S-CAR in Siena, Italy

Six members from S-CAR, comprising of students and faculty, were invited to participate at the 10th Biennial Conference of The International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) from June 19th to the 22nd. This year’s conference was organized under the theme “The Aftermath of Genocide: Victims and Perpetrators, Representations and Interpretations” and took place in the stunning city of Siena, Italy.

Many events addressing genocide tend to leave one with a heavy heart and a fatigued mind. At this event, however, the magical backdrop and festive atmosphere of Siena’s annual Palio offset the normal chagrin. To prepare for this horserace that historically determined the city’s leadership, local inhabitants participate in all sorts of merrymaking. There were all night parties, marching bands, street performers, and, of course, gelato. That said, most of us were able to focus, at least most of the time, on the work at hand. The S-CAR community tore themselves away from the gorgeous Tuscan countryside long enough to present on a wide array of topics: Gregory Stanton presented on “Hate Speech and Incitement;” Tetsushi Ogata talked about “The Role of Dealing with the Past in Post-Atrocities Relations Between Japan and China Borislava Manojlovic presented on “The Role of Education in Dealing with the Past and Atrocities Prevention in Post-conflict Croatia;” Elizabeth Mount talked about “The Politics of Representing Sexual Violence: Conceptualizing Genocidal Rape as a Performative Act of Hegemonic Masculinity;" Gedeon Patrick Hakizimana presented on “Gender, Culture and Ethnicity: Reflections on the Narrative of the Rwandan Genocide;” and Sarah Federman presented on “Corporate Accountability for Mass Atrocity: The Case of the French Railroads.” The event was well attended by a relatively young, international crowd who seemed to have quite a hopeful demeanor in spite of, or perhaps because of, their years of personal and professional experience with the horrors and complexities of mass atrocity. In addition to the well-established genocide experts, a number of young scholars presented some very solid work with great humility. Their research efforts seemed earnest and their presentations were clear and to the point.

I never thought studying the French railroad would lead me to a magical week in Italy, but then again life, unlike trains, rarely takes us exactly where we think we will go. If you are interested in the organization or future conferences (next year will be in Winnipeg, Canada) please visit the website: genocidescholars.org.