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Religion, Mass Atrocity and Memory

Module description

This module examines the interconnections between religion and mass atrocity, both during violent events and in contexts of collective remembrance. Using select examples from the modern period, the module considers how religious traditions have been both implicated in the perpetration of large-scale systematic violence against civilian populations, and yet sometimes provided support for victims. Attention will also be given to the ways in which religious worldviews and narratives have framed the public remembering of such events in numerous ways. The module is situated in the study of religion and history and has no direct pre-requisites.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The module aims to provide you with an understanding of how religion and mass atrocity have been connected with one another in a selection of modern contexts. This includes contexts of perpetration, victimhood, and public remembering. The module aims to equip you with the ability to navigate the interdisciplinary interface between religious studies, genocide studies, and memory studies.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Critically evaluate some of the key dynamics of how religion shapes human experience during periods of mass atrocity
• 2. Critically evaluate some of the key dynamics of how religion shapes the ways in which societies collectively remember instances of mass atrocity

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Sensitively navigate contested and controversial ideas regarding religion and violence in the modern world
• 4. Research the role history, religious tradition, and community identities play in shaping how past events are publicly remembered

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Construct reflective, critical, and analytical arguments
• 6. Plan, structure, and produce to deadline critical and reflective written work

Syllabus plan

The module will consider how religion interconnects with perpetration, victimhood, and memory related to selected mass atrocities in the modern world. Examples that may be covered include:

• Colonial violence
• The Holocaust
• The Rwandan genocide
• The experience of religious minorities in the modern Middle East

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 50%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will be capped at 50%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Bartov, Omer, and Phyllis Mack, In God’s Name: Genocide and Religion in the 20^th Century (New York: Berghan, 2001).
• Brown, Sara E., and Stephen Smith, The Routledge Handbook of Religion, Mass Atrocity, and Genocide (London: Routledge, 2021).
• Rothberg, Michael, Multidirectional Memory: Remembering the Holocaust in the Age of Decolonization (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2009).

Key words search

Religion; atrocities; violence; remembrance