300-400 level courses are on special topics and are more advanced. They often presuppose some basic knowledge in the field and should be more difficult courses than courses at the 1-199 levels. The department is trying to insure that some 400 level courses, although substantially more difficult, are also small in size; they thus may be suitable for graduate students.
HIST 474 The Comparative History of Genocide
von Joeden-Forgey
Taught as schedule allows (consult the Course Directory)
LPS Course
In this course we will study modern genocide with an emphasis on the causes of genocidal processes, possible preventative measures, and social healing after the fact. Particular focus will be on the Holocaust, Rwanda , Bosnia-Herzegovina and Darfur, but other cases will also be examined, including the Armenian genocide, the genocide of Iraqi Kurds, Guatemala and Cambodia . Using scholarly texts, fiction, film, and other media, we will discuss the definition of genocide and its representation, the long- and short-term historical contexts that enable genocide, the question of the uniqueness of the Holocaust and the value of "comparative genocide studies," the problem of international response, and the relationship between genocide and other forms of social and political violence.
Course Syllabus (PDF)
