Genocide, diversity, intolerance, tolerance, respect, holocaust, kipling, marx, edmund burke, punic wars, carthage, great revolt, anti-semitism, colonization, armenian genocide, rwandan genocide, cambodian genocide, darfur, bosnian genocide

1. Why Diversity is Wrong:
An Exploration of
Genocide Studies
Kristen Larsen, Sanderson High School klarsen@wcpss.net
Randy Moncelle, Apex High School hmoncelle@wpcss.net
Dave Phillips, Wakefield High School dphillips1@wcpss.net
Chris Story, Sanderson High School cstory@wcpss.net
Wake County Public School System

2. Holocaust and Genocide
in World Studies
• WCPSS elective adopted by teacher-initiative;
first taught in 2009-2010
• Our purpose: share intellectual, emotional, and
practical knowledge about teaching genocide.
• History is not our focus. This course is about
present-day political, social, and economic
conditions.

3. Why teach genocide studies?
Intellectual Rewards
“Nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer; nothing is more
difficult than to understand him.”
- Fyodor Dostoevsky, Russian writer (1821 - 1881)

4. Why teach genocide studies?
Personal Rewards
• A greater appreciation for the
good things in life -
liberty, prosperity, and
security
• A greater respect for the
dignity of all people
• Authentic peer collaboration
and personal academic
growth
• Students tell you that the
course “made me a better
Volunteer person.”
State Community College. "The Four Freedoms." Norman Rockwell: The Four Freedoms. Volunteer State Community College, 21
Feb. 2012. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.

5. Why teach genocide studies?
Never Again?
The cliché: “Those who do not remember the past are
condemned to repeat it.”
- George Santayana, American philosopher (1863-1952)
As educators we must not only teach students to
remember acts of genocide but empower them
with tools to recognize and counter ideas and
behaviors that lead to genocidal outcomes.

6. Why teach genocide studies?
Everyone has a role to play.
• Perpetrator
• Victim
• Bystander
• Intervener
“All the world's a stage …”
- William Shakespeare, English writer (1564-1616)

7. Why teach genocide studies?
Polarizing rhetoric in American society
Prominent journalists'
associations have
denounced the use of
the term "illegals" by
the news
media, noting that
the term
"criminaliz[es] the
person, not the J.K.F. "Why Does Fox News Choose to Use the Loaded Term "Illegals?"." Media
action." It is a Matters For America. Media Matters For America, 05 Feb. 2010. Web. 21 Feb.
2012.
"trigger word."

8. Why teach genocide studies?
Polarizing rhetoric in American society
Mitt Romney accuses
Newt Gingrich of
calling Spanish a
"ghetto language."
The Associated Press. "Fact Check: Debate over 'ghetto Language'
Ad." NBC Politics. MSNBC, 27 Jan. 2012. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.

9. Why teach genocide studies?
Polarizing rhetoric in American society
Banks, Adelle M. "Florida Pastor Oversees Quran Burning." USA Today Religion. USA Today, 21 Mar. 2011. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.
“Where they burn books, they will, in the end, burn human
beings too.”
- Heinrich Heine, German writer, Almansor, 1821

10. Why teach genocide studies?
Polarizing rhetoric in American society
Adler, Margot. "Islamic Center Near Ground Zero Sparks
Anger." NPR News. NPR, 15 July 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.

11. Why teach genocide studies?
Political extremism in Europe
The world’s biggest democratic region is now the
breeding ground for extreme-right politics.
MacShane, Denis. "Europe: the Rise of the Extreme Right." The Daily Beast. Newsweek, 24 Mar. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.

12. Why teach genocide studies?
Political extremism in Europe
2010 elections:
22.9%
Progress Party
There are also
significant parties
15.5 %
of the extreme Dutch Freedom Party
right in Belgium, 11.9% 16.7%
National 28.9% Jobbik
Latvia, Slovakia, Front
Swiss People’s
Party
and Slovenia. 8.3%
Northern
League
MacShane, Denis. "Europe: the Rise of the Extreme Right." The Daily Beast. Newsweek, 24 Mar. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.

