John Pilger to visit as Rhodes professor

Filmmaker, journalist Pilger to begin first visit as Rhodes professor

By Franklin Crawford

Pilger

John Pilger, investigative journalist, author and Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker, makes his first campus visit this month as a Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of '56 University Professor. During his October stay, Pilger will present three free public screenings of his films as well as participate in a question-and-answer session with the audience. The dates, times, places and film titles are as follows:

Monday, Oct. 18, at 4:30 p.m., Willard Straight Theatre, "Breaking the Silence: Truth and Lies in the War on Terror."
Wednesday, Oct. 20, at 4:30 p.m., Kaufmann Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall, "Stealing a Nation: A Special Report by John Pilger."
Thursday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m., Willard Straight Theatre, "Paying the Price: Killing the Children of Iraq."

"I am delighted that John Pilger will be visiting Cornell at a time of heightened campus interest in public affairs and in American foreign policy," said Brett de Bary, professor of Asian studies and comparative literature, and director of the Society for the Humanities. "Already a historical figure of 20th century journalism in his own right, Pilger will share his views on journalism, film-making and the topics of his investigative work with the Cornell community."

Pilger, de Bary said, is seen by some as a successor to the journalistic legacy of George Orwell. "Like Orwell, he is equal parts reporter, artist, and cultural critic," she said. "His documentary films have dealt with some of the major flashpoints of global politics in the second half of the 20th century -- Vietnam, Cambodia, East Timor, Afghanistan, Iraq and, most recently, the Chagos Islands, near the site of a planned American military base in the Indian Ocean."

Pilger also has reported on Indonesia, Burma, Palestine, apartheid in South Africa and Australia's indigenous population. His factual documentaries and books challenge widely held opinions about European and U.S. foreign policy.

Pilger is a regular contributor to The Guardian, New Statesman, the Independent and Daily Mirror, as well as the BBC. For his work as a war correspondent in Vietnam, Cambodia, Egypt, India, Bangladesh and Biafra, he has twice been named Journalist of the Year, Britain's highest journalism award. He was named the 2003 Ethnic Multicultural Media Awards Media Personality of the Year. Pilger also has been awarded the United Nations' Associate Media Peace Prize and the 2003 Sophie Prize, presented by the Norwegian Minister of the Environment. His documentaries have been frequently honored, including an International Emmy Award in 1991 for "Cambodia: The Betrayal," an examination of the secret support given by Western governments to the Khmer Rouge.

The Rhodes Class of '56 University Professorships are awarded for a period of one to five years, and appointees are considered full members of the faculty. During each year of their appointment, Rhodes professors visit the campus for a minimum of two weeks. Janet Reno, former U.S. Attorney General, 1960 Cornell alumna and Rhodes professor, will revisit Cornell in November.

October 14, 2004