Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2017 - HIST 285 D100

Studies in History (3)

Genocide in Hist Context

Class Number: 4111

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 5 – Dec 4, 2017: Mon, 12:30–2:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Exam Times + Location:

    Dec 14, 2017
    Thu, 12:00–3:00 p.m.
    Burnaby

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Special topics. Breadth-Humanities.

COURSE DETAILS:

Modern Genocide in Historical Context
In 1948, the United Nations adopted a convention that defined genocide. The ratifying nations promised to prevent genocides, to intervene in those that broke out, and to hold the perpetrators responsible. However, genocides have continued to occur, and the signers of the convention have spent more time arguing over the definition and its limitations than acting against perpetrators.

In what context was the UN genocide convention drawn up and signed? How and why did the definition fall short in the eyes of so many of the signatories and scholars? What are its limitations? How is genocide distinct, legally and intellectually, from crimes against humanity? This course will explore modern genocide in its historical context in order to analyze and critique various definitions of genocide, underscoring the usefulness of the genocide convention and introducing students to the complexities of politics and international law when it comes to enforcing such legislation. We will be looking at different case studies throughout the semester, including controversial cases that may or may not constitute genocide. Topics include the figure of Raphael Lemkin and the context around the 1948 convention; the concept of crimes against humanity and its evolving legal definition from the end of the First World War; the impact of the Soviet Union on the official definition of genocide; the genocide of the Herero and Nama in Southwest Africa in 1904; the Armenian genocide during World War I; the Holocaust; the Cambodian and Rwandan genocides; ethnic cleansing and genocide in the Balkans after 1990; distinctions between ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, and genocide; and contemporary events in Darfur and the Congo, and the genocidal behavior of groups such as Boko Haram and ISIS.

Grading

  • Attendance and participation 10%
  • Group presentation 25%
  • Short papers (15% each) 30%
  • Final (take-home) exam 35%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Adam Jones, Genocide: A Comprehensive Introduction (3rd edition, 2017)*

Samuel Totten and William S. Parsons, eds., Centuries of Genocide (2013)

Jean Hatzfeld, Machete Season (2005) and The Antelope’s Strategy (2009)

* Available online via Bennett Library

Plus selected readings on Canvas.

Registrar Notes:

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://students.sfu.ca/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS