Crimes Against Humanity: Historical Perspectives

Catalog description

This course examines the historical development of the idea of a “crime against humanity,“ and the strengths and weakness of the idea as an element of international law. Crimes against Humanity emerged as a legal institution in the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust, and the global relevance of the concept has expanded from this particular, European, base. After first examining the violence and genocide that ultimately led to the post-WWII Nuremberg trials and formal prosecutions for "crimes against humanity", the course looks at how the definition of a crime an against humanity has expanded and become more inclusive in response to historical events such as South African Apartheid or Argentina’s "Dirty War". The last part of the course examines how we think and cope with crimes against humanity; the creation and development of international institutions meant to police and prosecute such crimes; the role of public memory and discourses serve in politicizing (or de-politicizing) the legacy of such crimes, and the place of reparations and recognition of past crimes in the contemporary political and social landscape.