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Module Title
LH Genocide and Mass Atrocities
School
School of Social Policy
Department
Soc Policy, Sociology & Crimin
Module Code
08 31464
Module Lead
Daniel Mitchell
Level
Honours Level
Credits
20
Semester
Semester 1
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions
None
Exclusions
Description
The module explores the diverse range of harms associated with genocide and mass atrocities, placing them in an historical, social and political context, and subjecting them to analytical frameworks which serve to illuminate their causes and societal impact. This process of examination allows students to reflect on how societies and governments can best respond to the issues of individual and collective responsibility, social and transitional conceptions of justice, and the punishment and prevention of genocide. Students taking the module are encouraged to think about how people ‘heal’ in the aftermath of genocide while societies continue to retain a central awareness of the social costs of mass killing, these societies and the international community can learn from the past and progress without neglecting the associated harms of genocide.
To facilitate a comprehensive understanding of genocide and mass atrocities the module will develop in four interconnected phases: 1) the history of genocide and the establishment of the Genocide Convention; 2) illustrative case studies (colonial forms of genocide and indigenous societies; the Armenian genocide, the Jewish Holocaust, the Cambodian killing fields, Rwanda, and Darfur); 3) theoretical approaches; 4) responding to genocide, legal and social mechanisms of justice and prevention (ad hoc and permanent tribunals; truth and reconciliation commissions). This approach to teaching and learning provides students with an in-depth understanding of how genocidal movements take root at the social level, gaining legitimacy through political actors, galvanised by supremacist ideologies, leading to ‘ordinary people’ participating in acts of mass abuse, torture and killing.
On completing the module students will be able to apply an awareness of genocide and mass atrocities to contemporary examples of societal conflict and war (as evidenced in Iraq and Syria, for example) and evaluate the degree to which these events constitute acts of genocide. Through this process of evaluation students can also critically assess the potential limitations of the Genocide Convention as a triggering mechanism for international responses to mass killing and consider alternative approaches suitable to preventing further loss of life and the avoidance of irrevocable social fragmentation.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
Discuss the historical, social and political contexts in which genocide occurs
Identify and apply relevant theoretical frameworks and critically reflect on the ways in which they enhance understanding of genocidal processes
Explain the problematic nature of genocide as a concept and legal category when it comes to recognising and responding to mass killing
Assess the connection between genocide, mass atrocities and war/war crimes
Demonstrate knowledge of the different legal, military, political and social mechanisms devised to engage with, and respond to, genocide