The Elie Wiesel Center is proud to announce a new interdisciplinary major in Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Studies (HGHRS), which joins our HGHRS minor and graduate certificate. Our HGHRS program offers interdisciplinary classes where students study human rights violations in history, so they can recognize and help to prevent future atrocities. These courses are particularly helpful for careers in law, political science, and advocacy work. Learn more about each of the three tracks in HGHRS below.

Timothy Snyder gives the inaugural address for the HGHRS major at Boston University, on “The War in Ukraine and the Question of Genocide.”

HGHRS Major

Genocide is the most extreme abuse of the humanity of others, and yet genocidal acts continue to be committed in our world today. Studying human rights, the crucial set of ideas and practices developed to maintain our civilizations, is key to understanding how to maintain and improve our humanity and prevent genocide.

The HGHRS major, which launched in Fall 2022, is the only major in Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Studies in the country, allowing students to explore important topics like the relationship between governments and citizens, the roles of individuals in preventing violence, and the impacts of media, nationalism, and human rights law. Our faculty come from history, political science, international relations, anthropology, sociology, law, literature, film studies and religion. The program is founded on the belief that the comparative study of genocide and the quest for human rights belong together, and should be studied together, to provide students with depth, breadth, and a constructive perspective on fundamental human concerns. Students take courses such as:

  • CAS RN 384: History of the Holocaust (required)
  • CAS HI 384: History of Genocide (required)
  • CAS HI 380: The Armenian Genocide
  • CAS HI/AA 489: The African Diaspora in the Americas
  • SPH LW 740: Health and Human Rights

In partnership with Mugar Library’s Special Collections, HGHRS majors now have the opportunity for an internship with the Elie Wiesel Archives, offering unique access to the papers of this renowned Nobel Peace Prize laureate and humanitarian scholar.

The major requires a total of ten courses, including three core courses in genocide, Holocaust and human rights studies, six  electives from a list of courses in these fields to be approved by the advisor, and a senior seminar that may be replaced with an appropriate internship. Learn more on the CAS website.

Read on to learn more about the major requirements. If you have any questions, please contact us at ewcjs@bu.edu or Nancy Harrowitz, director of the Elie Wiesel Center and coordinator of the HGHRS program, at nharrow@bu.edu

Major Requirements

All BU undergraduate students, including both entering first-year and transfer students, will pursue coursework in the BU Hub, the University’s general education program that is integrated into the entire undergraduate experience. BU Hub requirements can be satisfied in a number of ways, including coursework in and beyond the major as well as through cocurricular activities. Courses within the major usually satisfy requirements in:

  • Aesthetic Exploration
  • Historical Consciousness
  • Individual in the Community
  • Global Citizenship & Intercultural Literacy
  • Ethical Reasoning
  • Writing-Intensive Course

Several other Hub units can be satisfied, depending on the electives a student chooses to take.

 

This major requires ten 4-credit courses: nine courses from the Holocaust, Genocide & Human Rights Studies curriculum and a one-semester senior thesis, directed by a faculty member of the Holocaust, Genocide & Human Rights Studies steering committee. All classes must be completed with a grade of C or higher.

All students must complete:

Three core courses:

  1. CAS HI 346/CAS IR 348 Histories of Human Rights
    or
    CAS PO 378/CAS IR 352 International Human Rights
  2. CAS HI 384 History of Genocide
  3. CAS RN 384/JS 260 The Holocaust

One elective from Holocaust Studies:

  • CAS HI 270 Twentieth-Century Germany
  • CAS HI 271 The Nazis
  • CAS HI 539 Nazis on Film
  • CAS JS 261/CI 269/XL 281/RN 685 Representations of the Holocaust in Literature and Film
  • CAS JS 366/CI/LI 386 Fascism and the Holocaust in Italy
  • CAS JS 367/CI 387/XL 387 The Holocaust Through Film
  • CAS RN/XL/LI 459 Primo Levi and Holocaust Studies
  • CAS RN 460/TX 805 Holocaust Seminar

One elective from Genocide Studies:

  • CAS HI 380/GRS HI 780 The Armenian Genocide
  • CAS HI 489/AA 489 The African Diaspora in the Americas
  • CAS HI 543/IR 437 Genocide Prevention
  • CAS LF 481/CI 490 Genocide in Literature and Film
  • CAS PO 334 Political Violence
  • CAS PO 572 Southern African Politics
  • CAS PO 5XX Rwanda: Genocide and Its Aftermath

