Director's Message
The Genocide and Human Rights University Program (GHRUP) is a unique course developed by the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (IIGHRS) in order to fill a gap in the traditional university curriculum.
Comparative genocide studies can help us understand the conditions under which genocide and other acts of mass violence are likely to take place, help identify warning signs of the impending violence, and suggest ways in which genocide may be prevented. The problem of genocide prevention is not simply a question of knowledge, of course, but also one of political will. My own view is that one of the single most effective means to end the slaughter of so many millions is for states to expand their concept of national interest to include the prevention of genocide. The arguments for this are humanitarian, but also follow political realism: genocide frequently spawns regional wars, and leads to the outflow of huge numbers of refugees. The destruction and economic costs are far greater than the cost of early intervention. Whether scholars and human rights activists can persuade policy makers to redefine national interest is not clear, but it is a goal that should be high on their agenda.
Students who attend the GHRUP will, over a two-week period, explore and compare the Jewish Holocaust, the Cambodian Genocide and the Rwandan Genocide, among others, with the Armenian case, the archetypal genocide of the 20th century. Through a comparison of case studies and specific themes, common patterns and shared elements of genocide are identified. Once the common patterns and shared elements are identified, genocide becomes predictable. Once the crime of genocide becomes predictable, then there is a chance for it to become preventable.
The program appeals to a variety of students. There are those who aspire to understand one particular case of genocide in relation to others; there are those who want to approach the subject with a broad overview; there are those interested primarily in advanced academic study; and there are those who wish to convert their knowledge into social and political activism.
We have found that all interests are well served by the comprehensive nature of the course, and by the overall collegiality and congeniality of the participants—both students and faculty—who come from all over the world to share their interest with like-minded individuals.
My own experience, as both director and a teacher in the program, has been a very encouraging one. When I started teaching comparative genocide over twenty years ago, the subject was very new, published information scarce, and the number of interested students small. Over the past few years with the GHRUP, I have met scores of highly motivated students who come with an interest in one particular case study or another, but leave with an appreciation of genocide as a shared human phenomenon and the immensity of its impact. Perhaps one student summed it up best when he said, “I came to your program as an advanced student of the Jewish Holocaust; I left it as a confirmed student of genocide.”
In 2004, we established a partnership with the University of Minnesota and held the program in Minneapolis, in addition to Toronto. We were thus able to offer students in both cities the option of up to four graduate semester credits. We continue to seek willing partners to expand the course to other campuses in North America, Europe and elsewhere.
As a not-for-profit undertaking, the Genocide and Human Rights University Program is wholly dependent on private donations and deserves every support.
-Roger W. Smith, Director