Approaches to History (393-0-26)
Topic
Mass Violence
Instructors
Stefan Cristian Ionescu
Meeting Info
University Hall 318: Mon, Wed 3:30PM - 4:50PM
Overview of class
In spite of the moral condemnation by numerous religious, political and intellectual leaders and the massive (national and international) efforts aiming to prevent it, mass violence - in its extreme forms, such as mass murder and genocide affecting groups of people - was and still is a widespread phenomenon in human societies. Recently, numerous scholars have argued that, since the advent of modernity, mass violence has become more murderous, especially during the last century. Its persistence and intensification has triggered a lot of scholarly debates about its origins and nature, particularly how it functions and why so many people got implicated in the violence. This course aims to examine various theories and case studies of extreme mass violence, focusing on the dynamics of group behavior and social, political, economic, gender, and psychological factors that shaped cases of collective violence especially during the twentieth century. The main goal is to discuss various cases of extreme mass violence that targeted entire communities based on their group identity, focusing on the perpetrators and on the various explanations of their murderous behavior and the mechanism of mass violence.
Learning Objectives
By completing this course, you are expected to be able to: • Familiarize yourselves with the major concepts and cases of extreme forms of mass violence (such as genocide, politicide, ethnic cleansing, mass atrocity) • Read critically, understand and critically analyze works of history produced by scholars with different methodological and theoretical approaches to the study of extreme mass violence • Acquire an understanding of the strengths, weaknesses, and challenges of the historical craft • Improve your analytical, writing and communication skills through close readings of texts, class discussions, writing papers, and making presentations • Learn to recognize historical arguments regarding controversial historical questions and to formulate and support an original historical argument using primary and secondary sources • Learn how to properly structure a thesis-driven paper, how to apply appropriate methods of citation, and how to use a clear writing style that conveys historical knowledge ideas, and evidence in a mature, readily understood manner.
Evaluation Method
Final paper; presentation; Canvas discussion posts
Class Attributes
Historical Studies Distro Area