Religion, Holocaust, and Genocide Unit
We invite proposals on religion, genocide, and the moving image. Television series and films, such as Holocaust (1978) and Schindler’s List (1993), were crucial events in developing public consciousness of the Holocaust, but alongside reflection on such classic works we seek proposals that address media representations of other genocides, as well as varied media forms such as gaming, VR, and the use of holograms. Attention may be given to the representation of religion through the moving image, or how perceptions of the sacred (and its transgression) feed into the reception of varied media forms.
The term “genocide” was coined by Raphael Lemkin in 1944, and in 1948 the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. In this context, our Unit treats prominent atrocities of the twentieth century, but topics of interest extend before and after this period as well beyond the legal definition of genocide. This Unit addresses religious aspects of genocidal conflicts, other mass atrocities, and human rights abuses that have made a deep and lasting impact on society, politics, and international affairs. Unit interests also include instructive lessons and reflections that Holocaust and Genocide Studies can lend to illuminating other human rights violations and instances of mass violence and the construal of genocide within a human rights violation spectrum that allows for the study of neglected or ignored conflicts that include a salient religious element. Our work is interdisciplinary and includes scholars from fields including History, Ethics, Theology, Philosophy, Jewish Studies, Church History, Anthropology, Political Science, Gender Studies, and regional area studies of Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East.
| Chair | Dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Benjamin Sax | bsax@icjs.org | - | View |
| David Tollerton | d.c.tollerton@exeter.ac… | - | View |