We are a world in conflict. Currently, our national attention has been directed towards our conflicts with other countries, but even as international tensions grow, the cultural differences that separate us in our own country become more apparent. News reports regularly show us graphic examples of our own intolerance - from burning mosques and temples, to racial profiling and homosexual discrimination. How can we possibly hope for world peace when we have not achieved it within the borders of our own country?

The American people are a microcosm of the world population. Representatives of all walks of life, religion, class, ethnicity and national origin are citizens of this country. As the population of the melting pot increases, the pressures of coexistence intensify. In a time when it is all too easy to concentrate on differences that divides us, I believe it is incumbent on us to recognize and celebrate the similarities that can bring us together. Regardless of our various ethnic backgrounds or religious upbringing, there is one factor that we all share - one "institution" that we all hold sacred - family.

It could be argued that there is no such thing as a "typical" American family. However it is the similarities within the diversities that I hope to capture. Throughout the semester I have been researching a variety of events that bring families together. From the celebration of Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights, to the Jewish Festival of Lights, Hanukkah - from a baby shower to a 50th wedding anniversary - I intend to photograph these gatherings and capture images of compassion and love that reflect the importance of family which can speak to all of us.

* Jack and Irene White live in Black Mountain, North Carolina. They are devout Baptist Christians who plan to baptize their foster child, Tifani Cupp, in the French Broad River. In June of 2003, the White family will gather at the bank of the French Broad to witness the baptism of Tifani.

* Harry and Ella Lubner of Skaneateles, NY, have 10 children, 36 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. For many of the holidays the entire family, many of whom still live in Skaneateles, gather at Harry and Ella's to celebrate. During Easter, the 52 family members participate in an all-ages egg hunt.

* In May of 2003, The Ingellis family will hold a family reunion in Long Island, NY. One hundred family members or more will meet for the annual Memorial Day picnic at the Sunken Meadow State Park where they have gathered at the same spot for the past 40 years.

* Danielle Schenandoah who is Iroquois and Dylan Blackstone, a Mohawk, plan to marry this summer with a traditional Native American wedding at the Oneida Indian Nation in Oneida, NY. The couple are preparing for the upcoming union by handcrafting their ceremonial wedding attire.

Throughout the following year, I plan to document the rites and rituals of the American family -

• a Chinese American family celebrating the Chinese New Year
• a Mexican American family during the celebration of Cinco de Mayo in Texas
• a Muslim American family honoring Ramadan
• a birth at a commune
• the funeral of a patriarch