CTSJ 138 Introduction to Comparative Genocide Studies
During World War II, Polish Jewish refugee and lawyer Raphael Lemkin coined the term genocide to describe Nazi occupation policies and practices. In 1948, the United Nations codified this term in international law by adopting the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This course introduces students to the critical study of systematic mass murder and the possibilities and limitations of the genocide concept. Using a transdisciplinary approach that draws on history, philosophy, law, psychology, politics, anthropology, and cultural studies, students will survey the field of comparative genocide studies as it has developed in the last century World War II. Students will interrogate legal and political definitions of genocide, compare the origins, development, and forms of genocidal violence, and explore public debates about genocide representation and prevention. Students will consider dimensions such as colonialism and indigeneity, gender and sexuality, social psychology, and justice and will examine cases of systematic mass murder across the globe, including in New Spain, German South West Africa, the Ottoman Empire, the Third Reich, Indonesia, and Guatemala.
Cross Listed Course
DWA 201