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credits

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Genocide is often described as the worst of crimes, the nadir of human behavior, and the world’s most “odious scourge.” The goal of this course is to examine the origins and causes of genocide and to introduce students to the key works and major debates in the growing field of genocide and mass violence research. This course is divided into three parts. First, we will discuss how genocide is conceptualized and defined, explore the theories that try to explain why genocides occur, and discuss why people may participate in genocidal killing. In the second part we will examine several key case studies of genocide and mass violence. Third, we will complete the course by debating policy approaches to genocide and mass violence including prevention, intervention, post-genocide justice, reconciliation and memory.