Concentration Camps: A Global History

Catalog description

This course explores the underlying logic of extrajudicial encampment from the camps of 19th-century colonialism to the Soviet Gulag, Nazi death camps, and more contemporary detention centers for refugees and political prisoners. Why have modern states - across the ideological spectrum - made use of camps against real and perceived enemies? Students will understand the underlying political, racial, and economic motives that lead to concentration camps. A transnational approach will help students contextualize specific camp regimes within a larger global history.