Today the formation of a new group is announced, the Genocide and Holocaust Studies Crisis Network: an alliance of scholars who have come together because our field and our institutions are in crisis. The rise of the far-right in the United States and globally and the weaponization of Holocaust memory and accusations of antisemitism to justify genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing throughout Palestine require an urgent examination of our field’s frameworks, priorities, and investments, and we commit to respond to this crisis in productive collaboration.
We work in a variety of disciplines in the field generally known as Holocaust and Genocide Studies and have expertise in histories, theories, and contemporary cases of racism, antisemitism, fascism, and political violence, and in the study of genocides and mass atrocities in different parts of the world. Members of the group have affiliations in related fields such as Human Rights, International Law, Jewish Studies, Memory Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Settler Colonial Studies, Migration Studies, and Peace and Conflict Studies.
Our study of histories of genocide and mass atrocity gives us insight into the rise of authoritarianism and ethnonationalism; the processes of dehumanization, ethnic cleansing, and genocide that accompany it; and the urgent need for civil society resistance. We come together in a joint commitment to mobilize our work in the interest of social justice and equality for all.
To find out more about our group, to read our inaugural collective statements, and to join our network, please visit our homepage: https://www.ghscn.org/home.
