Seminar in Sociology

PREREQUISITES: 3 COURSES IN SOCIOLOGY, INCLUDING SOC-UA 1 OR SOC-UA 2 OR SOC-UA 3 OR PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR.

Since the Holocaust, genocide has become one of the defining concepts of the twentieth century. Despite the continued existence of genocide it has been subjected to relatively little sociological research, even though sociological work on modernity, civilization, nationalism, racism and violence is highly relevant for the study of mass violence. In this course on the sociology of genocide and human rights we use social theory, sociological concepts, and methods from the social sciences to address questions such as: Why did the twentieth century witness unprecedented organized genocide? Can we learn why genocide is perpetrated and perhaps prevented by comparing different cases of genocide? Is the Holocaust unique, or does it share causes and features with other cases of state-sponsored mass murder such as in Indonesia in the 1960s, Cambodia in the 1970s, and Rwanda in the 1990s? To answer these questions we will investigate and compare in great detail several cases of mass violence and genocide. We will also explore how the world has responded—through laws, international cooperation, and an international movement—to prevent genocide. Specifically, we will analyze how human rights were placed on the agenda as a result of the Nazi’s genocide and how they continue to be empirically practiced as an important policy instrument. However, sociologists do not treat human rights as immutable attributes but as highly contested claims that vary across historical time and geographic space. The practice of human rights must be understood within the social context in which they are invoked and find meaning. We will evaluate how effective human rights policy has been in the prevention of mass violence and what other preventative measures have been—or must be—considered.

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