David Morse
Author, Journalist, Activist

David Morse photo

"Two years ago," says David Morse, "I told everybody that I was giving up writing - or at least journalism - in order to return to the visual arts. I built a studio for sculpting and began turning down assignments from editors. Then came Darfur."

David Morse is a nationally recognized journalist and human rights activist, advocating on behalf of Darfur and South Sudan. He gives heartfelt and informative lectures that benefit from his first-hand experience.

Darfur: The politics of genocide

The slaughter in Darfur was created by manipulating existing tensions and is essentially a political conflict fueled by oil. The Bush administration decision to label Darfur a genocide was itself politically motivated, and has had specific consequences. Locating Darfur in the larger geopolitical picture, David Morse explores how US and Chinese strategic interests have affected the conflict. Can the UN effectively intercede in Darfur? Under what circumstances? How are we to understand the violence? What does it mean in our lives? This lecture, followed by discussion, is guaranteed to challenge a wide range of listeners—from the already knowledgeable to complete newcomers.

The Journalistic Challenge: Darfur and South Sudan

Journalist David Morse describes from his own experience the struggle to break the silence surrounding Darfur. He discusses how the downsizing of print journalism and the expanding role of on-line journalism shapes the public response to one of the profoundest and yet most painfully avoided issues of our time: genocide. He documents how individuals have inspired each other and conspired to break the silence. This lecture/slide program centers on a journey of discovery: Morse's recent visit to South Sudan, along with documentary filmmaker Jen Marlowe (Darfur Diaries and Rebuilding Hope) in company with three "Lost Boys"—Dinka men in their twenties who had fled from their burning villages as children and were returning after twenty years without knowing if their families were alive.

David Morse's award-winning articles and essays have appeared in magazines including Esquire, The Nation, and The New York Times Magazine, as well as on-line publications such as Counterpunch, Mother Jones online, Salon, and TomDispatch, and Truthout. He has won grants from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and the Nation Institute's Fund for Investigative Reporting. He has been interviewed on NPR, and is a frequent speaker at schools and community groups of all kinds.

To book this speaker, call (206) 529-4711 or email info@samaralectures.com