The Rutgers Honors College has one of the only undergraduate-focused professional workshops on genocide and human rights. Bringing together experts from the multitude of fields that make up the body of each discipline (Sociology, Psychology, History, Government, Economics, Health, Jewish Studies, Ethnic Studies Geography, Law, International Affairs, Gender Studies, and many more) and students who are eager to understand how both genocide and human rights play out in our modern world, the Workshop is uniquely designed to enhance understanding of themes and theories, expand knowledge of events, and engage in the practical issues through international agencies and NGOs.
The Workshop consists of several different manifestations, including non-credit bearing meetings and lectures, common readings, travel-study programs, and site visits to the UN and other international agencies that are focused on expanding the reach of the pursuit against violations of human rights and prevention of genocide.
Fall 2025 Program Focus | Ukraine
Each semester the Workshop chooses one topic or theme upon which we focus. For FA25 we will turn toward the events that have been raging in Ukraine for eleven years, starting in 2014. How has Ukraine been shaped by genocide in the past (through the Holodomor as well as the Holocaust) and what has been ongoing in the region since the Russian occupation of Crimea and now the ongoing assault on Ukrainian cities, peoples, and territory?
Fall 2025 Upcoming Events
- Sep 04, 21:00-22:15PM | Organizational Meeting and Workshop Book Review: Christopher Miller, The War Came to Us [2023]
- Oct 09, 19:30-20:45PM | Ukraine: From the Holodomor to the Present, Dr. Jochen Hellbeck, Rutgers History Department
- Oct 21, Time TBA | Roundtable on Antisemitism (Zoom)
- Oct 31, 8:30-17:30 | Visit Ukrainian Museum in NYC and Talk with Mr. Christopher Miller
- Nov 06, 18:30-20:00 | Kristallnacht Commemoration
- Nov 11, Time TBA | Interview: Dr. Rusian Bortnik, Ukrainian Institute of Politics (Zoom)
- Nov 18, Time TBA | Roundtable: LGBTQ+ Issues in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan (Zoom)
- Dec 9, 8:30AM-5:30PM | United Nations Visit, UNGC/UDHR
Related Classes
01:090:101 THE BYRNE SEMINARS | 1 credit
Section 57 Subtitle: MODERN GENOCIDE | INDEX 24103
Tuesday | 3:50 PM - 5:10 PM | College Avenue | HC-S120
Professor: J.D. BOWERS
The Center for the Study of Genocide & Human Rights
The Workshop is an off-shoot of the renown Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights (CGHR) based at Rutgers University—Newark and under the leadership of the Cambodian specialist, Dr. Alexander Hinton. The Center got its start with work and historical connections to Raphael Lemkin, a former Rutgers professor, who coined the word "genocide" and fought for its criminalization in international law. Today, we continue that mission with the CGHR UNESCO Chair in Genocide Prevention, established in 2013, to more deeply understand the need for prediction, prevention, and punishment of such crimes.
QUESTIONS
If you have any questions, please contact Dean J.D. Bowers at jd.bowers@rutgers.edu.