Course Syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "PL 228"
COURSE NAME: "Genocide"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring 2015

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Gabriele Simoncini
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: MW 6:00 PM 7:15 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS:

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course attempts to provide the student with a general understanding of identity politics and its realities in terms of ethnopolitics, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. Priority is given to conceptualization of different phenomena, their historical development and their interconnection within the global context. Critical thinking and comparative analysis will be applied to achieve a clear understanding of ethnopolitics in globalized society.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

Ethnopolitics has been crucial in shaping politics and societies in recent time. It is frequently at the heart of disputes of international importance. The course covers different forms of identity politics including ethnopolitics, ethnic cleansing, and genocide, as manifested in the 20^th and 21^st centuries. We consider the politics of identity within the historical perspective, and also set in the international context. The program covers the Jewish Holocaust, European ethnic cleansing, and genocide including the cases of Armenia, Balkans, Ukraine, the Roma, Cambodia, Rwanda, and the Darfur region. Other specific current case studies of genocide may be analyzed. Conceptualizations, theories, and the scholarly debate related to genocide as a political phenomenon are covered in a comparative way. Investigation of genocide across regions and time periods will be combined with the review of the debate about genocide’s definition, its development in these two centuries, patterns characterizing its occurrence, and hypothesized causes (whose identification can be controversial and difficult given the long historical run-up between causal agents and eventual ethnic hostilities). Genocide is also analyzed as an international crime, together with the range of legal actions and Human Right Instruments presently addressing it. A major objective is to examine the causes of genocide and how genocide might be prevented. The class format includes lectures, discussion, team work, presentations, and audiovisual materials. The students will be asked to produce a research project, making extensive personal use of information and communication technology. Guest speakers and field trips are planned.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students will learn how to critically analyze processes and concepts related to ethnopolitics, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. They will be able to relate politics, events, and players within the political arena. Students will learn to contextualize and explain the process of identity politics and relate it to current international events. Students will be capable of critical analysis applied to the changing realities of identity politics in a global context. Students will develop an ability to conduct basic research, and organize and present their findings in a logical and independent way.

TEXTBOOK:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number	Library Call Number	Comments	Format	Local Bookstore	Online Purchase
Genocide: A Comprehensive Introduction	Jones A.	London, 2007	041535384X
Final Solutions: Mass Killing and Genocide in the Twentieth Century	Valentino B.	Ithaca, 2005	10-0801472733

REQUIRED RESERVED READING:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number
Main Kampf.	Hitler A.	Elite Minds, 2010	9780984158423
Lethal Politics: Soviet Genocide and Mass Murder Since 1917	Rummel R. J.	Rutgers, 1996	1560008873
Gulag. A History	Applebaum A.	Penguin, 2003	100140283102

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number
Modernity and the Holocaust	Bauman, Z.	Polity, 2001	0801487196
Crimes Against Humanity: A Beginner’s Guide	Jones A.	Oneworld, 2009	1851686010
The Genocide Studies Reader	Totten S. (ed.),	Routledge, 2009	0415953952
Terrible Fate: Ethnic Cleansing in the Making of Modern Europe	Lieberman B.	London, 2006	1442223197

GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:

Assignment	Guidelines	Weight
Class Participation		10%
Midterm exam	The midterm and final exam have the same format. The exams consist of two parts of equal value. The first part is an essay, the student will choose from one of three proposed themes, and will write a well-organized essay. The second part of the exam consists of ten terms to be concisely defined.	20%
Presentation and other assignments	In-class Presentation: Students are required give a short individual or team presentation on a specific topic of their choice, approved by the instructor and related to the class program. The presentation will be well-organized, concise, and include (when opportune) audiovisual and electronic materials. A draft presentation must be submitted to the instructor before presenting in class. An electronic version of the presentation must be given to the instructor in class, in person, during any of the last three classes. Files send by email are not accepted. The deadline is the last class. No materials will be accepted past the deadline.	15%
Final exam	The midterm and final exam have the same format. The exams consist of two parts of equal value. The first part is an essay, the student will choose from one of three proposed themes, and will write a well-organized essay. The second part of the exam consists of ten terms to be concisely defined.	25%
Final project (with project proposal and portfolio)	Final Project: The final paper (3,000 words) will be on any topic of the student’s choice related to the class program. The topic should be precisely defined and worthy of investigation. An electronic version of the project must be given to the instructor in class, in person, during any of the last three classes. Files sent by email are not accepted. The deadline is the last class. No materials will be accepted past the deadline. To produce the final project, students will receive written instructions in class. During the semester, students will show the instructor their final project work in progress and receive checks. Portfolio: In order to produce their final papers, students will keep a portfolio of research materials during the semester. The portfolio will be shared with, and evaluated by the instructor. The production of the final paper is a work in progress during the semester. The portfolio and the paper project are progressive steps toward completion of the final paper. A portfolio containing samples of reference materials must be attached to the final project.	30%

