Confronting Genocide on Stage and Screen

This seminar will focus on representations of genocide in plays and films from the Armenian Genocide to the Nanking Massacre, the Holocaust to the Cambodian Genocide, Argentina's Dirty War to genocides in Guatemala, Rwanda, Bosnia Herzegovina, and Darfur. We will explore the ethics and artistic integrity of those representations, the challenges artists and audiences face in confronting unimaginable realities and the role such works can play in promoting awareness, understanding, and the possibility for transformational change. We will consider artistic expression as a form of cultural resistance, the role of artists as peace-building performers, and the efficacy of art in helping survivors cope with trauma and develop resilience.