Drew Center Examines Genocide, ISIS and the Holocaust

Drew Center Examines Genocide, ISIS and the Holocaust

Center for Holocaust/Genocide Study Offers Five Speakers

Madison, N.J. – When does terrorism constitute genocide?

Dr. Gregory Stanton of George Mason University will answer that question Sept. 12 in the first of a series of talks from the Drew University Center for Holocaust/Genocide Study. Specifically, Stanton, a former foreign service officer in U.S. Department of State, will examine the Department’s recent classification of ISIS violence in Syria and Iraq as genocide—the first such declaration since 2004—and the political importance of genocide recognition.

Stanton, a research professor in genocide studies and prevention, was instrumental in the U.S.’s decision to use the term to describe ISIS’ treatment of minorities in Syria and Iraq. He’s also president of Genocide Watch, which tracks the development of genocides.

Using his 10-stage theory of genocide, the professor will explain how and why the U.S. reached its decision. His talk, ISIS and Genocide, will take place in room 28 of Drew Library’s Learning Center, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Three other talks are planned for the Center for Holocaust/Genocide Study series, Holocaust, Genocide and ISIS: Political, Cinematic and Personal Perspectives. Each will begin at 4 p.m. Here are the other speakers:

- Sept. 22: Eric Hamberg, who grew up in Germany before fleeing in 1939. Room 106, Dorothy Young Center for the Arts

- Oct. 24: Dr. Larry Greene of Seton Hall University on Comparative Cinematic Racism. Room 28, Learning Center

- Oct. 27: Hedy Brasch, a survivor of Auschwitz. Room 106, Dorothy Young Center for the Arts

- Nov. 15: Erwin Ganz, who witnessed Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) in 1938. Room 28, Learning Center

For more information on the speakers, click here, call 973-408-3600 or email ctrholstu@drew.edu.

Center for Holocaust/Genocide Study

Founded in 1992 through a grant from the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, the Center for Holocaust/Genocide Study offers a variety of events, including an annual November conference in memory of Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) and an annual commemoration of Yom HaShoah (Day of Remembrance). The Center also offers films, lectures, performances, workshops and commemorative events dealing with the Holocaust and with other genocides such as those in Armenia, Bosnia, Cambodia, Darfur and Rwanda. The Center enriches Drew’s undergraduate and graduate course work by bringing notable scholars and speakers to campus, organizing visits to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and providing additional resources that enhance the study of Holocaust and genocide. It also supports faculty research by, for example, commissioning an English translation of a German text dealing with Nazi slave labor camps. All events are open to the larger community.

About Drew University

Drew University, a Phi Beta Kappa liberal arts university, includes the College of Liberal Arts, the Drew Theological School and the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies. Drew is located on a beautiful, wooded, 186-acre campus in Madison, New Jersey, a thriving small town close to New York City. It has a total enrollment of more than 2,000 students and has 145 full-time faculty members, 94% of whom hold the terminal degree in their field. The Theological and Caspersen Schools offer MA and PhD degrees and the College confers BA degrees in 30 disciplines.

Drew is dedicated to exceptional faculty mentorship, a commitment to connecting the campus with the community and a focus on experiential learning. Particularly noteworthy opportunities for undergraduates include the the Charles A. Dana Research Institute for Scientists Emeriti (RISE), home of 2015 Nobel Prize Winner for Medicine and Drew Fellow William Campbell, the Drew Summer Science Institute, the Center for Civic Engagement, as well as the Wall Street Semester, Semester at the United Nations, Semester on Contemporary Art and Semester on Communications and Media in New York City and several international semester programs. The University also houses the Center for Civic Engagement, the Drew Summer Science Institute, the Center on Religion, Culture & Conflict, the Center for Holocaust/Genocide Study and the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, an independent professional theater, as well as the United Methodist Archives and History Center and one of the country’s leading concentrations of materials on Willa Cather.