Author of book on modern slavery to speak at WFU

Kevin Bales, author of the Pulitzer Prize-nominated book, “Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy,” will speak at Wake Forest University on Sept. 4.

The free lecture will begin at 7:15 p.m. in Benson University Center’s Pugh Auditorium.

Desmond Tutu called Bales’ book “a well-researched, scholarly and deeply disturbing exposÈ of modern slavery.”

Bales’ book describes the emergence of a “new slavery” in Mauritania, Brazil, Thailand, Pakistan and India. The case studies in the book present actual slaves, slaveholders and public officials in historical, geographical and cultural contexts.

Bales, professor of sociology at the University of Surrey in London, is a consultant to the United Nations’ Global Program on Trafficking of Human Beings. He has been invited to advise the governments of United States, Britain, Ireland, Norway and Nepal on the formulation of policy on slavery and human trafficking. Bales is a trustee of the international group, Anti-Slavery International, and is currently completing a book evaluating the policies and programs that address slavery and human trafficking.

The lecture, sponsored by Wake Forest’s Center for International Studies, is open to the public. A book signing will follow. For information, call 758-5938.

Categories: Arts & Culture, Research, Speakers