Wednesday 10 February 2016

Theme



Mass Violence is an ineluctable truth of world history, in fact there has never been a time without it. While the international community continues its efforts to prevent it till today, its deterrence has varied immensely from one decade to another and from one geographical region to the other. What causes mass violence and how it can be prevented are questions that continue to trouble us. The varying scales and magnitudes of mass violence have attracted a range of definitions and nomenclatures, like genocide, ethnic cleansing, pogrom, etc., and triggered debates about their usage. The aftermath of mass violence is just as troubling as mass violence itself for it raises the questions of acknowledgement of the event, rehabilitation of the survivors, reconciliation between the perpetrator and the victim, and coming to terms with the harsh reality of memory politics.  Papers from different academic disciplines would be presented at the conference to help us comprehend mass violence and memory with reference to the sub-themes listed below, but certainly not limited to them. Papers that underscore the need for Holocaust and Genocide Education in India would be in sharp focus.

Causes
Warning Signs
Propaganda
State’s connivance or inaction
State’s response
Complicity
Hateful or Inflammatory Speech
Role of the Press and Mass Media
Memorialization
Conflicting Narratives
International Response
Role of the Academia
Cinematic Responses
Literary Responses
Judicial Response
Justification of Violence

Comparative Studies
Denial or Minimization
Trauma
Reconciliation
Genocide Education/Mass Violence Studies
Resistance to Genocide Education/Mass Violence Studies
Displacement
Rehabilitation
Holocaust/Shoah as point of reference
Mass Atrocities
Challenges of Definition and Nomenclature
 
The conference is being jointly convened by: