Department of Political Science

Why do people kill other racial, religious, or ethnic groups, in the name of a better tomorrow? What are the justifications and who is responsible for mass murder? Can the international community intervene to stop genocide? We answer these questions through the study of collective violence in the 20^th century and beyond, e.g. the Holocaust, Rwanda, Darfur. We do more than consider facts, to “understand” what appears incomprehensible. The point is to account for the tragedy in a way that confronts our humanity and our commitments to be more than bystanders to history.