As one of the founders of the field of modern genocide, having taught the first course in the sociology of genocide at UMass-Lowell in 1977 and as a Holocaust child-survivor born in Ukraine, I bring a unique perspective as both scholar and "participant". Genocide and hate are the defining events in the 20th and 21st Century and is so relevant to today's headlines.
This class will explain many things: the definitions and controversies of the Holocaust and genocide; racism and anti-antisemitism; how did German history produce Nazism? What role did racism play in the rise of Nazism? The impact of WW I; conformity and obedience studies, The Nazi rise to power; the psychology of Hitler; other victims like the homosexuals and the disabled; resistance to Nazism; 20th century genocides (Armenian and the denial by the Turks, Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda, the Kurds, and the situation in Ukraine); and finally the prediction of future genocides; is it possible to predict and prevent genocide? A reading list will be provided prior to the start of class.