Syllabi: Sociology of Refugees and Genocide

INSTITUTION: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Niranjan S. Karnik, M.A.

Department of Sociology, Medical Scholars Program and

Program in Arms Control, Disarmament and International Security

Email: n-karni@uiuc.edu

ENROLLMENT: undergraduates; elective

SEMESTER: Spring 1996

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:30-12 noon

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This is a subcourse of the general course listing Sociology 131: Social Problems. Social Problems courses are intended to provide a general introduction to theory and method in sociology. while many universities and individual instructors continue to use general social problems textbooks, I have chosen to use the course as a focus point on topics in medical sociology and sociology of refugees. These topics provide a window into sociology as a disicpline, and students are expected to master basic techniques of critical evaluation and clear writing. Throughout this course, students are asked to explore the content through the multiple lenses of race/ethnicity, gender, class, organizations, narrative and other pertinent sociological prisms.

REQUIRED READINGS:

Required Books:

Frank Chalk and Kurt Jonassohn, The History and Sociology of Genocide: Analyses and Case Studies (1990) New Haven: Yale University Press.

Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl: the definitive edition (1991, 1996 paperback edition) New York: Doubleday.

Elie Wiesel, Night (1960, 1982 paperback edition) New York: Bantam Books.

Course Pack (CP) available from Notes & Quotes in the Johnstown Center.

Recommended Books:

The Human Rights Watch Global Report on Women's Human Rights (1995) New York: Human Rights Watch.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, The State of the World's Refugees: In Search of Solutions (1995) New York: Oxford University Press.

Ervin Staub, The Roots of Evil: The Origins of Genocide and Other Group Violence (1989, 1994 edition) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Assignments:

1) Pop Reading Quizzes (20%)

My experiences with undergraduate students have shown that many students have difficulty keeping up with readings in a timely manner. It is essential for your benefit and general education that you read and come to class well prepared to discuss the topics for each week. In order to provide an incentive to read, I have decided to give occasional pop reading quizzes. The questions on each quiz will be purely factual and drawn in rather obvious ways from that day's readings. Each quiz will have 5 questions. The average of these quizzes will form this portion of your course grade.

2) Paper Proposal and Bibliography (20%) Due Date: Oct 22nd

The major portion of your grade will be the final paper. For this assignment, you should prepare a well thought out paper proposal (3 pages including bibliography). This means that you will have to think about a topic, explore potential sources and consider a research question. I will be quite flexible with the topics you choose as long as they relate in a substantive way to the core themes of this course: refugees and/or genocide. I suggest you begin by using your Chalk and Jonassohn book and examine the different regions and genocidal events listed. Choose one of these and try to pick a narrow topic within that event that interests you. You may also want to explore more current events that you see in the news. Then explore the sources available to you (i.e. books, magazines, newspapers, TV, movies, poetry, art, survivors, soldiers, etc.). Your paper proposal should outline the general ideas you want to explore and the sources that you will use. Please document your sources in the bibliography using the Chicago Manual of Style (available in the library). I will provide feedback on your choice of topic and try to point out other relevant sources. Your grade for this assignment will be based on the thoroughness of your background research and the thoughtfulness of your topic. Your proposal should be clearly written, typed (12 point Times font, double spaced with one inch margins) and proofread/spellchecked. If done properly, this assignment will provide a good beginning for your final paper.

3) Mid Term Essay Exam (20%) In Class: Nov 21st

This essay exam will consist of three (3) questions from which you will choose two (2) to complete in class. Each question will begin with a brief documentary piece from one of several potential primary sources. You will be asked to analyze and interpret the pieces in the context of the course and its readings. Memorization is not strictly required but a good grasp of key concepts and authors from the class discussions and lectures will help in writing these essays.

4) Final Research Paper (40%) Due Date: Dec 12th

This paper is an extension of the Paper Proposal described in Assignment #2 (above). Your paper should be 12 to 14 pages including references or bibliography. As noted above, follow the Chicago Manual of Style for questions of formatting and referencing. Try to write clearly and please do not wait until the very last night to write the paper. Lack of work and preparation will show through and produce a paper which is unlikely to either demonstrate your skills or garner you the type of grade that you expect. Please put your paper in 12 point Times font and be certain that it is double spaced with one inch margins.

