Summer 2008
7/21 – 8/13; M-R: 10:00 – 11:50 AM
Final Paper Due Thursday, Aug 14 by 12:15 PM (Scheduled Day of Final Exam)
Instructor: Steven B. Rothman
Office: PLC 823
Email: srothma1@uoregon.edu
Phone: 346-4880
Office hours: TBD
Mass-killings, rape, and other atrocities have occurred throughout our recorded human history and earlier. Sometimes people attempted to justify these atrocities through claims of war, ethnic superiority, or historical animosity. Some of these atrocities have become commonly understood as genocide, while others remain contested. This course is fundamentally about acts of mass-killings that are generally considered genocide, what we know about the causes of genocide, and what can or has been done to prevent or stop genocide. We will explore the current knowledge in international relations, political science, sociology, and psychology to answer various questions about genocide. Why are some acts of violence called “genocide” and others are not? What factors are the most likely causes of these acts of violence that have led to the death of millions of people in our history? Do historical cases of genocide help us understand how to stop current cases or future cases? Can genocide be predicted, prevented, or stopped once it occurs?
It is important to note at the outset that this course contains what some people may call “sensitive material.” You may be exposed to graphic images or imagery either through the texts you study or through videos shown in class due to the necessarily graphic nature of the topic of mass killing and genocide. It is important to be aware of the existence of this material in this course and your exposure to it if you enroll in this course.
All students are required to read and understand the university’s policy on plagiarism and academic dishonesty (fraud). I consider enrollment in this course signifies your acceptance of the university’s policy and acknowledgement that you agree to abide by such material. Any violations will be dealt with in the strictest manner. Neither ignorance of these policies nor your lack of intention to cheat or plagiarize will be considered a legitimate defense. Information on plagiarism and the student conduct code can be found from the following websites:
· http://libweb.uoregon.edu/guides/plagiarism/students/
· http://studentlife.uoregon.edu/programs/student_judi_affairs/academic-dishonesty.htm
This course will require significant reading, writing, and class attendance to do well. The instructor reserves the right to adjust the readings or the assignment schedule.
· Short Paper: 20%
· Midterm Exam: 30%, beginning of week 3
· Final Paper: 35%, due during regularly scheduled final exam
· Class Participation: 15%, in-class quizzes, blackboard assignments, and group activities.
· Jones, Adam, Genocide: A Comprehensive Introduction (paperback)
· Various texts from articles and books on Electronic Reserve and Blackboard
· Some videos or selections of videos shown in class.
· NY Times news to maintain a working knowledge of potential genocides and current genocides.[2]
The short paper should compare two theories discussed in the first two weeks of class in regards to their usefulness. Please describe the theories and evaluate the value of the theories for studying, preventing, or stopping genocide. Essentially, the paper should discuss what is good/bad about the theories NOT what is empirically right or wrong about the theory. How do the theories help us (or not)? You must backup your position with examples or evidence to get full credit. In other words, the paper should contain your opinion, but it should also try to convince the reader that your opinion is correct based on facts or evidence from the theory itself.
There are four choices for the final paper.
· An analysis of the causes of one case of genocide in relation to the theories discussed.
Analyze the causes of a genocide (any in class or your own selection) using the macro and micro level theories in class. Which theory(ies) best help to explain the genocide and why? The best papers may suggest revisions to the theory(ies) based on the evidence presented.
· A comparison of the causes of two cases of genocide in relation to the theories discussed.
Analyze two cases of genocide, their causes, and what we can learn from comparing the two cases. In this paper, we are better able to understand causes by looking at the similarities and differences between cases of genocide.
· An analysis of an act of violence and whether it is or is not genocide.
This paper examines the use of the word “genocide” to describe acts of violence and issues with defining genocide. In this third case, you must select a case that is at least somewhat controversial and has some minimal support for the opposite side of your argument. In other words, you must find someone to argue against and you must present the opposing side within your paper.
· Your choice – any paper you want to write, but must have approval from instructor.
In order for you to get approval, you must submit an outline or written proposal for your paper prior to beginning the project.
No matter which paper
you select, the paper should be organized well, contain an introduction with a
thesis, a body that makes an argument with good evidence (cited appropriately),
a conclusion, and a works cited page.
