The Norris and Margery Bendetson EPIIC International Symposium

Over 100 million people were victims of genocide and mass killings in the 20th century.

Since the Holocaust, we have often repeated “never again”, but too often the world has failed to prevent genocidal violence, making “never again” an empty slogan. The ongoing conflicts in Syria and Myanmar have ensured that genocide and mass atrocities are once again headline news.

Why do people commit genocide and kill in large numbers? How do they commit mass atrocities? What can be done to prevent and halt such conscience-shocking atrocities?

The 2019-2020 EPIIC Colloquium will examine the historical, political, economic and social causes of genocide and mass killings. It will consider several empirical cases, including in North America, South West Africa, the Ottoman Empire, Germany, Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Sudan, Libya, Syria, and Myanmar. The course will assess how the international community can prevent genocide and mass atrocities by analyzing the role of international courts and ad hoc tribunals; the development of norms such as the Responsibility to Protect; the role of the United Nations; and the responses of regional institutions such as the European Union and the African Union.

The international symposium is an annual public forum designed and enacted by EPIIC students. It features international practitioners, academics, public intellectuals, activists and journalists who come to Tufts each year for three days of discussion and debate in panels and small-group discussions determined by students in the EPIIC course. Students who conduct research projects also have the opportunity to present alongside the invited experts.