The situation in Vietnam] was bad enough, so they should have a teach-in and share their information with anybody else on campus who might also have some sort of perspective on it,"" Elder said. ""The faculty members felt very deeply that important information was either being overlooked or denied.""
A few other teach-ins have been held on campus in response to other controversial military operations, such as those in Cambodia.
The Afghanistan and Pakistan teach-in will begin at 7 p.m. Friday, March 19, in the Alumni Lounge of the Pyle Center, 702 Langdon St. The event will continue Saturday, March 20, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Memorial Union.