13. Why teach genocide studies?
Political extremism in Europe
Mr Wilders, whose statements have
included comparing the Koran with
Hitler's Mein Kampf, told the court
freedom of expression was on trial.
"I've had enough of the Koran in the
Netherlands: Forbid that fascist
book."
BBC. "Dutch Anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders Goes on Trial." BBC News Europe. BBC, 4 Mar. 2010.
Web. 21 Feb. 2012.
“Often an entire city has suffered because of an evil man.”
- Hesiod, Greek poet, Works and Days (~800 BC)

14. Why teach genocide studies?
Roma expulsion in Europe
France and Italy are among
[European Union] member
states breaking up Roma
camps and deporting EU
citizens.
Phillips, Leigh, and Angelique Chrisofis. "Roma Campaigners
Dismiss Brussels' Claim on Evictions and Expulsions."The
Guardian World News. The Guardian, 25 Aug. 2011. Web. 21
Feb. 2012.
“The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the
sanction you give it.”
- Ayn Rand, American writer, Atlas Shrugged (1905 - 1982)

15. Why teach genocide studies?
Genocide in DR Congo
Gettlemen, Jeffrey. "Mass
Rapes in Congo Reveal U.N.
Weakness." New York Times
Africa. New York Times, 3 Mar.
2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.
BBC. "DR Congo Killings May
Be Genocide-UN Draft
Report." BBC News Africa.
BBC, 27 Aug. 2010. Web. 21
Feb. 2012.
“A person may cause evil to others not only by his action but by
his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them
for the injury.”
- John Stuart Mill, British philosopher (1806 - 1873)

16. Why teach genocide studies?
Genocide in Darfur
The genocide in Darfur has
claimed 400,000 lives and
displaced over 2,500,000
people. More than one
hundred people continue to
die each day; five thousand
United Human Rights Council. "Genocide in Darfur." United
die every month. Human Rights Council Reports. United Human Rights
Council, 21 Feb. 2012. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do
nothing.”
- Edmund Burke, Anglo-Irish statesman (1729-1797)

17. Why teach genocide studies?
Other Examples of Intolerance?
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do
nothing.”
- Edmund Burke, Anglo-Irish statesman (1729-1797)

18. Evolution of the Course
Initial essential question: What is genocide and
why does it occur?
• What have been the causes and course of several famous
genocides, most notably the Holocaust?
• What circumstances lead to radical polarization within
societies?
• How do socio-economic conditions affect a society’s core
values and political functions?
• What are the personal experiences of those involved in
genocides from the perspective of
perpetrators, victims, bystanders, and interveners?

19. Pre-20th
century topics
covered in genocide studies
• Rome: Punic Wars and the Great Judean Revolt
• Medieval religious fanaticism and anti-Semitism
• Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the Americas
• English colonization of Ireland, North America, and
Australia
• The Jacobin phase of the French Revolution
• American Indian Removal
• New Imperialism, Social Darwinism, eugenics, and
racial anti-Semitism

20. Early 20th
century topics
covered in genocide studies
• Belgian colonization of Congo
• US colonization of the Philippines
• German colonization of Southwest Africa
• The Armenian genocide
• Post-World War I European political landscape
• The rise of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany
• The Soviet Holodomor
• The Holocaust
• Imperial Japanese war crimes

21. Late 20th/early
c. topics 21 st
covered in genocide studies
• Maoist China
• The Cambodian genocide
• The Mayan genocide in Guatemala
• The dissolution of Yugoslavia, the Bosnian
Genocide, and the Kosovo conflict
• The Rwandan genocide
• North Korean famine
• The Sudanese Civil War and the Darfur Crisis
• NATO intervention in Libya

22. Evolution of the Course
Our conclusion: Genocide is the worst crime humanity
can inflict upon itself. Its frequent outbreaks are like a
disease. Genocide studies demands a shift away from
being impassioned, unbiased historians to being
passionate agents of historical change. Like
physicians, we must work to cure this disease, not
merely understand its effects or treat its symptoms.
The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various
ways; the point is to change it.
- Karl Marx, German philosopher, Theses On Feuerbach (1818-1883)

23. Evolution of the Course
New essential question: How can we act to prevent
genocide?
• What policies should the US adopt to prevent genocide?
• When genocide occurs, what should be the role of the
international community in regards to intervention?
• How can liberty, prosperity, and security be won and
maintained for all peoples?
• How can democracy flourish and failures of democracy
be avoided?
The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various
ways; the point is to change it.
- Karl Marx, German philosopher, Theses On Feuerbach (1818-1883)

25. Why is “diversity” wrong?
“All People like us are WE, and everyone else is THEY.”
- Rudyard Kipling, English writer (1865-1936)

26. “Us” versus “Them”
“Us” versus “them” is a dangerous mentality.
Decreasing the likelihood of mass political
violence – atrocities such as genocide and ethnic
cleansing – requires more than just strategies and
policies, it requires a change in the way that we
understand individual rights and fluid group
relationships.
Chirot, Daniel, and Clark McCauley. "A Tribal Mentality Can Lead to Genocide." Smart Library On Globalization. Center On Law And Globalization, 2012.
Web. 21 Feb. 2012.

