Blood and Soil

Ben Kiernan talked about his book Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocide and Extermination from Sparta to Darfur, published by Yale University Press. His book documents a global history of genocide, including early imperial expansion, settler colonialism, and twentieth-century genocides. Besides the official targets of national, racial, ethnic, or religious groups, Professor Kiernan identified expansionism, agrarianism, and cults of antiquity as additional key factors that have been consistently associated with genocidal episodes. He illustrated his presentation with slides. Professor Kiernan also responded to questions from members of the audience.

Ben Kiernan a professor of history and of international and area studies at Yale University as well as the founding director of the Genocide Studies Program. He is the author of numerous books, including The Pol Pot Regime and How Pol Pot Came to Power. close