Holocaust and Genocide Studies

This minor will provide students with a broad scholarly background which will help them to understand the historical, political, socio-psychological and cultural contexts for genocide as a global phenomenon. While the Holocaust was the catalyst for the creation of the Genocide Convention and to some degree the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, genocidal events and violence belong to the catalogue of human behavior across time and space. This minor will allow students to study genocides comparatively; explore the interconnections between genocide and marginalization based on race, ethnicity, gender and sexuality, physical and mental abilities, citizenship status; as well as issues related to post-atrocity justice, reconciliation, restitution, and memory across geographical and historical contexts. This minor will be attractive for students considering careers in policy, arts and education, elementary and secondary education, the non-profit sector, mental health counseling and social work, and law.

Minor Requirements

The Minor (available beginning with the 2020-2022 catalog) consists of 15 semester hours (6 hours upper division) of the following coursework:

3 hours chosen of the introductory course

JS 307 “Introduction to Holocaust and Genocide Studies"

12 additional hours from the following courses:

AFR 302M Numbering Race
AFR 360 Race, Law, and United States Society
AMS 321 Race and Place
C L 323 Topic 19: Women and the Holocaust
C L 323 Topic 40: Holocaust Aftereffects
GOV 365N Topic 16: Israel: Society and Politics
GSD 361L Anti-Semitism in History and Literature
GSD 361V Nazi Culture and Politics
HIS 307P History of Violence: 1500 to Present
HIS 317L Topic 8: Introduction to Native American Histories
HIS 350L Topic 73: Race, Science, and Racism
HIS 350L Topic 83: Writing Violence in History
HIS 350L Topic 89: Poland/The Second World War
HIS 350R Topic 23: 20th Century Native American History
HIS 362V War and Genocide: The Holocaust
HIS 376G Hitler/Nazism/World War II
J S 304N Jewish Civilization: 1492 to the Present
J S 365 Topic 12: American Jewish Material Culture
L A 320J Jewish Studies Internship*
MAS 319 Racial Linguistics
MAS 374 Topic 35: Race and Citizenship in United States History
MES 342 Topic 64: Youth and Violence in the Middle East and Eurasia
REE 335 Topic 24: Political Warfare and Propaganda
REE 335 Russia and Ukraine in World History
F C 344 Black Slavery in the Atlantic
ITC 347R Race and Migration: the Mediterranean

The following courses may be retired or no longer offered.
However, if a course was taken prior to Fall 2023 it may count towards the minor.
AMS 321 Topic 4: America and the Holocaust
AMS 321 Topic 4: Studies in American Societies
HIS 337N Germany in the Twentieth Century
HIS 350L Topic 56: Germany Since Hitler
HIS 350L Topic 79: World War II in Eastern Europe
HIS 362D Introduction to the Holocaust
HIS 366N Topic 15: Anti Semitism
HIS 322S The History of Genetics and Eugenics
LAH 350 Imagining Genocide

* The internship must include content related to the minor and must be pre–approved by the Jewish Studies faculty advisor.