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‘A Global History of Genocide’ is a 15-credit Level 5 module offered to students on both single and joint honours BA History programmes as well as to students from other disciplines. Drawing on a range of historical examples from Europe, Asia and Africa, the course explores the history and historiography of genocide in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, considering examples of both state-directed and popular violence, including the Nazi Holocaust and partition of India, as well as the Australian, Namibian, Armenian, Cambodian, Rwandan and Bosnian genocides. The course also examines responses to mass violence, exploring the emergence of the concept of genocide in the 1940s as well as related ideas re: human and group rights, and considering the international mechanisms established in response to violence.

The course addresses benchmarking requirements regarding geographical range, providing a comparative perspective on European and global history in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and exploring methodological and historiographical issues relating to the representation and interpretation of genocide and mass murder. Examining the origins and implementation of genocide, the course explores the historical circumstances in which states and populations have committed mass murder. By considering a series of case studies from across the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the course assesses the specific social, cultural, economic and intellectual contexts within which genocide has developed and charts shifting international and humanitarian responses to genocide and mass violence. The course also examines the commemoration, memorialisation and historiography of genocide, introducing historiographical debates concerning the repression and recuperation of genocide’s place in modern European history and exploring methodological issues including the politics of historical memory and the ‘limits’ of historical representation.

On successful completion of this module a student will be able to:

1 Develop greater understanding of the history and historiography of genocide and mass violence in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
2 Çï¿ûÊÓƵ and reflect on the relationship between nationalism, racism, violence and history in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
3 Define the various social, economic and political inputs to genocidal violence, and an ability to evaluate their interaction across different historical contexts.
4 Identify, formulate and develop a reasoned analysis of the history and/or historiography of genocide.
5 Synthesise evidence and information; to select and evaluate information from both primary and secondary sources; to use reasoning to formulate coherent arguments.
6 Demonstrate growing evidence of the habits of mind and general transferable skills of the trained historian, including: to be able to listen to, and engage in, sustained debate; to cite sources appropriately and accurately; to communicate in a clear, cogent academic style; to show enhanced self-discipline, self-direction and organisational capabilities.

After a general historiographical and methodological introduction, the course follows a broadly chronological structure, charting the history of genocide through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, exploring, inter alia genocides of indigenous populations in North America, Australia and Southern Africa, before considering the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, and the partition of India and Pakistan, and then the Cambodian, Rwandan and Bosnian genocides of the late twentieth century. The course concludes by exploring mass violence in the contemporary world, assessing the politics of genocide and genocide denial in the twenty-first century.

The course will be taught through weekly workshops comprising a mixture of lectures, seminars and collaborative activities. Film, documentary and fiction will also be used as teaching and learning resources. Individual classes examine the origins and implementation of genocide in specific historical contexts whilst attention is also paid to the evolution of popular and historiographical accounts of genocidal violence. Classes devoted to student-led analysis of both primary and secondary source materials are offered throughout the year. Extensive use is made of Moodle both as a repository for teaching and learning resources and as a means of facilitating group work and additional discussion and activities.

Portfolio: 30% weighting, 40% pass mark.
Learning Outcomes: 1, 2, 3, 5 & 6.
Outline Details: A portfolio of work containing an original definition of genocide, a reflective account of the definition proposed, and a worked application of the definition to a case study. 1000 words.

Essay: 70% weighting, 40% pass mark.
Learning Outcomes; 1, 2, 3. 4. 5 & 6.
Outline Details: An essay of 2000 words on an approved topic of the student’s choice.

Formative Assessment: The portfolio is supported by an in-class presentation exercise; the essay is supported by a research design and peer review exercise.