Rwanda and Genocide

Overview:

In this class students conduct an in depth study of human behavior in the face of injustice. The activities and sources focus on the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda to figure out why people choose to be bystanders, up-standers or perpetrators. Students will learn how groups form and what turns them against each other. By studying the impact of colonialism, the pseudo science of race, and propaganda students will be compelled to better understand the unthinkable murder of 800,000 Rwandans. At the end of the course, students will also be asked to investigate the US role in this event and determine whether or not the United States did enough to help. Essential Questions: 1. How was membership and race defined during the colonial period in Rwanda? 2. What factors influenced individual/group behavior during the genocide? 3. How was justice defined and executed following the events of 1994?

Assessments:

1. Position paper on bystander behavior: 

     Is helping in times of injustice a matter of social responsibility or heroism? 

2. Position paper on Obedience and Propaganda: 

    What choice did the citizens of Rwanda have to question their government?

3. Scrapbook on the steps of Genocide: 

    What are the warning signs and what are the effects of inaction?

4. Debate: 

    What could the United States have done to help prevent or end the genocide in Rwanda?

5. Building a Monument to commemorate a moment, person, or idea from the time of the         Genocide in Rwanda.