2023-2024 Academic Catalog

Dec 21, 2024

2023-2024 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

HGS 112 - Rwanda: Colonialism, Genocide, and Rebellion

Engage learners in the study of the history, politics, and culture of Rwanda from its kingdom to colonialism, war, genocide, and various fronts of rebellion, into the present area of regional power and reconciliation. Rwanda, like many colonized African states, has a turbulent history of struggles for independence and against minority discrimination. Yet, the mass violence of the 1990’s Rwanda and its regional impact is unlike other events in the continent. From April to May 1994 at least 500,000 Rwandans died at an unprecedented pace. This course offers learners a before, middle, and end view of this genocide, including questions about the legacy of genocide in contemporary Rwanda and the region. The course considers the impacts of European colonization and how this shapes recent and contemporary conflict and identity. Various theories on participation, reconciliation, memorialization in terms of genocide are considered as they have been shaped by this case. The concept of rebellion to colonialism, dictatorship, and ethnocratic politics, as well as to the current state, is explained as part of the evolution of African liberationism.

Course Designation/Attribute: HP- Historical Perspective

Anticipated Terms Offered: Bi-annually