The Institute on World Affairs, which organizes a lecture series each year, invited 10 speakers to campus to discuss terrorism and its changing definitions.

The theme of the series changed after Sept. 11. Originally, the lectures were going to focus on the Colombian drug war, said Pat Miller, director of the Lectures Program.

“Terrorism has been on everyone’s mind all year, so we wanted to address that,” Miller said.

Miller said the success of the series, which began in the fall, prompted the committee to extend it into the spring semester.

“We’ve received a lot of feedback through our Web site, e-mails and the telephone,” she said.

Miller said one highlight of the series was Howard Zinn’s lecture. Zinn, historian and professor emeritus of political science at Boston University, presented “History That Embraces Humanity.” The lecture drew a crowd of more than 700.

Finding and bringing speakers to campus can be a complicated process. The Lectures Program coordinates efforts between the Committee on Lectures, Institute on World Affairs and the Institute on National Affairs.

Miller said the groups of faculty and students research topics and work with local panels, student organizations and the Iowa Humanities Board to bring guests to campus.

The committee that worked on the world affairs series booked speakers who addressed “the most important issues in the world today,” said Gary Tartakov, faculty chairman of the Institute on World Affairs.

Tartakov said hearing people speak about different issues allows students and members of the community to think about them and make more educated decisions in their personal lives.

“We bring in people from all sides of the spectrum,” said Tartakov, professor of art and design.

“We provide students and community members the chance to see a variety of viewpoints in-depth.”

Tartakov said student input is especially important. Students are invited to suggest possible speakers to the committee, or be a part of them.

“One advantage of this lecture series is that it offers an international perspective on a unified theme,” said Laura Hatfield, student chairwoman of the Institute on World Affairs. “Since there are so many viewpoints represented, it provides a broad look at the world.”

Hatfield, junior in genetics, said changing the lecture topic from the Colombian drug war to terrorism was a smooth transition.

The final speaker in the series, Arab journalist Rami Khouri, will discuss Arab views of terror at 7 p.m. Monday in the Gallery Room of the Memorial Union.