THEORIES OF GENOCIDE

Catalog description

In this course we will be examining key texts in the theory of genocide as well as works of social theory that have influenced genocide studies. In particular we will examine approaches to power and agency that are animating debates today. As we read we will discuss how these theories have been used and we will apply them to case studies in order to discuss their relative merits. The purpose of this course is to give students a familiarity with the literature most often used by genocide scholars and policy makers and to offer frameworks and approached that students can apply to real-world events. Throughout the course students will be introduces to ways in which theory has been used in scholarship and policy, and they will write a final paper using one of the theorists we have read to analyze a case study film, film, novel, NGO report, newspaper article, or a public debate pertaining to genocide.