Torture and the Future

Perspectives from the Humanities

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"Into the Light of Day: Torture, Human Rights, and the War on Terror"

Free and open to the public.

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NEWS RELEASE

Mark Danner, author of
Torture and Truth – America, Abu Ghraib, and the War on Terror
to deliver a free public lecture in UCSB Campbell Hall

SUMMARY FACTS :

· Mark Danner, www.markdanner.com
· “Into the Light of Day: Torture, Human Rights, and the War on Terror”
· Professor of Journalism at UC Berkeley, staff writer for The New Yorker, and frequent contributor to the New York Review of Books
· Author of Torture and Truth - America, Abu Ghraib, and the War on Terror (2004)
· Recent book: The Secret Way to War - The Downing Street Memo and the Iraq War’s Secret History (2006)
· Thursday, January 18 / 8 pm / UCSB Campbell Hall
· FREE
· Information: UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535 or online at www.artsandlectures.ucsb.edu

Acclaimed journalist and author Mark Danner will present a free public lecture titled “Into the Light of Day: Torture, Human Rights, and the War on Terror” on Thursday, January 18 at 8 pm in UCSB Campbell Hall . A UC Berkeley professor in the Graduate School of Journalism and an accomplished journalist on foreign affairs and international conflict, Danner is a longtime staff writer for The New Yorker and a frequent contributor to the New York Review of Books. He has covered Central America, Haiti, the Balkans and Iraq; and has written extensively about the development of American foreign policy during the late Cold War and about violations of human rights during that time.

Danner’s public lecture at UCSB inaugurates a two quarter long multi-disciplinary examination of how literature and the arts engage with the complex issues surrounding human rights and their violation in today’s world.

Danner’s book Torture and Truth - America, Abu Ghraib, and the War on Terror (2004) was released after graphic photographs of Iraqi prisoners held at Abu Ghraib military prison were leaked to the global media in the spring of 2004. The book, a collection of government memos and commentary, illuminates the debate about the nature of the photos and whether prisoner abuse was endorsed military protocol; suggesting that the U.S. government was, in fact, condoning the use of torture in “the war on terror.” Danner contends that the nature of the scandal is political, remarking, “[The scandal] is not about revelation or disclosure but about the failure, once wrongdoing is disclosed, of politicians, officials, the press, and, ultimately, citizens to act.”

The Los Angeles Times has called Torture and Truth “ [E]ssential reading for Americans who want to know how the United States has careened into chaos - moral, political and organizational,” while Mother Jones remarked, “The documents, some of which are published for the first time… make for gripping, if disturbing, reading.”

Recently, Danner released The Secret Way to War, a contentious examination of the Downing Street Memo - the leaked secret minutes of a 2002 meeting of senior British intelligence, foreign policy, and security officials - which Danner alleges reveals a premeditated war well before the invasion of Iraq, calling into question the Bush administration’s motives to seek out “weapons of mass destruction.” Danner’s book includes the Memo in its entirety, a rigorous analysis, and seven other leaked British documents. Mother Jones has called the book, “ ...a forceful analysis.”

A graduate of Harvard, Danner joined The New Yorker’s staff in April 1990 immediately after his three-part series on Haiti, “ A Reporter at Large: Beyond the Mountains “ was selected for the 1990 National Magazine Award for Reporting. Danner’s writing has since appeared in Aperture , Harper ’ s Magazine, The New York Times Magazine, The Times Book Review , and on The New York Times Op-Ed page. Books by Danner include The Massacre at El Mozote- A Parable of the Cold War(1994), and The Road to Illegitimacy (2004) about the 2000 Florida vote recount. In 1994, Danner co-wrote and helped produce an Emmy Award-winning hour-long television documentary for ABC News’ “Peter Jennings Reporting” series, “ While America Watched: The Bosnian Tragedy .” Danner’s work has also been honored with a National Magazine Award and three Overseas Press Awards. In June 1999, he was named a MacArthur Fellow.

Danner’s UCSB lecture will address the character and effectiveness of the U.S.’s undeclared State of Emergency since the attacks of September 11 and ask the critical question: “When should it come to an end?” Courtesy of Borders, books by Mark Danner will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

Mark Danner’s lecture is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures as part of the Critical Issues in America Series “Torture and the Future,” and is generously supported by Phyllis de Picciotto & Stan Roden. More information is available at the specially created Web site for the series, www.complit.ucsb.edu/projects/tortureandthefuture/. Admission is free. For further information, call the UCSB Arts & Lectures Ticket Office at (805) 893-3535 or visit online at www.artsandlectures.ucsb.edu.