THE CHOICES PROGRAM BROWN UNIVERSITY
VIDEO COLLECTION

Confronting Genocide:
Never Again?

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Introduction: Never Again?

Why is it important to work to prevent genocide?
Why is studying genocide important?
What are the consequences of forgetting historical violence?

Part I: Defining Genocide

What is genocide?
What are the dangers of misusing the word genocide?
What is the difference between war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide?
What are human rights?
Are states today closer or farther apart in their understanding of human rights?
What are human rights?
When do human rights abuses become genocide?
How does membership in the UN promote human rights?
What is international law?
Why is the Genocide Convention significant?
What makes international law effective?
Why is there a tension between state sovereignty and international law?
What is the relationship between international human rights law and state sovereignty?
How has international law evolved?
What were some of the arguments against the Genocide Convention?
How are the protected groups in the Genocide Convention defined?
What are the challenges of defining the protected groups in the Genocide Convention?
Why is the intent to commit genocide difficult to determine?
What are the challenges of interpreting the Genocide Convention?
How can the UN and other international organizations prevent human rights abuses?
What is the UN authorized to do when human rights are violated?
What are examples of unsuccessful peacekeeping operations?
How are international courts becoming more important in addressing human rights abuses?
What are some of the challenges of prosecuting the crime of genocide?

Part II: Seven Case Studies

What is colonialism?
How did Europeans use the idea of race to justify colonialism?
Who were the Young Turks?
What was the Young Turk Revolution?
How was World War I a turning point for the Ottoman Empire?
What was the Armenian Genocide?
How did anti-Semitism evolve and what role did it play in modern Europe?
What is the history of the term “anti-Semitism”?
What tactics did Hitler and the Nazi Party use to gain more power in Weimar Germany?
Why were Hitler and the Nazi Party able to come to power in Weimar Germany?
What factors led to the Holocaust?
Why is World War II sometimes called a “total war”?
What was the Holocaust?
What is a ghetto and how were they used in WWII?
How did people resist the Nazis?
How did the international community respond to the Holocaust?
How do representations of the Holocaust in popular culture affect our understanding of history?
What is historical or collective memory?
What are your connections to the Holocaust?
Why was the UN peacekeeping operation in Cambodia so significant?
What were the consequences of UN involvement in Cambodia?
What is ethnic cleansing?
What is the difference between genocide and ethnic cleansing?
How was the United Nations involved in Bosnian peacekeeping?
In 2009, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Sudan’s president. Why is this a challenge to human rights law?

Lesson: The Genocide Convention: Testing the Definition

How are the protected groups in the Genocide Convention defined?
What are the challenges of defining the protected groups in the Genocide Convention?
Why is the intent to commit genocide difficult to determine?
What is the difference between war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide?
When do human rights abuses become genocide?
What are the challenges of interpreting the Genocide Convention?

Lesson: Atrocity Risk and Prevention

What are the risk factors for genocide?
What factors lead to genocide?
How has globalization affected inequality in the United States and around the world?
What is democratic erosion?
What are some examples of midstream prevention?

Lesson: The Options Role Play

What would you say to encourage high school students to study genocide?

Lesson: Historical Memory: Constructing a Memorial to Genocide

What is historical memory?
How do governments and citizens shape historical memory?
What are the consequences of forgetting historical violence?
What are some examples of downstream prevention?
What are the purposes of historical memorials?

Lesson: History From Below: Creating a Virtual Museum (Online)

What is history from below?
How do historians use material culture to learn about the past?
What is historical evidence?
What can we use to construct the history of an event?

Lesson: Fashion as Cultural Heritage and Historical Memory (Online)

What can the study of textiles, dress, or fashion tell us about history and current events?
How do we analyze an item of clothing?
Analyzing an item of clothing
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