‘We the Young Fighters: Pop Culture, Terror, and War in Sierra Leone’ – A Book Talk with Marc Sommers

Join us for a talk with Marc Sommers, a peacebuilding and conflict expert who has worked as a senior adviser to the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Defense and served in 22 war-affected countries during his career. Marc will discuss his new book, We the Young Fighters: Pop Culture, Terror, and War in Sierra Leone (University of Georgia Press, 2023), which explores how three transatlantic pop culture figures – Tupac Shakur, Bob Marley, and Rambo – influenced youth in Sierra Leone during the country’s long civil war at the turn of the century, radicalizing warfare and shaping peacetime.

This event is sponsored by the Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Center, UNC Global Affairs, the African Studies Center, the Curriculum in Peace, War, and Defense, and the Department of Music.