Introduction to Mass Violence in the Modern Era

MALS

73600

Introduction to Mass Violence in the Modern Era

This course introduces students to the study of mass violence in different geopolitical contexts across the globe from the late nineteenth century through the twenty-first century. By focusing on case studies, which include German South-West Africa, the Third Reich, Ukraine, Guatemala, the Soviet Union, Cambodia,Chechnya, and other locations if appropriate, the course explores some of the most recent and cutting-edge scholarship on genocide and ethnic cleansing. The course examines the short-term and long-term causes for mass violence, assessing the extent to which, in different contexts, it resulted from political ideologies, colonialism, bureaucratic pressures, or ethnic and religious hatred. The course also focuses on the repercussions of mass violence, including acts of revenge, changes in international law and human rights, and attempts to create sites of memory in those places where atrocities were committed. Finally, this course aims at tracing how such violence against civilians was experienced by other citizens, therebytransforming and affecting their everyday lives, political choices, and social attitudes during and after the events.

Offer as needed

Graduate School Graduate

Yes

030893