Scholars Travel Seminars
Check back for information about upcoming Scholars Travel Seminars.
Past Seminars
Sri Lanka: Post-Conflict Strategies in Collective Memory and Reconciliation
January 2 – 14, 2019: The complexities of reconciling a collective narrative toward truth, justice and memory in post conflict region: of the world are lived, and profoundly challenging experiences. As such, locations that have organized institutional efforts which engage the imagination and conscience of their populations are important centers for study and international engagement in genocide prevention.
The country of Sri Lanka represents an area of the world that has faced the trauma of mass atrocity crimes which damaged or destroyed basic institution; responsible for fostering health and wellbeing of their citizenry. In the wake of mass violence, there has: developed a significant collective commitment to genocide educaton, reconciliation processe: and prevention strategies which have initiated and instituted important politicall, judicial, economic and cultural practices fostering a continuum of understanding and historical perspective.
This special travel seminar to Sri Lanka was organized to facilitate a group learning experience for emerging scholars, senior scholars or professionals who are working in the fields of Genocide Studies and Prevention, History, Memory Studies, Museum Studies, Cultural Heritage Preservation Studies and intersecting fields of socio/political and cultural expression. The objectives for this group study / travel experience were three-fold:
-
- To develop an understanding of the socio-historical processes which gave rise to the polarization of the populations within Sri Lanka with a view toward recognition and understanding critical social patterns precipitating mass violence, and collective memory / reconciliation process: and their challenges post-conflict,
- To establish a survey introduction to memory and museum studies and their individual and collective educational and cultural expressions as theyrelate to memory and mass atrocity. Application of this introduction will facilitate a more nuanced perspective on the institutional strategies established and implemented to norrate objective and inclusive collective memory processes as well as a perspective on the challenges the nation faces with this responsibility.
- To explore through travel on location, the array of memory sites, commemoration and remembrance educational and cultural activities and sites of conscience across the heart of the nation; deepening our individual academic knowledge base with “on the ground experience” and group discussion.
Using an experiential educational framework, the group worked together to create a depth of collective understanding of the course objectives, with a comprehensive recommended reading list and group online discussions, followed by an intensive travel / study experience in each nation which includes educational tours of memorials, museums, and other state institutions; meetings with local artists, scholars, experts and survivors; instruction by local educators; meetings with representatives from government commissions, civil society organizations, and survivor advocacy groups; and access to historical archives.
Argentina: Modernization, Mass Atrocity, and Memorialization
August 11 – 20, 2016: This special travel seminar was organized to facilitate a group learning experience for emerging scholars, senior scholars or professionals who are working in the fields of Comparative Genocide Studies, History, Memory Studies, Museum Studies and intersecting fields of cultural expression. This seminar offered a comprehensive collection of selected readings, films and cultural performances outlining the socio-historical processes of Argentina as well as an introduction to museum and memory studies.
The objectives for this group study / travel experience were three-fold:
-
- To develop an understanding of the socio-historical processes of colonialism and the effects on indigenous and settler populations; the rise of modernization and concurrent political, social and economic development with a view toward recognition and understanding of social patterns precipitating mass violence within Argentina, and collective memory processes post-conflict.
- To establish a survey introduction to memory and museum studies and their individual and collective cultural expressions as they relate to memory and mass atrocity.
- To explore through travel on location, the array of memory sites and sites of conscience across the heart of Argentina; deepening our individual academic understanding with “on the ground experience” and group discussion.
Using an experiential educational framework, the group worked together to create a depth of collective understanding of the course objectives, with a comprehensive recommended reading list, group online discussions followed by an intensive travel / study experience in Argentina which includes educational tours of memorials, museums, and other state institutions; meetings with local artists, scholars, experts and survivors; instruction by local educators; meetings with representatives from government commissions, civil society organizations, and survivor advocacy groups; and access to historical archives.
Read a reflection of this Scholars Travel Seminar.
Rwanda and Ethiopia: National and International Memory and Memorialization
August 5 – 20, 2014: Hosted as part of Rutgers University’s Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights 2014 Summer Session.
This special educational travel seminar to Rwanda and Ethiopia is designed for emerging scholars in the fields of Comparative Genocide Studies, Memory Studies, Museum Studies, Media Studies, Anthropology, Political Science, Sociology, History and cognate fields.
This 16-day travel experience and professional / academic course prepared the emerging scholar to gain knowledge and professional skills through study, observation and direct experience, dialogue with experts and implementation of critical analytical skills in understanding the history of genocide, post-conflict challenges and the role of museums, memorials and civil society in remembrance, commemoration, reconciliation and reconstructions in these two nations.
Co-facilitators Amy Fagin, independent scholar, museum professional and visual artist, and Dr. Amanda Gryzb, Associate Professor and Assistant Dean of Information and Media Studies at Western University (Canada) provided course instruction and guided this extraordinary learning experience that afforded a transformational global perspective.
Read and view a photo essay reflection about this Scholars Travel Seminar.