COURSE SCHEDULE

Sept 3 Introduction/Approaches to Social and Physical Suffering

Basic Concepts of Social Theory: Race, Ethnicity, Class, Gender

Advanced Topics in Social Theory

Scope and Size of the Problem

Sept 5 Frames: Ways to Approach Refugees, Genocide and Suffering

Readings: Chalk & Jonassohn, pp.3-32

Farmer, On Suffering and Structural Violence (handout)

Loescher, Beyond Charity, pp.3-10 (handout)

Sept 10: Personal Narratives I

Sept 12: Personal Narratives II

Readings: Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl

Wiesel, Night

Sept 17: Fitting Narratives into a Critical Framework: Nazi Germany and the Holocaust

Reading: Chalk & Joanssohn, pp.323-377

Sept 19: Examining "Official" Narratives: Rwanda and Burundi

Multimedia Presentation: CNN, ABC News, UNICEF films, New York Times (handouts)

UNHCR Excerpts (handouts)

Readings: Chalk & Jonassohn, pp.384-393

Lemarchand, Preface from Burundi: Ethnic Conflict and Genocide, pp.xi-xxii (CP)

Shalom, The Rwanda Genocide (CP)

Sept 24: The Research Paper: How to Write a Good One

This class could potentially be the most important of the semester, because it will affect 60% of your grade for the semester. Make sure to be there.

Sept 26: Approaches I: Rwanda and Others

Readings: Kleinman and Kleinman, The Appeal of Experience; The Dismay of Images: Cultural Appropriations of Suffering in Our Times (CP)

Natsios, Illusions of Influence: The CNN Effect (CP)

Oct 1: The Media and Refugees

Readings: Rosenblatt, The Media and the Refugee (CP)

Karnik, Images of Rwandan Refuge, Public Health and Security (handout)

Oct 3: Research Day (No Class)

Use this time to begin putting together your paper proposal and exploring potential research sources (library holdings, interview subjects, art holdings).

Oct 8: Approaches II: Cambodia

Movie: The Killing Fields (viewed in class)

Reading: Chalk & Jonassohn, pp.398-407

Staub, The Roots of Evil, pp.188-209 (CP)

Oct 10: Comparing Depictions: Cambodia and Rwanda: Official vs. Unofficial

Oct 15: Time-out: Art and Genocide

Evaluate the Course / Discussion

Oct 17: Library Day

I will be in the Education and Social Science Library during the class time to assist you with your research papers, finding sources and clarifying topics. I expect you to come with your notes and ideas, and show some evidence that you have made genuine attempts to do some work on your own.

Oct 22: Sexuality and Violence I

Paper Proposal/Biblio Due

Oct 24: Sexuality and Violence II

Readings: Global Report on Women's Human Rights pp.1-25 (CP)

Swiss and Giller, Rape as a Crime of War (CP)

UNHCR's State of the World's Refugees 1995, pp.60-61 (CP)

Pintar, Damage Done: The Mobilization of Genocide in Bosnia- Herzegovina (handout)

Oct 29: The Politics of Memory and Remembering I: Medicine

Readings: Kleinman & Desjarlais, Violence, Culture and the Politics of Trauma (CP)

Oct 31: The Politics of Memory and Remembering II: The Limits of Medicine

Reading: Langer, The Alarmed Vision: Social Suffering and

Holocaust Atrocity (CP)

Nov 5: The Body in War: Social - Cultural Connections

Reading: French, The political economy of injury and compassion amputees on the Thai-Cambodia border (CP)

Nov 7: The Mind after War and Violence

Reading: Kleinman et al, World Mental Health Report, pp.116-135 (CP)

Nov 12: Children and War I

Nov 14: Children and War II

Reading: UNICEF, State of the World's Children 1996, pp.13-41 (CP)

USHMM, Children and the Holocaust (CP)

Garbarino et al, No Place To Be A Child, pp.1-15 (CP)

Nov 19: Review for Mid Term Exam

I will conduct a brief conceptual review of the material we covered this semester and take questions that you may have about the readings, the exam structure and the ideas we have been working with.

Nov 21: Mid Term Essay Exam

Nov 26: Library Day

I will be in the Undergraduate Libraryduring the class time to assist you with your research papers, finding sources and clarifying topics. I expect you to come with your notes and ideas, and show some evidence that you have made genuine attempts to do some work on your own.

Nov 28: THANKSGIVING (University Holiday)

Dec 3: Institutional Blindness: Governments, NGOs and International Organizations

Dec 5: Bystanders, Witnessing and the Difficulties of Action

Readings: Chossudovsky, Economic Genocide in Rwanda (CP)

Fox, Medical Humanitarianism and Human Rights: reflections on Doctors Without Borders and Doctors of the World (CP)

Staub, The Roots of Evil, pp.79-88 (CP)

Dec 10: Conclusions I: Humanitarianism and Human Rights

Dec 12: Conclusions II: Refuge and Resistance Final Paper Due

Readings: Peck, Refugees as Foreigners: The Problem of Becoming German and Finding Home (CP)

Ogata, The refugees of the world need the help of... (CP)

Eisener, A reminder that millions search for freedoms we... (CP)

Young, Sary and Vo, commentary pieces in Phila. Inquirer (CP)