General provisions

The Hugo Valentin Centre is responsible for the course.

Entry requirements

A Bachelor's degree, equivalent to a Swedish Kandidatexamen, from an internationally recognised university. Proficiency in English equivalent to the Swedish upper secondary course English 6.

Learning outcomes

After completing the course the student will be able to:

• Discuss the most important non-legal definitions of genocide and how they are similar and different from the legal one.
• Critically discuss and compare various theoretical models and explanations to mass violence, inter alia through the analysis of scholarly debates.
• Use theoretical models to categorise and make structured comparative analyses of different types of mass violence
• Independently apply theories about genocide and other forms of mass violence, and relate them to historical processes and specific events
• Analyseand explain specific issues related to the study of mass violence, such as the role of organised political actors, the function of ideology and the impact of structural and social factors

Content

The course will provide the student with knowledge about theories from the social sciences dealing with genocide and other forms of mass violence, with particular focus on the importance of structural factors, as well as the role and impact of the state and different political actors on the process of mass violence. Other important questions to be dealt with include the role and impact of propaganda, the relationship between decision-making on the central political level and the implementation of violence in local communities. The student will also acquire knowledge about different definitions and categorisations of genocide and other forms of mass violence, but will also be able to compare different instances of mass violence and place then in their appropriate historical, political, social and geographic context.

Instruction

The course will consist of seminars.

Assessment

Assessment will be based upon written and oral assignments. Students that have missed a small number of mandatory assignments may complete them by the end of the term at the latest. If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator.