INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR GENOCIDE AND HUMAN RIGHTS STUDIES ANNOUNCES 2005 UNIVERSITY PROGRAM

Toronto, Canada - The International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (A Division of the Zoryan Institute) is pleased to announce the fourth year of the Genocide and Human Rights University Program, to be held in Toronto, August 2-12, 2005.

“We are continuing to build on our experience, and there are some exciting innovations for 2005,” commented Prof. Roger W. Smith, Director of the GHRUP. “For example,” he continued, “we are organizing a panel discussion of scholars to examine theories of genocide and comparative genocide. We are also adding units on the Genocide of Native American Peoples, to illustrate the long-term, ongoing effects of genocide, and a unit on the situation in Darfur, Sudan, to illustrate that mass killings, forced expulsions, and other such genocidal acts still take place. These subjects remind us forcefully that genocide is not just a study of history, but is also a burning issue today,” he remarked.

This 2-week course features world-renowned genocide scholars and provides a structured forum for analyzing the universal questions related to genocide, such as:
What is genocide and why does it take place?
What is the relation between genocide and human rights?
Why does genocide denial occur?
How can geo-politics affect human rights and even lead to genocide?
Why should you study human rights and the prevention of genocide?

The mission of the Genocide and Human Rights University Program is to help develop a new generation of scholars to engage in research and publication in the field of genocide and human rights studies. This goal is achieved through a comparative and interdisciplinary analysis of such cases of genocide as the Jewish Holocaust, the Cambodian Genocide, and the Rwandan Genocide, among others, using the Armenian Genocide, the archetypal genocide of the 20th Century, as a point of reference.

The program also seeks to help develop an academic-level educational support system for those who wish to work toward the prevention of genocide.

The program strives to show, through the study and sharing of the genocidal traumas of many peoples, that genocide is a universal human experience and that, as such, it must be the concern of all individuals and institutions.

The program will appeal to a wide variety of students interested in various cases of genocide and the broader issues of human rights. Applicants must be current university students with three years or more of undergraduate experience.

Details and registration information are available on the program’s web site, www.genocidestudies.org.

For more information, contact the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies, 416-250-9807, admin@genocidestudies.org.