S. Genocide

This seminar is an introduction to the study of genocide, this darkest of human phenomena. The course's disciplinary ambit ranges from anthropology to economics, from history to law, and from political science to sociology. On the foundation of diverse disciplinary approaches, the seminar explores major theoretical and empirical aspects of genocidal campaigns in international politics, inter alia, their origins, evolution, and termination; the manner of their perpetration; their impact on the maintenance of international peace and security; their long-run consequences for nation-building; their adjudication in domestic and international courts and tribunals; the limits of reporting; the power of forecasting; and the violence of ecocide. Empirical cases are drawn from across space and time -- from the ancient world to the Anthropocene. They include canonical settings (e.g., Ottoman Empire, Germany, Rwanda), unconventional ones (e.g., Australia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Ireland, the United States), and current ones (e.g., China, Russia, Syria). The course will equip students with the analytic tools necessary for making sense of genocide -- its multiple meanings, changing character, and destructive force.