Representing Genocide

This course will examine the relationship between the Holocaust and mass atrocity on the African continent. Through close study of novels about the Herero and Nama Genocide (1904-1907), the Rwandan Genocide (April - July 1994), and the colonization of Algeria (1830-1962), we will (a) critically assess the centrality of the Holocaust to discussions of genocidal violence in Africa, (b) analyze the various ways in which African genocide literature engages with the Holocaust and (c) evaluate various theoretical frameworks in which to consider discrete episodes of historical violence.