Khya Morton ‘24

This profile was current as of May 2024, when she was part of the on-campus Kellogg community.

Khya Morton assists Professor Ernesto Verdeja with his research on the causes of genocide and mass atrocity. She is currently examining book publications and scholarly articles that analyze genocide through a decolonial lens. Professor Verdeja is interested in examining the extent to which decolonial scholars engage with genocide in a systematic manner, often attributing the root of genocides to colonialism (and capitalism) without drawing necessary distinctions between exceptions to the rule. How can capitalism account for all genocides when non-capitalist societies also deliberately exterminate groups of people based on their ethnic, religious, racial and national identity (eg. Uyghur Genocide in China)?

This is just one critical question that will guide Morton and Verdeja's analysis of decolonial theories of genocide as they seek to understand why, how, and to what extent do decolonial scholars overgeneralize explanations of historical and modern-day genocides. Through her collaboration with Professor Verdeja, Morton hopes to deepen her understanding of the complexities of genocide and to explore how their findings might contribute to ongoing genocide discourse and prevention efforts.