INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR GENOCIDE AND HUMAN RIGHTS STUDIES
255 Duncan Mill Rd., Suite 310
Toronto, ON, Canada M3B 3H9
Tel: (416) 250-9807 Fax: (416) 512-1736
E-mail: [email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
CONTACT: GEORGE SHIRINIAN
DATE: March 24, 2004
DISTINGUISHED FACULTY ANNOUNCED FOR GENOCIDE AND HUMAN RIGHTS UNIVERSITY
PROGRAM
Toronto, Canada – As Mr. Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the United
Nations, recently noted:
For nearly half a century — almost as long as the United Nations has been
in existence — the General Assembly has recognized the need to establish…a
court to prosecute and punish persons responsible for crimes such as
genocide. Many thought…that the horrors of the Second World War — the
camps, the cruelty, the exterminations, the Holocaust — could never happen
again. And yet they have. In Cambodia, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in
Rwanda. Our time — this decade even — has shown us that man’s capacity
for evil knows no limits. Genocide…is now a word of our time, too, a
heinous reality that calls for a historic response.
As there is a continuing need for understanding the phenomenon of genocide
and a response to it, the International Institute for Genocide and Human
Rights Studies (A Division of Zoryan Institute) and the University of
Minnesota-Twin Cities are offering the Summer 2004 Genocide and Human
Rights University Program (GHRUP) and are pleased to announce the
distinguished faculty who will be participating this year.
In addition to Roger Smith and Stephen Feinstein, Co-Directors of the
course, some of the instructors this year include Taner Akçam, Visiting
Associate Professor, Dept. of History, University of Minnesota; Joyce
Apsel, Master Teacher in the General Studies Program at New York
University; Stephan Astourian, Professor, Department of History, University
of California-Berkeley; Major Brent Beardsley, Research Officer at the
Canadian Forces Leadership Institute and former Personal Staff Officer to
Major-General Roméo Dallaire, UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda; Frank
Chalk, Professor, Department of History, Concordia University and
Co-Director of the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights
Studies; Vahakn Dadrian, Director of Genocide Research, Zoryan Institute;
Richard Hovannisian, Armenian Educational Foundation Endowed Chair of
Modern Armenian History, University of California-Los Angeles; Jacques
Kornberg, Professor Emeritus, Department of History, University of Toronto;
Eric Markusen, Senior Research Fellow, Department for Holocaust and
Genocide Studies, Danish Institute for International Studies; Gregory
Stanton, Professor of Human Rights, Mary Washington College, President of
Genocide Watch and Director of the Cambodian Genocide Project; and Eric
Weitz, Arsham and Charlotte Ohanessian Chair in the College of Liberal Arts
and Director of the Center for German and European Studies, University of
Minnesota. With a few variations, the faculty at both programs, in
Minneapolis, July 5-16, 2004, and in Toronto, August 3-13, 2004, will be
the same.
“This course has always been a unique opportunity for students to
experience a broad comparative perspective on genocide. We are very proud
that among the faculty we have not only some of the foremost scholars in
their respective fields, but also individuals who are active in
international efforts to both document and prevent genocide around the
world,” stated Dr. Roger Smith.
The purpose of the program is to provide students with a framework for
understanding genocide and its effects. It explores the universality of the
issues related to genocide and takes a comparative approach for
understanding the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, the Cambodian Genocide,
the Rwandan Genocide, and more recent events with genocidal overtones. In
addition, many special themes are explored, such as the mass violation of
human rights; women, children and genocide; how to teach about genocide;
issues of memorialization and representation; and possibilities of dialogue
and reconciliation between perpetrator and victim groups.
Students wishing to participate in this unique program must have their
applications in by May 15, 2004 for the Minnesota program and by May 31,
2004 for the Toronto program. In order to maintain the seminar format in
this high demand course, the number of students is limited, so early
application is recommended. Limited scholarship assistance will be available.
For more information or to apply, contact the International Institute for
Genocide and Human Rights at (416) 250-9807, , or by
email at [email protected], or contact Stephen Feinstein, Director,
Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, University of Minnesota, at
(612) 626-2235, [email protected].