Becoming Evil

James Waller, Ph.D.
Cohen Endowed Chair of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Keene State College

Via Zoom
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Dr. James Waller, the Cohen Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Keene State College (N.H.) will discuss Becoming Evil, his study of how ordinary people commit genocide and mass killing.

Waller received his B.S. from Asbury University (KY), M.S. from the University of Colorado, and Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Kentucky. In addition to his role as the Cohen Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Keene State College in New Hampshire, he is also the Academic Programs Director with the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (AIPR) and the curriculum developer and lead instructor for the Raphael Lemkin Seminars for Genocide Prevention. These seminars, held on-site and in conjunction with the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, introduce diplomats and government officials from around the world to issues of genocide warning and prevention.

Waller’s book on perpetrators of genocide, Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing (2002) is the basis for this lecture. His other books are Confronting Evil: Engaging Our Responsibility to Prevent Genocide (2016) and A Troubled Sleep: Risk and Resilience in Contemporary Northern Ireland, which is due out in March 2021.