Holocaust and Genocide Studies

Note: This class can be taken for college credit through Kean University. See the attached information:

KEAN UNIVERSITY WELCOME LETTER

KEAN UNIVERSITY ENROLLMENT INSTRUCTIONS

“When we look at Auschwitz we see the end of the process. It's important to remember that the Holocaust actually did not start from gas chambers. This hatred gradually developed from words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanisation & escalating violence."

Auschwitz Museum

This course is an introduction to the history of genocide and mass violence in the 20th and 21st centuries. In this class we will first examine what genocide is under international law in contrast to mass murder or war crimes. Then we will examine several historical case studies of genocide, including German South West Africa (today's Namibia,) Armenia, the Holodomor, and the Holocaust. Students then will independently research other historical genocides such as Bosnia, Rwanda, Guatemala, the Kurds in Iraq, etc, and present their research to the class. We will examine these genocides both as unique historical events as well as in an attempt to draw from them a larger theory of how and why genocides occur and how they can be prevented in the present and future.