A two-day symposium honoring journalist James Foley begins tonight at UMass Amherst. The event is focusing on the challenges facing journalists who witness extreme violence.

Nearly four years ago, reporter James Foley was taken at gunpoint in northwest Syria, while covering the war there. In August 2014, his captors, from ISIS, beheaded him and recorded it on video.

Foley studied writing in a graduate program at UMass before pursuing a career in journalism. He often reported from hot spots, including Iraq and Libya.

A documentary about and including Foley headlines the symposium.

“I believe that front line journalism is important,” Foley said, in an interview from the film. “Without these photos and videos, you can‘t really tell the world how bad it might be.”

Shortly after Foley’s death, his mother posted on Facebook that her son “gave his life trying to expose to the world the suffering of the Syrian people.”