The Anthropology of Genocide | How and Why We Study Mass Killings

Описание: Why and how do anthropologists and sociologists study genocide? And what can their research teach us about mass violence and the prevention of atrocities in the future? In this episode of Off the Shelf we take a close look at the intellectual history of the anthropology of genocide, as well as the methods and contributions of leading qualitative researchers working in the field of genocide studies today.

The host, Dr. Alexander K. Smith, holds an MA from Oxford University and a PhD in the anthropology of Tibet and the Himalayas from the University of Paris, France.

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[1] I’ve adapted the terminology ‘triangle of violence’ from Schmidt and Schroder’s (2001) very useful introduction to "Anthropology of Violence and Conflict". Their usage of the term should not be confused with (the probably more common) usage of ‘triangle of violence’ in Conflict Theory, which is derived from Johan Galtung’s work in Peace and Conflict Studies. On that alternate usage, see: Galtun, Johan. 1969. “Violence, Peace, and Peace Research” in Journal of Peace Research 6(3), pp. 167-191.

[2] One of the main factors underlying the elimination of the phrase “political and other groups” from the UN Preliminary Resolution 96-I was that the Soviet Union rejected the terminology due its recent genocidal purge of the Kulaks, fearing that the UN Resolution would immediately be used against the Soviet Union by other UN member states. See: Hinton, Alexander L. 2002. “The Dark Side of Modernity: Toward an Anthropology of Genocide” in Annihilating Difference: The Anthropology of Genocide, pp. 3-4.

[3] Manz, Beatriz. 2002. “Terror, Grief, and Recovery: Genocidal Trauma in a Mayan Village in Guatemala” in Annihilating Difference: The Anthropology of Genocide, pp. 292-310; and Shapiro-Phim, Toni. 2002. “Dance, Music, and the Nature of Terror in Democratic Kampuchea” in Annihilating Difference: The Anthropology of Genocide, pp. 179-194.

[4] Roth, Kennith. 2002. “Foreward” in Annihilating Difference: The Anthropology of Genocide, pp. x.

[5] Victoria Sanford has published significant body of work on genocide and human rights in Guatemala, which is well worth reading if you are interested in either genocide studies or Guatemalan history. In particular, see: Buried Secrets: Truth and Human Rights in Guatemala (2000).

[6] The best example of this kind of work that I can think of is the science communication and outreach done by Alexander Hinton. In addition to writing an astounding number of books, one of the most relevant things he has done is that, in 2016, he provided four days of external expert testimony at the UN-Backed Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, where he was interrogated by defense lawyers at the trial of senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge. That trial was covered in news outlets around the world, which not only raised awareness of the trial and built a more comprehensive understanding of the genocide for the general public, but it also highlighted the contributions of notable anthropologists and showed that our work can be mobilized to affect real-world change.

[7] There’s basically a cottage industry built around Arendt’s reading of the Eichmann trial – some author’s praising her analysis and others (many others, in fact) either condemning Arendt’s work or revising her comments. It’s an enormous, highly complex, and deeply contentious body of literature, so I won’t hazard a summary where I have so little space to write; but you will find a highly-accessible discussion of the intellectual history of the subject in our pinned comment below.

[8] See, in particular: Arnold, Bettina. 2002. “Justifying Genocide: Archaeology and the Construction of Difference” in Annihilating Difference: The Anthropology of Genocide, pp. 95-117; and Schafft, Gretchen. 2002. “Scientific Racism in Service of the Reich: German Anthropologists in the Nazi Era” in Annihilating Difference: The Anthropology of Genocide, pp. 117-137.

[9] See: Bringa, Tone. 2002. “Averted Gaze: Genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1992-1995” in Annihilating Difference: The Anthropology of Genocide, pp. 194-228; Taylor, Christopher. 2002. “The Cultural Face of Terror in the Rwandan Genocide of 1994” in Annihilating Difference: The Anthropology of Genocide. , pp. 137-178; and Malkki, Liisa. 1995. Purity and Exile: Violence, Memory, and National Cosmology among Hutu Refugees in Tanzania. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

0:00 Preamble
0:55 Introduction
2:11 Defining Genocide
4:48 Problems with the Legal Definition
6:07 More Constructive Definitions of Genocide
7:24 A Brief History of Social Science and Genocide
10:14 Complicity of Early Anthropologists in Mass Killings
14:15 The Anthropology of Genocide Today
15:22 The Victims' Perspective
18:27 The Perspectives of the International Community
20:40 The Perpetrator's Perspective
24:47 Forensic Archaeology and Memorial Museums
26:33 Conclusion