Handbook

This course will give you an understanding of the phenomenon of genocide in the modern world. It takes a broad, interdisciplinary perspective to explore the origins of the legal concept and its definition in international law in the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. You will explore the nature and evolution of what has been called the ultimate crime against humanity – the ‘crime of crimes’ – across several case studies and questions of genocide, spanning the early twentieth century to the present. The course also examines ongoing political, strategic, and ethical challenges of recognising and responding to questions of genocide. You will have the opportunity to develop your interest in various themes and perspectives that run through the course: the motivation of perpetrators; the challenges and moral dilemmas of victims; the problem of intervention, prevention, and justice; and the politics of denial and memory.