SOC 4098: Sociological Perspectives of Genocide and the Holocaust
The International Summer School
University of Innsbruck
Summer 2013
Dr. Dean G. Rojek
Department of Sociology
University of Georgia
Athens, GA 30601
drojek@uga.edu
Required text: Samuel Totten and William S. Parsons, Century of Genocide, Fourth
Edition, New York: Routledge, 2013 ISBN 978-0-415-87192-1 (paperback)
Class time: Period II, 9:30 am to 10:50 am
Purpose of the Course: The term genocide is relatively new but the concept and the act
of genocide have existed since the beginning of time. The 20th century has been
particularly brutal in terms of genocide, and the focus of this course will be on 20th
century genocide. We begin by discussing the issue of human social control and quickly
look at race relations in the U.S. Then we will discuss the general topic of genocide and
exam in depth the case of Armenian genocide, Stalin’s purges, the Holocaust and the
Nuremberg trials, Cambodia and the Kmer Rouge, Bosnia and Rwanda. The concluding
section of the course will explore strategies of prevention and possible intervention.
Course Requirements
The emphasis in this course will be critical assessments of what might be termed the
triggering events leading up to genocide. Students will be required to submit a position
paper on our visit to Dachau and another paper on the Nuremberg trial. Each of these
“mini-papers” (3 to 5 pages in length) will be worth 10 points each. Students will be
assigned to read and discuss parts of each chapter in the text, assigned reading or to
discuss a specific topic. These class presentations will be worth 10 points. The midterm
examination will be worth 30 points and the final examination will be worth 40 points.
Course grade
2 position papers (10 points each)
Class presentations
Midterm examination
Final examination
TOTAL
= 20 points
= 10 points
= 30 points
= 40 points
100 points
Required Field Trips and Lectures
Student will be required to go on 2 field trips. On July 6th we will go to Berchtesgaden
commonly called Hitler’s Eagles Nest and on July 9th we go to Dachau Concentration
Camp. Since these are course requirements there is no cost to the student.
There will be an introductory lecture on Hitler’s Eagles nest on July 4th at 2 PM. There
will also be an introductory lecture on Dachau on July 8th at 1:30 PM. Attendance at
these two lectures will be required of all students in SOC 4098.
Attendance Policy
No unexcused absence is permitted. The final grade will be dropped one full letter grade
for each absence.
Class decorum
Students who sleep in class will be asked to leave and that absence will be counted as one
full absence. Students who wish to take notes on a computer may do so but it is not
permitted to send e-mails during class or surf the web. It becomes a distraction and an
annoyance for others.
Key Dates
June 29th (Saturday): orientation @ 6 PM
June 30th (Sunday): walking tour; opening ceremony @ 5:15 PM (in lobby) for buses
July 1st (Monday): first class
July 4th (Thursday): lecture on Hitler’s Eagles Nest (2 PM)
July 6th (Saturday): Berchtesgaden
July 8th (Monday): Lecture on Dachau (1:30 PM)
July 9th (Tuesday): Dachau
July 17th (Wednesday): midterm exam in the afternoon (2-3:20 pm)
August 6th (Tuesday): last class
August 8th (Thursday): exam (9:30-11:30 AM)
August 9th (Friday): departure
Sustainability of Multicultural Societies
A key ingredient in each topic on genocide is the examination of how genocidal behavior
arises and how to address and ultimately eliminate human discord. We live in a world of
multiple cultures, racial diversity and ethnic groupings. The very existence of human
society is the heterogeneity of human life styles. Unlike the animal kingdom where
species reflect marked similarity, human existence lends itself to diversity. The problem
becomes of allowing different human groupings to existence and to manifest varies styles
of life. Genocide is a blatant attempt to eliminate certain human groups and to produce a
homogenous grouping of human existence. Racial and ethnic diversity allows creativity
and ultimately can strengthen human existence. Tolerance, understanding and mutual
respect between racial and ethnic groups can build a better society. At the conclusion of
each topic we address, students will be asked to find solutions to reduce or eliminate
hostilities between racial and ethnic groups. Rather than simply concluding a topic, we
will attempt to find those triggers that generated a particular social tension and to find
ways to not only allow diversity but to encourage it. How do we not allow a history of
violence not to repeat itself?
Course Outline
1. Introduction to social control
a. instinct
b. culture
c. the relativity of culture
d. the evolution of human society
Reading assignment: Anthro.palomar.edu/culture/culture_2.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/instinct
2. Race and Ethnic Relations in the U.S.
a. Mexican-American
b. African-Americans
c. Jews
d. Native Americans
e. White ethnics
Reading assignment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism_in_the_United_States
3. The Concept of Genocide
a.
b.
c.
d.
A crime without a name
Causes: population pressure, greed, inequality, fear, religion
Raphael Lemkin
UN adoption of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the
Crime of Genocide
e. Video: Scream Bloody Murder
Reading assignment: Valentino: Mass killing and genocide (class hand out)
4. Armenian Genocide
a. Collapse of the Ottoman Empire
b. Emergence of the Young Turks
c. Video: The Armenian Genocide
Reading assignment: Chapter 4 (Totten & Parsons)
5. Stalin’s Purge
a. Bolsheviks seize power
b. Stalin’s Terror
c. “dekulakization”
Reading assignment: Chapter 5 (Totten & Parsons)
Midterm Exam, July 16th in the afternoon
6. The Holocaust
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
Hitler’s rise to power
Race and space
Willing executioners?
The final solution
The Nuremberg Trials
Video: Schindler’s List
Video: The Nuremberg Trial
Reading assignment: Chapter 6, (Totten & Parsons)
7. Cambodia and the Kmer Rouge
a.
b.
c.
d.
Pol Pot
Eliminate the bourgeoisie
American bombing
“better to kill 10 friends than to leave one enemy alive”
Reading assignment: Chapter 9 (Totten & Parsons)
8. Genocide in Bosnia
a. Disintegration of Yugoslavia
b. Ethnic cleansing
Reading assignment: Chapter 14 (Totten & Parsons)
9. The Genocide in Rwanda
a.
b.
c.
d.
Regime of Habyarimana
Tension between the Hutu and Tutsi
US and UN take no action
Video: Ghosts of Rwanda
Reading assignment: Chapter 13 (Totten & Parsons)
10. Prevention of genocide
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
The Milgram Experiments
The Zimbardo experiments
Greed—the lust for power
Religion
Ethnocentrism
Social stratification
International Criminal Tribunals
Reading assignment: Anticipating and Preventing Mass Killings (class
handout)
Final Examination: August 7th