Borns Jewish Studies Program

The research seminar provides a collegial forum for students to research and write a scholarly article. The topic of the course is purposefully broad: “New Approaches to Genocide and Violence”. It is aimed at students of all geographical and chronological specializations who are interested in the theoretical, conceptual, and methodological questions pertaining to the nature, causes, experience, impact and memory of violence involving groups, peoples, or identities. The idea is to learn from each other as we identify and discuss the ways in which historians in different fields have approached, defined, and analyzed questions around genocide and related kinds of violence. Weekly meetings early on in the semester will be devoted to practical matters such as the search for sources and their interpretation, the discussion of theoretical frameworks, and the challenges of writing a scholarly article. Some weeks we will not meet as a group, but students will focus on their research and meet with the instructor individually.