Genocide in Comparative Perspective

Course goals

• in-depth knowledge and understanding of historical developments related to the course topic;
• in-depth knowledge of the historiography within the course topic;
• in-depth knowledge of the theoretical discourse about this topic;
• knowledge of a relevant historical case pertaining to the specialised topic.

• critically reflect and actively participate in classroom discussions about the topic;
• apply concepts, historiography and theories connected with the course topic;
• collaborate in reading groups (tutorial groups);
• devise and develop a research question on the basis of an in-depth case study of their choice;
• apply their newly acquired knowledge of the theoretical discourse and historiography to a case study of their choice;
• conduct independent research focusing (mainly) on in-depth secondary literature.

Content

This is the second course of Specialisation 7: Conflict, Violence, and Security
(Track International Relations).

This course focuses on genocide, a centuries-old phenomenon that was not labelled as such until after the Holocaust in the twentieth century, and which has since presented enormous challenges to international law and the international community. The first thing that comes to mind when Europeans think of genocide is the Holocaust, however this course also aims to analyse other instances of genocide: the violence of the European colonial powers in their colonies, Ottoman violence against the Armenian population, as well as more recent cases, such as genocides in the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Cambodia. We will discuss whether these moments of violence can be considered as extreme securitisation processes or a means to ensure the permanent security of the states.

This course focuses on secondary literature: students are introduced to the rich tradition of historiography in this field of research, discuss central themes and key debates, and learn to apply conceptual and theoretical criticism, based on concrete cases set in the various continents and spanning the full length of the twentieth century. In their final paper, students undertake an in-depth study of a specific key debate in historiography.

Additional information