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the cour
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
A maximum of four absences are allowed throughout the semester. Any additional absence will result in a penalization of one grade level (e.g.: from B+ to B for five absences, B+ to B- for six absebces, B+ to C+ for seven absences, etc.). Two latenesses count for one absence. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class by calling students’ names. Students not answering will be marked absent. Students arrived late will ask the instructor to be market late at the end of the class, after which attendace records will not be modified.

ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.

STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

Unit 1 Introduction. Methodology. Definitions.

(Jan. 19 ,21) (assigned readings)

Unit 2 The Origins of Genocide. Mass Killing and Genocide. Comparative Genocide Studies.

(Jan. 26, 28) (Jones, p.1-38; Valentino, p.1-29; assigned readings)

Unit 3 Colonial and Imperial Genocides. War, and Social Revolution. The Perpetrators and the Public.

(Feb. 2, 4) (Jones, p.39-63; Valentino, p.30-65; assigned readings)

Unit 4 Genocide of Indigenous Peoples. The Strategic Logic of Mass Killing.

(Feb. 9, 11) (Jones, p.67-100; Valentino, p.66-90; assigned readings)

Unit 5 The Armenian Genocide. War, Massacre, and Deportation.

(Feb. 16, 18) (Jones, p.101-123; Valentino, p.152-166; assigned readings)

Unit 6 Communist Mass Killing. Collectivization and Famine. Stalin’s Terror. National Minorities. The Gulag.

(Feb. 23, 25*) (Jones, p.124-146; Valentino, p.91-117; assigned readings)

* MIDTERM EXAM

Unit 7 The Jewish Holocaust. Ordinary Germans and the Nazis. Jewish Resistance. Auschwitz-Birkenau.

(Mar. 2, 4) (Jones, p.147-184; Valentino, p.166-178; assigned readings)

Unit 8 Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge. War and revolution. Genocidal Ideology. Buddhists and Ethnic Minorities.

(Mar . 9, 11) (Jones, p.185-211; Valentino, p.132-151; assigned readings)

Unit 9 Bosnia and Kosovo. Gendercide and Genocide. Communist Mass Killing in China.

(Mar . 16, 18) (Jones, p.212-231; Valentino, p.117-132; assigned readings)

Unit 10 Holocaust in Rwanda. Background to Genocide. Genocidal Frenzy.

(Mar . 23*, 25) (Jones, p.232-257; Valentino, p.178-195; assigned readings)

* PROJECT PROPOSAL

Unit 11 Sociology and Anthropology of Genocide. Counterguerrilla Mass Killing. Guatemela, Afghanistan.

(Mar. 30, Apr. 1) (Jones, p.261-306; Valentino, p.196-233; assigned readings)

Unit 12 Political Science and International Relations. Empirical Investigations. Democracy and Genocide.

(Apr. 13, 15) (Jones, p.307-341; assigned readings)

Unit 13 The Future of Genocide. Genocide Denial. International Criminal Tribunals. Humanitarian Intervention.

(Apr. 20, 22) (Jones, p.345-409; Valentino, p.234-253; assigned readings)

Unit 14 Class Discussion. Conclusion. Review.

(Apr. 27, 29*) (assigned readings)

* FINAL PAPER * PORTFOLIO

(Apr 30 - May 7 tba*)

* FINAL EXAM

NOTE: The syllabus schedule may undergo reasonable changes in relation to guest speakers, field trips, make-ups, discussions, events, and other contingencies.