Please note: you are viewing unit and programme information
for a past academic year. Please see the current academic year for up to date information.
| Unit name |
Understanding Genocide |
| Unit code |
POLI20005 |
| Credit points |
20 |
| Level of study |
I/5
|
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
|
| Unit director |
Dr. Michel |
| Open unit status |
Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
none
|
| Co-requisites |
none
|
| School/department |
School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies |
| Faculty |
Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Description including Unit Aims
This unit critically analyses the different approaches to explaining, understanding and dealing with the phenomenon of genocide. The first part of the unit will engage with different explanatory accounts drawing on a variety of academic disciplines. It then moves on to empirical cases in order to assess the validity and rigour of these approaches before concluding with an assessment of the different methods the international community uses to proactively or reactively address genocide. It will thereby cover questions relating to political, moral and legal responsibility as well as concepts for reconciliation.
Aims:
The unit aims to:
- introduce students to the field of genocide studies from a conceptual as well as empirical perspective.
- introduce the main explanatory perspectives for understanding perpetrators behaviour
- enable students to critically assess the causes of a number of empirical cases from different regions
- enable to students to reflect upon the political, social and cultural dimensions relevant in cases of genocide
- introduce and evaluate legal and socio-political responses to genocide
Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:
- demonstrate a good knowledge of different approaches to understanding the causes of genocide.
- Show a clear understanding of political, social and cultural dimensions of the empirical case.
- Evaluate and critique the legal and social-political measures the international community has used to address issues of intervention, punishment and reconciliation in cases of genocide
Teaching Information
The unit will be taught through blended learning methods, including a mix of synchronous and asynchronous teaching activities
Assessment Information
1500 word essay (25%)
2500 word essay (75%)
Both assessments test all learning outcomes listed above
Reading and References
- Ben Kiernan, Blood and Soil. A World History of Genocide and Extermination from Sparta to Darfur, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007.
- Benjamin Valentino, Final Solutions. Mass Killing and Genocide in the 20th Century, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2004.
- Jean Hatzfeld, A Time for Machetes. The Rwandan Genocide: The Killers Speak, London: Serpent’s Tail, 2008.
