Course Descriptions

HIS 287 - History and Cultural Analysis of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights

3 Credits

The Holocaust is explored as a transcendent narrative, a lens for exploring genocide and human rights. Building upon knowledge gained in American history and western civilization, both historical and cultural analyses are used to reflect upon the human capacity to marginalize, objectify, terrorize, and exterminate the "other" simply for existing. The course's major theme is that theoretically and pragmatically, liberal democracy and human rights, clearly articulated and consistently enforced, are the only constraints against the "beast" of state-sponsored or state-initiated violence.

Prerequisites: ENG 101 and PSY 101, or permission of instructor