Introduction to Holocaust and Genocide Studies

The Holocaust forms a crucial chapter in European history, as well as a central issue in the contemporary European politics of memory. Today, researching the Holocaust is a European intellectual duty.

Holocaust and Genocide Studies form a cross-disciplinary field of scholarly inquiry for historians, lawyers, philosophers, psychologists as well as sociologists. As a field, it is not limited to the events of the Second World War, but has taken a comprehensive interest in questions tied to the human rights and discrimination of minorities within societies, which contribute directly to both foreign and domestic policy formation.

The summer course introduces students to the international Holocaust and Genocide Studies. The course will host such highly respected senior scholars as Cecilie Stokholm Banke, Philippe Boukara and Wichert ten Have as key speakers. The course also gives a unique opportunity to discuss advanced students' or junior researchers' own fields of interest. The successful completion of the course will require classroom attendance and active participation in the workshops as well as the completion of a written assignment. To receive six ECTS credits, the students must actively take part in the course and write a 10-12 page essay. Students who wish to receive 19 ECTS credits must submit a 20-25 page essay in addition to active participation in the course. All students should submit their essays to the organization not later than one month after the conclusion of the course.

The organizers of the course (Malte Gasche, Simo Muir, Oula Silvennoinen) have previously cooperated with the Dutch-Nordic Network for Holocaust and Genocide Studies in launching systematic research into Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Finland, and are now acting in cooperation with the Department of World Cultures, the Centre for Nordic Studies, the Dutch-Nordic Network for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and Mémorial de la Shoah.

Excursion: The Holocaust in the Baltic Area. While Finland remained largely outside the area where Nazi atrocities were put into effect, the Holocaust did unfold in territories very close to Finland, and in areas where Finland had traditional interests. The course programme is designed to raise the students' awareness of close areas for comparison. The programme includes an excursion to killing sites in the Baltic Area. Participants must pay an additional fee of €80 for the excursion.

Please direct any questions concerning the content of this course to the Coordinator, Mr. Malte Gasche, malte.gasche(at)helsinki.fi Any questions concerning the general arrangements (accommodation, scholarship, etc.) should be addressed to the Summer School's office at summer-school@helsinki.fi