27. Is tolerance enough?
“Tolerance is respect, acceptance and
appreciation of the rich diversity of our world's
cultures, our forms of expression and ways of
being human. Tolerance is harmony in
difference.”
UNESCO. "Declaration of Principles on Tolerance." Unesco.org. United Nations Educational, Scientific And Cultural Organization, 16 Nov. 1995.
Web. 21 Feb. 2012.

28. Is tolerance enough?
But we would find it patronizing, even downright
insulting, to be “tolerated” at someone's dinner table …
We tolerate those we consider inferior. In religious
circles, tolerance, at best, is what the pious extend
toward people they regard as heathens, idol
worshippers or infidels. It is time we did away with
tolerance and replaced it with “mutual respect.”
- Rajiv Malhotra, founder of Infinity Foundation (1950-present)
Malhotra, Rajiv. "Tolerance Isn't Good Enough: the Need for Mutual Respect in Interfaith Relations." Huffington Post Religion. The Huffington
Post, 09 Dec. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.

29. Is tolerance enough?
According to Janet Haag, editor of Princeton-based multi-faith journal Sacred Journey:
“…the Latin origin of "tolerance" refers to enduring
and does not convey mutual affirmation or support” and
“implicitly suggests an imbalance of power in the
relationship, with one of the parties in the position of
giving or withholding permission for the other to be.”
The Latin word for respect "presupposes we are equally
worthy of honor. There is no room for arrogance and
exclusivity in mutual respect."
Malhotra, Rajiv. "Tolerance Isn't Good Enough: the Need for Mutual Respect in Interfaith Relations." Huffington Post Religion. The Huffington
Post, 09 Dec. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.

30. What is mutual respect?
To be colorblind or
to celebrate differences?
Our personal experiences:
1971 South Carolina "Jim Crow"
2001 War on Terror and cultural myopia

31. Is tolerance enough?
Moving the goalpost
“Because nothing motivates people like setting a goal, reaching
that goal, and being told that it’s not good enough.”

32. What is the best way to teach about
the Holocaust in three days?
Don’t teach about the Holocaust!
Teach about genocide.

33. What is the best way to teach about
the Holocaust in three days?
Day 1: What is genocide? How
do Gregory Stanton’s Eight
Stages of Genocide apply to
the Holocaust?

34. What is the best way to teach about
the Holocaust in three days?
Day 2: How do Stanton’s Eight
Stages of Genocide apply to
Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Da
rfur, and elsewhere?

35. What is the best way to teach about
the Holocaust in three days?
Day 3: What should be the
response of the international
community to warning signs of
an impending genocide or to
the outbreak of genocide?

36. Teaching Tips
• Maintain a scholarly detachment and a humanitarian heart.
• Be empathic, not sympathetic.
• Don’t compare evils.
• Numbers don’t matter; a murder is a murder.
• Keep open communication with parents and administration.
Ask parents to look for signs of psychological distress and to
keep a running dialogue with students.
• Get students to share personal experiences from tourist visits.
• PREVIEW ALL MATERIALS! (Especially when showing R and TV-
MA features.)

37. Resources for Beginners
• USHMM website Videos:
• Choices curriculum from • History Channel’s Third Reich:
Brown University the Rise & Fall
• Shake Hands with the Devil
Books: • The Killing Fields
• Genocide: A Comprehensive • “Darfur in 10 Minutes”
Introduction by Adam Jones (YouTube)
• Worse than War by Daniel • The Pianist
Goldhagen • BBC The Nazis: A Warning
• Ordinary Men by Christopher from the Past
Browning • BBC Auschwitz
• Holocaust by Van Pelt • Swing Kids
• Defiance

38. Advanced Studies
• Blood & Soil: A World History of Genocide and Extermination
from Sparta to Darfur by Ben Kiernan
• BBC Death of Yugoslavia
• The Soviet Story
• Nanking

39. Contact Information:
Kristen Larsen, Sanderson High School
klarsen@wcpss.net
Randy Moncelle, Apex High School
hmoncelle@wpcss.net
Dave Phillips, Wakefield High School
dphillips1@wcpss.net
Chris Story, Sanderson High School
cstory@wcpss.net