One elective from Human Rights Studies:

  • CAS HI 310 Civil Rights History
  • CAS HI 346/IR 348/GRS HI 746 Histories of Human Rights
  • CAS IR 375 International Law and Organizations
  • CAS IR 453 Forced Migration and Human Trafficking in Europe
  • CAS PO 303 Civil Liberties in America
  • CAS PO 333 Democratic Erosion
  • CAS PO 346/WS 324 Gender, Armed Conflict, and Political Violence
  • CAS PO 3XX Comparative Queer Politics
  • CAS PO 508 The Judiciary and Civil Liberties
  • CAS PO 519 Inequality and American Politics
  • CAS RN 249 Islamophobia and Antisemitism
  • CAS SO 230 Crime and Justice

Three more electives, from any of the courses listed above.

A one-semester senior thesis, or with the approval of the major advisor, a 4-credit internship.

HGHRS Minor

The minor in HGHRS offers undergraduate students the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the causes and consequences of genocide, as well as the role of human rights law as a means of violence prevention. 

Students will take a total of six courses, including one each in Holocaust studies, genocide studies, and human rights studies, in addition to three electives.

Through a multi-disciplinary approach and thanks to faculty members trained in different disciplines and fields of expertise, students learn about government-sponsored human rights abuses, crimes against humanity, the perpetrator state, the impact of extreme nationalism, and the use of the media in spreading racism and prejudice. The program also introduces students to institutions and organizations that prevent genocide and other crimes against humanity. Students learn to analyze government-citizen relations, including how individuals, societies, and domestic and international NGOs can intervene to promote and protect human rights.

Learn more on the CAS website.

Minor Requirements

Required Courses (may be taken in any order)

  • One Holocaust core course: CAS RN 384 History of the Holocaust
  • One Genocide core course: CAS HI 384 History of Genocide
  • One Human Rights core course: Students may choose one of the following courses to fulfill their core requirement for Human Rights:
    • CAS HI 346/CAS IR 348 History of International Human Rights
    • CAS HI 435 Histories of Human Rights
    • CAS IR 352/PO 378 International Human Rights: Applying Human Rights in Africa

Electives

  • One elective in Holocaust Studies
  • One elective in Genocide Studies
  • One additional elective

Holocaust, Genocide & Human Rights Studies minors may choose from the following courses to fulfill their elective requirements. Any other course must have the prior approval of the minor advisor.

Holocaust Studies

  • CAS HI 270 Twentieth-Century Germany
  • CAS HI 271 The Nazis
  • CAS HI 443 Jews and Germans
  • CAS RN 384 The Holocaust
  • CAS RN 439/STH TX 859/SPH LW 739 Jewish Bioethics and Holocaust Studies
  • CAS RN/XL/LI 459 Primo Levi Within Holocaust Literature
  • CAS RN 460/STH TX 805 Seminar on the Holocaust
  • CAS XL 281/RN 385/CI 269 Holocaust Literature and Film (in English translation)
  • CAS XL 387/CI 387/JS 367 The Holocaust Through Film

Genocide Studies

  • CAS HI 380 The Armenian Genocide
  • CAS HI 543/IR 437 The Prevention of Genocide
  • CAS LF 481/CI 490 Genocide in Literature and Film

Other Electives

  • CAS HI 346/CAS IR 348 History of International Human Rights
  • CAS HI 430 Comparative European Fascism
  • CAS HI 435 Histories of Human Rights
  • CAS HI 489/AA 489 The African Diaspora in the Americas
  • CAS IR 352/PO 378 International Human Rights: Applying Human Rights in Africa
  • CAS RN 249 Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism
  • GRS PO 760 Problems and Issues of Contemporary Africa
  • LAW JD 991 International Human Rights
  • SPH LW 740 Health and Human Rights

Graduate Certificate in HGHRS

In partnership with the Pardee School of Global Studies and the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs (CURA), the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies also offers a graduate certification program in Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Studies. 

The Graduate Certificate in HGHRS complements graduate study in history, political science, law, literature, and religion. It serves as preparation for careers in social and governmental service. Working closely with an advisor, Master-level and PhD-level students select four courses across disciplines to advance knowledge of the history, ethics, law, and public health analysis of the Holocaust, comparative genocides, and human rights. To be awarded the certificate, students also complete advanced research, through papers, thesis, or dissertation work, in the field of Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Studies. Students must already be enrolled in a graduate degree program at the university in order to complete the certificate.

You can find more information on the Graduate Religion Studies page.