University Chronicle
MJ Brickey
Issue date: 3/9/09
Loung Ung, Cambodian genocide survivor, author, activist and lecturer will speak about her experiences in the Cambodian killing fields March 12, 2009, 7 p.m. in the Main Theater of the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts.
Loung Ung was born in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge genocide. Khmer Rouge was a political regime that lasted from 1975-1979 under the communist leadership of Solath Sar, widely known as Pol Pot. Pol Pot's goal was to "restart civilization" in Cambodia, but used many inhumane tactics and executions.
Under Pol Pot an estimated 750,000 to 1.7 million Cambodians died from the unlivable conditions and forced labor or were murdered. This genocide, a word meaning the systematic killing of one ethnicity or people, killed approximately 26% of Cambodia's population.
"Ung will educate students about genocide, the need for us to remain aware of the effects of war on innocent people and the responsibility that we all have to work toward peace." said Shannon Lawson, Assistant Professor of English & Humanities and the Director of the Honors Program.
Lawson also added that the students in the Honors section of English 1105 are reading Ung's first book, First They Killed My Father, as part of their course assignments.
"We are very excited to have her here and hope that we get to meet her," Lawson said. "I mean, how often you get to meet the author of a book you are reading in class"
The book and the lecture start off a research theme that Lawson's students are preparing for concerning the nature of good and evil. Students will do research about genocides and will be asking the questions: What causes evil, and what causes some people to do heroic acts in the face of evil?
Ung has received many positive reviews from well-known public figures such as actress Angelina Jolie, Queen Noor of Cambodia, and U.S Senator Patrick Leahy.
"Loung has written an eloquent and powerful narrative as a young witness to the Khmer Rouge atrocities. This is an important story that will have a dramatic impact on today's readers and inform generations to come," Dith Pran, whose life was portrayed in the film The Killing Fields, was quoted as saying.
Loung Ung's best selling memoirs, First They Killed My Father and Lucky Child: A Daughter of Cambodia Reunites With the Sister She Left Behind, is available in Clark Memorial Library and for purchase at the University Bookstore.
The lecture, part of the Jane M. Foster Lecture Series, is Co-Sponsored by the Women's Center, the Center for International Programs and Activities, the Office of the Provost and the Honors Program. Admission to this lecture is free to the public.
Readers can learn more about Loung Ung and her cause at her official website www.loungung.com.
MJ Brickey
Issue date: 3/9/09
Loung Ung, Cambodian genocide survivor, author, activist and lecturer will speak about her experiences in the Cambodian killing fields March 12, 2009, 7 p.m. in the Main Theater of the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts.
Loung Ung was born in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge genocide. Khmer Rouge was a political regime that lasted from 1975-1979 under the communist leadership of Solath Sar, widely known as Pol Pot. Pol Pot's goal was to "restart civilization" in Cambodia, but used many inhumane tactics and executions.
Under Pol Pot an estimated 750,000 to 1.7 million Cambodians died from the unlivable conditions and forced labor or were murdered. This genocide, a word meaning the systematic killing of one ethnicity or people, killed approximately 26% of Cambodia's population.
"Ung will educate students about genocide, the need for us to remain aware of the effects of war on innocent people and the responsibility that we all have to work toward peace." said Shannon Lawson, Assistant Professor of English & Humanities and the Director of the Honors Program.
Lawson also added that the students in the Honors section of English 1105 are reading Ung's first book, First They Killed My Father, as part of their course assignments.
"We are very excited to have her here and hope that we get to meet her," Lawson said. "I mean, how often you get to meet the author of a book you are reading in class"
The book and the lecture start off a research theme that Lawson's students are preparing for concerning the nature of good and evil. Students will do research about genocides and will be asking the questions: What causes evil, and what causes some people to do heroic acts in the face of evil?
Ung has received many positive reviews from well-known public figures such as actress Angelina Jolie, Queen Noor of Cambodia, and U.S Senator Patrick Leahy.
"Loung has written an eloquent and powerful narrative as a young witness to the Khmer Rouge atrocities. This is an important story that will have a dramatic impact on today's readers and inform generations to come," Dith Pran, whose life was portrayed in the film The Killing Fields, was quoted as saying.
Loung Ung's best selling memoirs, First They Killed My Father and Lucky Child: A Daughter of Cambodia Reunites With the Sister She Left Behind, is available in Clark Memorial Library and for purchase at the University Bookstore.
The lecture, part of the Jane M. Foster Lecture Series, is Co-Sponsored by the Women's Center, the Center for International Programs and Activities, the Office of the Provost and the Honors Program. Admission to this lecture is free to the public.
Readers can learn more about Loung Ung and her cause at her official website www.loungung.com.
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