FACULTY NAMED FOR THIS SUMMER’S GHRUP
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May 27, 2009
TORONTO, Canada-Eight renowned genocide scholars will lead students
this summer in tackling the challenging and critical phenomenon
of genocide through an intensive two-week program. The scholars,
the faculty of the Genocide and Human Rights University Program
(GHRUP), represent a variety of specializations, including history,
sociology, philosophy, political science, and international law,
and will provide the students with a strongly interdisciplinary and
comparative approach.
"I am deeply gratified to work with such a distinguished, dedicated,
and caring group of scholars," said Prof. Roger W. Smith, director of
the GHRUP. "The expertise they bring to research in their respective
subject specialties is well recognized. Perhaps less well known is the
personal engagement and concern for the students they bring to their
teaching. Having both faculty and students come together from around
the world in such an intensive seminar creates a learning experience
and bonding far different from that of a conventional course. The
faculty members stand ready to respond to student inquiries not only
during the program, but also afterward. Personally, I think of the
students as junior colleagues and enjoy staying in touch with them
as they progress in their careers."
Returning as faculty this year will be Joyce A. Apsel, master teacher,
New York University; Doris Bergen, Chancellor Rose and Ray Wolfe Chair
in Holocaust Studies, department of history, University of Toronto;
Maureen S. Hiebert, assistant professor, Law and Society Program,
University of Calgary; Herbert Hirsch, co-editor of "Genocide
Studies and Prevention: An International Journal" and Professor of
Government and Public Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth University;
William A. Schabas, director, Irish Human Rights Centre, National
University of Ireland; and Roger W. Smith, Professor Emeritus of
Government, College of William and Mary.
The Institute is pleased to welcome back previous faculty members
Richard Hovannisian, Professor of Armenian and Near Eastern History
at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Major Brent
Beardsley, chief instructor of the Canadian Forces Peacekeeping
Training Center. In 1993 and 1994, Major Beardsley served as the
personal staff officer to then Major-General Romeo Dallaire, the
force commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda,
and was an eye-witness to the genocide there.
In explaining his commitment to teaching the history of the Armenian
case, Hovannisian wrote, "There is much to be learned from approaching
the Armenian Genocide as the prototype of modern mass-killings. Placing
that Armenian legacy in comparative perspective with other such
cases assists students, teachers, and human rights supporters in
their quest for a more tolerant and peaceful world."
Joining the faculty for the first time will be Professor Samuel
Totten, who has taught at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville,
since 1987. He is a member of the Council of the Institute on the
Holocaust and Genocide (Jerusalem), and the Centre for Genocide Studies
(Sydney, Australia). He is the author of numerous articles and editor
of numerous collected volumes on genocide. From 2000-05, he served
as book review editor of the "Journal of Genocide Research." Since
2005, he has been a co-editor of "Genocide Studies and Prevention: An
International Journal." In 2003-04, he was a member of the U.S. State
Department’s Atrocities Documentation Project investigating the
genocide in Darfur.
Upon being invited to the program this year, Totten wrote, "Let me
first say that I am honored to be asked to take part in the Genocide
and Human Rights University Program. For years now, I have followed the
development of the program. I’ve been extremely impressed with both
the focus and rigor of the program, the quality of the presenters,
and the quality and diversity of the student participants."
Schabas also shared his thoughts recently on why he’ll be traveling
from Ireland to participate in the program: "The GHRUP is a unique
educational activity, with its intensive focus on the crime of
genocide. It attracts some of the brightest students from around
the world, who come to the program with informed and intelligent
questions about the nature of the crime, its antecedents, and ideas
about how to prevent it in the future. It has become, for myself,
an essential element of the academic calendar each year."
The program, which takes place in Toronto from Aug. 3-14, will
appeal to a wide variety of students interested in various cases of
genocide, their comparative study, as well as broader issues of human
rights. Applicants must be current university students with three years
or more of undergraduate experience. Limited scholarships are available
for qualified students. The deadline for application is May 31.