Please use in-text citations or footnotes based on the MLA,
If you have any questions about how to organize your paper or how to write your bibliography, please ask the instructor before the beginning of week 4.
Note, the instructor will comment on rough drafts first-come first-serve once, for each student, if you provide the rough draft before the start of week 4. These rough drafts could be simply a paragraph or an outline of your paper. Note that submitting a rough draft does not guarantee a good grade (particularly because you need to fix and respond to the comments), but usually improves the grade from what you would have gotten otherwise.
Papers will lose 5% for every 24 hours late after the deadline with a maximum deduction of 30%.
Each student is entitled to miss one in-class assignment with no penalty. Blackboard assignments that are available for more than one day cannot be made-up because they can be completed anytime during the open period.
Valid medical excuses are required to excuse students from assignments or exams.
Late papers should be turned in to the office staff in PLC in order to receive a time-stamp when the paper was turned in. Without a time-stamp, additional points may be deducted depending on when the paper is received by the instructor.
· Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (http://www.hrweb.org/legal/genocide.html)
· Jones, Chapter 1
·
Van
Evera, S. (1997). Guide to methods for students of political science.
International politics and genocide
· Jones, Chapter 2
· Eric Weitz, “The Modernity of Genocides” in Gellately and Kiernan, eds., The Specter of Genocide, pgs. 53-73
· Barry Posen, “The Security Dilemma and Ethnic Conflict,” Survival, 35:1 (1993), pgs 27-47.
States, Government, and Genocide
· Jones, Chapter 12
· Rudolph Rummel, “Chapter 1” from Death by Government (New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 1994), pgs. 1-28.
· Michael Mann, “The Dark Side of Democracy,” New Left Review 235 (1999), pgs. 18-45.
·
Benjamin Valentino, Final Solutions: Mass
Killing and Genocide in the Twentieth Century (
Psychology
· Jones, Chapter 10
·
·
Waller,
J. (2007). Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing.
Anthropology
· Jones, Chapter 11
· Ervin Staub, The Roots of Evil: The Origins of Genocide and Other Group Violence (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989), pgs. 13-3.
·
Thayer, B. A. (2000). "Bringing in
· Jones, Chapter 13
· Carpenter, C. (2003). "Women and Children First: Gender Norms and Humanitarian Evacuation in the Balkans, 1991-1995." International Organization 57(4).
Short paper due at the beginning of class
·
Jones,
Chapter 16
·
Slovic,
Paul. ""If I Look at the Mass I Will Never Act" - Psychic
Numbing and Genocide." Judgment and Decision Making 2.2 (2006): 79-95.
·
Kristof,
N. D. (2007). Save the
·
Jones,
Chapter 15
· “The International Campaign to End Genocide” available from http://www.genocidewatch.org/internationalcampaign.htm
· Jones, Chapter 6
· Potential Video – Night and Fog
·
Christopher Browning, Ordinary Men: Reserve
Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in
· Jones, Chapter 8
·
Mertus,
J. and J. Tešanovic (1997). The suitcase : refugee voices from
· Jones, Chapter 9
·
Potential video – Ghosts of
·
Gourevitch,
P. (2004). We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our
families: stories from Rwanda.
· Jones, Chapter 7
· Potential Video – The Killing Fields
·
Schanberg,
S. (1980). The Death and Life of Sith Pran: A Story of
·
Pran, D.
(1989). Return to the Killing Fields. The New York Times.
·
Nelson Kasfir, “
·
Straus,
S. (2005). "
·
Prunier, G. (2007).
No papers will be accepted by email. Hard copies must be turned in by hand to the instructor (PLC 823) or placed in the instructor’s locked mailbox next to PLC 936 – Mailbox number 37 (Rothman).
Papers received after 12:15 PM will be considered late.
[1] Parts of
this syllabus have been adopted from Karen Peters-VanEssen’s Syllabus used for
this course in the winter term of 2008 in the Political Science Department of
the
[2] Some students ask why of all the newspapers available, the NY Times is invariably assigned in class. The primary reason is due to the extensive international scope of the NY Times, which is unmatched in any other newspaper. If you are successful at keeping apprised of world news, international, and internal conflicts of foreign countries using other reputable media sources, please feel free to do so.