Eminent Scholar of Genocide Studies to Speak at Holy Cross

James Waller, Cohen Endowed Chair of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Keene State College, will give a talk on genocide awareness on Monday, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. in the Seelos Theater at the College of the Holy Cross. He will discuss public policy, advocacy on genocide, and mass killing prevention. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Prior to his appointment at Keene, Waller was the director of academic programs with Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation. He was recently selected to a position on the Advisory Board for the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) and named a Centennial Senior Ethics Fellow by the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs.

A former professor of social psychology, Waller grew interested in Holocaust and genocide studies to try to understand the perpetrator behavior. He is the author of “Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing” (Oxford University Press, 2002).

His lecture at Holy Cross is co-sponsored by the Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture, the Garrity Professorship, and the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies. To learn more about this event and find lectures online, visit www.holycross.edu/mcfarlandcenter.

About the Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture:

Established in 2001 and housed in Smith Hall, the McFarland Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture provides resources for faculty and course development, sponsors conferences and college-wide teaching events, hosts visiting fellows, and coordinates a number of campus lecture series. Rooted in the College's commitment to invite conversation about basic human questions, the Center welcomes persons of all faiths and seeks to foster dialogue that acknowledges and respects differences, providing a forum for intellectual exchange that is interreligious, interdisciplinary, intercultural, and international in scope.  The Center also brings members of the Holy Cross community into conversation with the Greater Worcester community, the academic community, and the wider world to examine the role of faith and inquiry in higher education and in the larger culture.