This edited book provides an interdisciplinary overview of recent scholarship in the field of genocide studies. The book examines four main areas: The current state of research on genocide New thinking on the categories and methods of mass violence Developments in teaching about genocide Critical analyses of military humanitarian interventions and post-violence justice and reconciliation The combination of critical scholarship and innovative approaches to familiar subjects makes this essential reading for all students and scholars in the field of genocide studies.

Ward Churchill has achieved an unparalleled reputation as a scholar-activist and analyst of indigenous issues in North America. Here, he explores the history of holocaust and denial in this hemisphere, beginning with the arrival of Columbus and continuing on into the present. He frames the matter by examining both "revisionist" denial of the nazi-perpatrated Holocaust and the opposing claim of its exclusive "uniqueness," using the full scope of what happened in Europe as a backdrop against which to demonstrate that genocide is precisely what has been-and still is-carried out against the American Indians. Churchill lays bare the means by which many of these realities have remained hidden, how public understanding of this most monstrous of crimes has been subverted not only by its perpetrators and their beneficiaries but by the institutions and individuals who perceive advantages in the confusion. In particular, he outlines the reasons underlying the United States's 40-year refusal to ratify the Genocide Convention, as well as the implications of the attempt to exempt itself from compliance when it finally offered its "endorsement." In conclusion, Churchill proposes a more adequate and coherent definition of the crime as a basis for identifying, punishing, and preventing genocidal practices, wherever and whenever they occur. Ward Churchill (enrolled Keetoowah Cherokee) is Professor of American Indian Studies with the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado-Boulder. A member of the American Indian Movement since 1972, he has been a leader of the Colorado chapter for the past fifteen years. Among his previous books have been Fantasies of a Master Race, Struggle for the Land, Since Predator Came, and From a Native Son.

Historically delineates the problems of genocide as a concept in relation to rival categories of mass violence.

In this intellectually and politically potent new book, Martin Shaw proposes a way through the confusion surrounding the idea of genocide. He considers the origins and development of the concept and its relationships to other forms of political violence. Offering a radical critique of the existing literature on genocide, Shaw argues that what distinguishes genocide from more legitimate warfare is that the enemies targeted are groups and individuals of a civilian character. He vividly illustrates his argument from a wide range of historical episodes, and shows how the question 'What is genocide?' matters politically whenever populations are threatened by violence. This compelling book will undoubtedly open up vigorous debate, appealing to students and scholars across the social sciences and in law. Shaw's arguments will be of lasting importance.

Berel Lang's Genocide: The Act as Idea analyzes and defends the distinctiveness of the concept of genocide as a notable advance in the history of moral and political thinking and practice.

Teaching and Learning About Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity: Fundamental Issues and Pedagogical Approaches by Samuel Totten, a renowned scholar of genocide studies and Professor Emeritus, College of Education and Health Professions, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, is a culmination of 30 years in the field of genocide studies and education. In writing this book, Totten reports that he “crafted this book along the lines of what he wished had been available to him when he first began teaching about genocide back in the mid-1980s. That is, a book that combines the best of genocide theory, the realities of the genocidal process, and how to teach about such complex and often terrible and difficult issues and facts in a theoretically, historically and pedagogically sound manner.” As the last book he will ever write on education and educating about genocide, he perceives the book as his gift to those educators who have the heart and grit to tackle such an important issue in their classrooms.

Violation of the rights of a human being and indifference in the face of suffering jeopardize the very existence of human society. The Holocaust is the most extreme example of such violations, and the greatest moral failure mankind has experienced. Confronting the Holocaust, as well as genocide, may contribute to understanding the importance of humanistic and democratic values, and help construct tools for making moral judgments. That is why courses on the study of genocide and the Holocaust have become part of the curricula of educational institutions in the United States and elsewhere. This book asks how the moral messages of the Holocaust and genocide can best be transmitted. The Pain of Knowledge deals not with historical events, but with possible ways of learning about these events and their significance. It attempts to examine and deal critically with some of the profound dilemmas at the core of Holocaust and genocide issues in education. The underlying purpose of this book is to expose the reader to sometimes antithetical, and at other times complementary, views concerning the teaching of these subjects, both in Israel and elsewhere in the world. This book will contribute to the teaching of the Holocaust and genocide, and encourage readers to examine these issues from a broad perspective. Among the subjects dealt with in The Pain of Knowledge are: how societies crystallize their collective memories; historical processes and changes in the teaching of the Holocaust in Israel during different periods of time; commemoration of Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Day; journeys of Israeli youth to sites connected with the Holocaust in Poland; attitudes of Israeli adolescents toward the Holocaust; attitudes of Israeli Arabs toward the Holocaust; general world attitudes toward the Holocaust; teaching of the Holocaust throughout the world; and teaching of genocide in Israel and elsewhere. Yair Auron is senior lecturer at The Open University of Israel and the Kibbutzim College of Education. He is the author of numerous articles and books on genocide and on contemporary Judaism, including Jewish-Israeli Identity and We Are All German Jews: Jewish Radicals in France During the Sixties and Seventies.

An indispensable resource for those interested in the scourge of mass murder and genocide in the 20th and 21st centuries, this book analyzes modern and contemporary controversies and issues to help readers to understand genocide in all its complexity. This vital reference work looks at current areas of debate in genocide studies to provide insights into what a genocide is, why genocides occur, and what the consequences are once a genocide is recognized as such. It also illuminates how and why rational people can view the same set of circumstances as genocide or not, and how it might be possible in the future to alleviate or even prevent genocide. Dozens of accomplished scholars provide perceptive insights into the controversies and issues that dominate genocide discussions. The book is organized into five parts. The first considers how genocide is defined, while the second covers the pre-1945 period as it includes such controversial topics as the American Indian Wars, Australian Aborigines, Irish Potato Famine, Armenian Genocide, Ukrainian Starvation, and Holocaust. A Cold War section examines genocidal violence in Cambodia, East Timor, and Guatemala and against the Kurds; a post-Cold War period section covers Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur, and the Rohingya in Myanmar. The final part concerns such issues as genocide prevention, humanitarian intervention, and the role of military personnel as perpetrators of genocide.

In this definitive study, Lawrence J. LeBlanc examines the nearly forty-year struggle over ratification of the Genocide Convention by the United States. LeBlanc's analysis of the history of the convention and the issues and problems surrounding its ratification sheds important light on the process of treaty ratification in the United States and on the role of American public opinion and political culture in international human rights legislation. Drawing on case studies of genocide committed since World War II, the author also confronts the strengths and weaknesses of international adjudication as a whole. Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948 in response to the atrocities committed by the Nazis before and during World War II, the Genocide Convention was finally made law by the United States Senate in 1988 contingent upon a series of "conditions"--known as the "Lugar-Helms-Hatch Sovereignty Package"--which, LeBlanc suggests, markedly weakened the convention. Through careful analysis of the bitter debates over ratification, LeBlanc demonstrates that much of the opposition to the convention sprang from fears that it would be used domestically as a tool by groups such as blacks and Native Americans who might hold the U.S. accountable for genocide in matters of race relations.