Never Again. These two words have become the slogan for
eradicating genocide, made famous in the aftermath of World War II. Since that
time, “never again” has been the basis for countless holocaust remembrance speeches,
genocide museums and activist groups around the world. But as we continue to
look back at the events of the holocaust 60 years ago, many have seemed to turn
a blind eye to the present. Though we say “never again”, unless you are two
years old, countless genocides have occurred during your lifetime, millions of
people have been killed, thousands of women and girls have been raped, and most
likely, you knew nothing about them.
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| The CUC Commission on Genocide meets every Tuesday and Thursday to collaborate research and ideas. |
One course on campus, however, has united students in an
effort to change that. The CUC Commission on Genocide, or the students of the
Concordia Honors Program special topics course “Genocide” taught by Dr. Jenna Mahay, has spent their entire spring semester investigating genocide since World War II in hopes to ultimately take action to make “never again” a true
reality.
A new course on
campus
Every semester the Concordia Honors Program offers special
topics courses covering a wide variety of educational categories from social
sciences, to language arts and even theology. Each course is designed for
students to focus on and think critically about a specific topic. Professors of
the Honors College are encouraged to propose new potential courses each year.
These courses are then reviewed by the Concordia Honors Council and are picked
accordingly. Though professors have the opportunity to suggest whatever topic
they are interested in teaching, Dr. Mahay proposed this year’s genocide class
after students in her Globalization and Human Rights course expressed interest
in the topic.
“We studied Darfur in class and students were kind of
surprised that this had happened in their lifetime and that they didn’t know
very much about it,” Mahay said. “Then, when they heard there were other
genocides besides Darfur that had happened in the last 40 or 50 years, students
were just shocked. So I polled the class and asked them what were they
interested in learning more about and they said genocide.”
Studying slaughter
and suffering
Made up of 17 students, the CUC Commission on Genocide has concentrated
their study on four distinct genocides: Cambodia from 1975-1979, Bosnia from
1992-1995, Rwanda in 1994 and Darfur from 2004-2010. Throughout their
investigations the students seek to identify warning signs within the
problematic countries, assess different techniques and artifacts used during
these genocides to promote terror, evaluate international responses and
ultimately identify ways the situation could have been prevented.
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| This graph depicts the total number of deaths recorded in the genocides studied by the CUC Commission on Genocide. |
“We focus on ways these genocides started, came to fruition,
the damage they have done and what still needs to be done in these countries,”
said Tegan Pfortmiller, a student taking the course. “I believe it is important
to study because we tend to have a narrow view of genocide. It is imperative to
realize the patterns that are caused by genocides and ways that we can make a
difference to make sure it never happens again.”
Bringing progressive
study to Concordia
As Concordia’s first ever course on genocide, Mahay admits
that it is an investigation for both
she and her students.
“I really see it as a collaboration,” Mahay said. “It’s a
process of discovery where we are teaching each other and we are going through
it together because it’s hard to learn about. It’s hard to read this material
daily.”
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| Savo Heleta, a survivor of the Bosnia genocide Skypes with CUC students from his home in South Africa. |
Not only is the class new on campus, it is proving to be one
of the more progressive courses in the Concordia curriculum. Students are
encouraged to take charge and suggest new ideas on how to seek information.
With this mind-set, in addition to studying from the typical textbook or novel,
the class has incorporated other mediums of information into their
investigation such as watching documentaries, collaborating research on their
own blog site and even using Skype. The class was able to Skype with Savo Heleta, a survivor of the Bosnian genocide and the author
of the memoir Not My Turn to Die.
“Talking with Savo has been one of the highlights of my
college career,” Pfortmiller said. “It was neat to be able to hear information
from a first person perspective, versus always reading it in articles and in
books. We had the chance to ask him questions, which he answered very
thoroughly. We learned not only about his work, but what he believes is important
to truly work towards a world without genocide.”
Promoting campus-wide
genocide awareness
One of the class’ main goals is to take action. After
learning about the horrors of genocide, the class decided it was their
responsibility to do something.
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| The Commission on Genocide created a book display at the entrance of Concordia's Klinck Memorial Library in honor of Genocide Awareness Month. |
“We can stop genocide by awareness, which is key,” Pfortmiller
said. “We need to inform the world about these conflicts and make sure that our
governments do not turn a blind eye when conflicts start to occur. It is
imperative to keep our governments accountable for their actions and bring
things to their attention so that we can help countries that need it. ”
In honor of Genocide Awareness Month, which takes place during
April, the class worked with the campus library to create a genocide book
display. The display included general information about genocide, quotes from
some of the novels the class studied and genocide-related books that the
library had for students to check out. In addition, the class teamed up with
the Human Rights Club to put on a campus-wide film screening of Shake Hands with the Devil, a documentary
about the Rwandan genocide.
Spreading awareness
from Concordia to community
Invested in making a difference, the class hopes that their
efforts to spread awareness do not just stop at the campus level and are
brainstorming ways that they can spread awareness to the entire community. The
class encourages everyone to check out their website to learn more about
genocide and how you can help bring a stop to it.
“Don’t be uncomfortable talking about it,” said Jillian
Green, a member of the class. “It’s not only part of history, but also everyday
life. It’s something that happens and if we continue to ignore it in regards to
just everyday conversation or education, it’s just going to keep going.”
How can you make a global change while at Concordia?
The Human Rights Club makes it simple:
The Human Rights Club meets every Monday at 11 am in Addison 203.
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