Call for Applications
Summer Institute for Genocide Studies and Prevention
(Deadline: March 2, 2018)
The 2nd biennial Summer Institute for Genocide Studies and Prevention will be held June 4-8, 2018 at Keene State College in Keene, New Hampshire (US). Keene State, a public liberal arts institution, is home to the Cohen Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, one of the nation’s oldest Holocaust resource centers, and also offers the only undergraduate major in Holocaust and Genocide Studies in the United States. The College’s specialized library collection and related campus resources provide unique facilities for teaching and research in genocide studies.
Objectives: The 2018 institute, hosted by the Department of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Keene State, an interdisciplinary department in the School of Arts & Humanities, follows on the success of the inaugural 2016 institute in supporting the following objectives:
(1) Promote study, research and teaching in the growing field of genocide studies and prevention as a self-standing scholarly discipline that is distinct and independent from the existing schools of academic inquiry.
(2) Encourage participating institutions to develop courses, academic modules and foreign study programs incorporating genocide studies and prevention into department teaching.
(3) Strengthen institutional capacity in terms of teacher-scholars conducting research in genocide studies and prevention, with an ultimate goal of developing interdisciplinary academic specializations in the field (that is, a major, minor, or area of concentration) at participating institutions.
Program: Drawing on a global range of historical case studies, and current crisis spots, the 2018 Summer Institute will focus on the study, research and teaching of genocide prevention across all phases of the conflict cycle:
preventing genocide from ever taking place (upstream prevention or the “before” analysis of risk factors and warning signs),
preventing further atrocities once genocide has begun (midstream prevention or the immediate, real-time response tools available during crisis), and
preventing future atrocities once a society has begun to rebuild after genocide (downstream prevention or the “after” efforts to foster resiliency in a post-atrocity society).
The Summer Institute is intended primarily for full-time college or university teachers interested, or already teaching, in the field of genocide studies. Faculty intending to develop new courses or academic programs incorporating genocide studies and prevention into department teaching are particularly encouraged to apply. Current PhD students and post-docs with similar teaching interests also will be considered, as will museum educators. The institute is intentionally interdisciplinary, so encourages applications from across the disciplinary spectrum.
Directors and Instructional Team: The institute director is Dr. James Waller, Cohen Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Keene State and chair of the Department of Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Waller is author of Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing (2002, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press) and Confronting Evil: Engaging Our Responsibility to Prevent Genocide (2016, Oxford University Press). He also serves as the Director of Academic Programs for the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (http://www.auschwitzinstitute.org/ ), an international NGO devoted to the prevention of genocide and mass atrocity. In 2017, Waller was the inaugural recipient of the Engaged Scholarship Prize from the International Association of Genocide Scholars.
Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation
www.auschwitzinstitute.org
The Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation is building a world that prevents genocide and other mass atrocities.
Dr. Waller is joined by associate director, Dr. Ashley Greene, Assistant Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Keene State College and the Academic Programs Officer for Africa with the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation. She holds a joint Ph.D. in Peace Studies and History from the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Greene’s research and fieldwork focuses on the role of education in post-conflict and transitional societies in East Africa.
The Summer Institute’s instructional team also will include internationally-recognized academics and practitioners from the field of genocide studies and prevention. In addition, recognizing the expertise participants will bring to the institute, each participant will have an opportunity to workshop syllabi, course ideas, modules, assignments, etc. with fellow participants.
Financial Support: Due to a generous gift from the Charles E. Scheidt Family Foundation, the Summer Institute is funded to provide fellows five nights of single lodging in a recently-opened air-conditioned campus dormitory, food for the entirety of the institute, and a $800 fellowship stipend. Participants may use their fellowship stipend however they see fit, including helping to offset travel costs to and from the institute for those participants who may have difficulty receiving travel funding from their home institutions. There is no tuition fee for the institute.
The institute is funded to allow for 18 participants. Participants are expected to be at the institute for its duration (arrival on Sunday afternoon/evening June 3 by 5PM and departure after 1PM on Friday afternoon June 8). Keene State is in the Currier & Ives southwest corner of New Hampshire and enjoys beautiful summers with vibrant recreational and cultural activities.
Application: To apply for the 2018 Summer Institute, please send a (a) statement of interest, (b) list of related courses or modules currently taught (or interested in developing), and (c) CV to Dr. Ashley Greene atashley.greene@keene.edu. The application deadline is March 2, 2018 with selection decisions communicated by March 16, 2018.
(c) 2018 Keene State College