Steven Volk in 1973 Volk poses under a sign for a Chilean labor movement Peter Kornbluh, who addressed Volk's students, is author of The Pinochet Files Steven Volk Chileans Remember Another 9/11 by Sue Angell '99 Thirty years ago, the Chilean military overthrew the democratic socialist government of Salvador Allende, and historians like Steven Volk are still trying to understand the events of September 11, 1973. How could a relatively stable democracy become the victim of a military coup? Did the U.S. government encourage these events? And, more important, who should accept responsibility for the bloody dictatorship that followed? To examine these and other questions, Professor of Histsory Steven Volk offered a two-week-long minicourse in Latin American studies titled Thirty Years Later: The Historical and Political Significance of the Chilean Coup. The course drew on Volk's personal experiences in Chile, as well as recently declassified documents that chronicle the United States' activities in that country during the '70s. Why offer a class on the Chilean coup now? Volk reflects quietly before answering. "For the first time since 1973, Chile has a president from Allende's party in office," he says. "That wasn't the case when we observed the 25th anniversary of the coup. I think that Pinochet's 1998 arrest, together with the Clinton administration's declassification of key documents, also add to this anniversary's importance." The class enrolled 187 students, perhaps setting a new record on campus. Why did so many people rush to sign up for the course? Volk doesn't have an answer, but is gratified by their interest. "I think this is an indication of our students' abiding interest in the world," he says.   Students Speak Out: Emma Budwig '06 and Marian Schlotterbeck '05 both participated in Professor Volk's mini-course, Thirty Years Later: The Historical and Political Significance of the Chilean Coup. Read what the students said about the course.     Volk invited two guest speakers, Joyce Horman and Peter Kornbluh, to address his students. Horman, the widow of U.S. journalist Charles Horman (who was killed in Chile shortly after the coup), spoke about her battles with the legal system during her efforts to bring those responsible for her husband's death to justice. Kornbluh, the director of the Chile Documentation Project at the National Security Archive and author of the recently published book, The Pinochet Files, discussed the role played by America in Chile. "The events we experienced continue to resonate with the American public," Horman says. "I'm amazed that people who weren't yet born in 1973 still find this subject relevant, but I'm gratified by their willingness to learn from us." Kornbluh agrees. "Chile refuses to become irrelevant, because it teaches us about our country's posture in the world," he says. "There is no greater academic exercise than to study history in order to understand and participate in the present." Volk hopes these guest speakers will help his students begin to address the difficult topic of U.S. democracy at home and abroad. This discussion, he says, is a needed one. "For me, the events of 1973 mean that the United States can't claim to be an innocent participant in the international scene," says Volk. "So, when the U.S. is the target of a terrorist attack, like it was in 2001, we can mourn and be outraged, but we can't pretend that we have not supported terrorism in other parts of the world. We need to learn to talk about this topic in a productive way, even if it is a difficult one to address." Related Links: Oberlin College Professor Recognized by Chilean Government Seeking Justice in Chile: A Personal History History Department