Syracuse University

School of Education to host workshop on African genocides and the Holocaust

Jennifer Russo
(315) 443-4751

The workshop will focus on the ways historical African events influenced Raphael Lemkin's original concept of genocide, as well as the understanding of the Holocaust in general and the United Nations Genocide Convention of 1948. Kissi will also explore how the concepts of genocide have changed since 1994 with the situations in Rwanda and Darfur. The goal of the workshop is to examine the Holocaust through an African lens and to understand that German colonial rule in Africa had an effect on the Holocaust.

The Regional Holocaust and Genocide Initiative: Resistance, Resilience and Responsibility, is a Chancellor’s Leadership Project that seeks to enhance education, cultural production and public memory about the incidence of genocide, past and present. Faculty and student participants conduct curriculum research and develop coursework for grades K-6, and implement existing curriculum in grades 7-12. Additional support is provided by the Spector/Warren Fellowship, which prepares SU students to teach about the Holocaust and genocide, and the Ziering family, which recently made a gift to SU to support a professional development certificate in Holocaust and genocide education for New York state in-service teachers. Music, visual and dramatic arts events broaden the project beyond the curriculum into public dialogues on law, justice and ethics. For more information visit teachingtheholocaust.org.