Episode 4: Behind the G-Word: Human Rights and the Genocide Convention
Center for Jewish History, NYC, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
Welcome back to Teaching Big Concepts in Small Spaces, a podcast brought to you by the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Minnesota.
How does the concept of genocide relate to Human Rights? Has the conceptualization of genocide changed how we think about certain crimes? Why was the concept created in the first place? Is there such a thing as ‘cultural genocide’? Interim Director of the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies Joe Eggers will answer these and many more questions about the history of the concept of genocide, and how it relates to Human Rights history, rationale and advocacy.
This is the first part of a two-episode special about the history of genocide. In the next episode, PhD Candidate in Sociology Jillian LaBranche interviews Albert Rutikanga, genocide survivor and founder of the organization Peacedu.
Probing Questions
What is the definition of genocide? Why does Joe say in the episode that the question of the definition is a, at the same time, simple and really complex?
What is the origin of genocide, both the crime and the concept itself? Has it always existed, or was it invented in the 20th century?
What is the difference between mass murder and genocide? In your opinion, is this distinction important, and why?
Who was Raphael Lemkin, and why was he important for the development of the concept of genocide?
What is cultural genocide? Is it accepted by the Genocide Convention, and why?
In the podcast episode, what do Tibisay and Joe mean when they talk about the paradox of prosecution of genocide?
Why do you think it’s important to talk about genocide when talking about human rights? How are they connected?
Why is the Genocide Convention important in the prosecution of the crime of genocide? What are some criticisms that the convention has encountered since its creation?
Supplemental Materials
Axis Rule in Occupied Europe by Raphael Lemkin, published in 1944 (full text)
Graphic Novel: Operation Nemesis, by Josh Baylock and illustrated by Silvia Hoyt, 2021.
Read the transcript of this episode here.