Columbia Scholar to Address Poverty as Human Rights Violation

Thomas Pogge, an expert in the areas of global justice, social and political philosophy, ethics and moral philosophy, will deliver a talk titled "Severe Poverty as a Human Rights Violation" at 3:30 p.m. April 8 at the Nebraska Union, 1400 R St. The talk is free and open to the public.

In the talk, Pogge will address whether and under what conditions severe poverty violates human rights in the moral sense. The fundamental importance of basic necessities for any human life supports the claim that there are such human rights, Pogge said, but this claim is controversial nonetheless.

Pogge, associate professor of philosophy at Columbia University, has published four books, including his recent "World Poverty and Human Rights: Cosmopolitan Responsibilities and Reforms." He is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and has received grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Princeton Center for Human Values, Oslo Centre for Advanced Study, the MacArthur Foundation, the Princeton Institute of Advanced Study, and All Souls College.

Pogge has taught graduate courses in moral and political philosophy, global justice, philosophy and economics, Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason," human rights, and professional ethics.

CONTACT: Mark van Roojen, Assoc. Professor, Philosophy, (402) 472-2428