Totten, Samuel. (2004). Teaching about Genocide: Issues, Approaches, and Resources. Reviewed by Nicholas Appleton, Arizona State University

Totten, Samuel. (2004). Teaching about Genocide: Issues, Approaches, and Resources. Greenwich, Connecticut: Information Age Publishing, Inc. 300 pp. $31.95 (Paper)   ISBN: 1-59311-074-X $65.25 (Hard cover)   ISBN: 1-59311-075-8 Reviewed by Nicholas Appleton Arizona State University June 9, 2005 As this review is being written, the United Nations debates its intervention into the genocide in the Danfur region of Sudan. Estimates are that over the past 18 months 180,000 people have died in Darfur from hunger and disease. When violent deaths are included, the total death toll is estimated to be 380,000 over the past two years. Two million people have been driven from their homes. Samuel Totten is a genocide scholar and educator. He points out that every decade since 1948 has witnessed at least one genocide, and that three major genocides were perpetrated between 1988 and 1995. “Almost every time a genocide is perpetuated, politicians, Holocaust and genocide scholars, human rights activists, and various members of the public decry the horrific situation, and assert that it must not happen again. But it always does…” (Totten, p. 295). Teaching About Genocide was initiated and assembled on the belief that if there is to be any hope “that potential perpetrators of genocide can be contained and prevented from carrying out their evil act, there is a critical need for a well-informed and caring populace across the globe” (Trotten, p. viii). The book is an edited volume containing 10 chapters plus an annotated bibliography. It draws its approach from philosophy, the social sciences and education. Chapter 6 is unique in that it contains 10 case studies. The book is clearly written with the intent of the prevention of and intervention into genocide through education, research and policy advocacy. To this effect, the book is cautiously optimistic. The book begins with a mix of questions relating to what should be taught and why. In a short essay Carol Rittner argues that the most important questions are not about facts and figures but rather about ethics and the psychology and social psychology behind the human capacity to do evil. She advocates for a curriculum of moral education that leads to moral action. Her advocacy, however, is not supported by argument or analysis. Rather, her essay is a set of proscriptions. In Chapter 2, Totten provides a more substantive approach to guide the teaching about genocide. Totten reminds us that if you don’t know where you are going, you are likely not to get there. What an instructor wants his/her students to learn and why will strongly influence what and how he or she will teach. The first step in developing a course about genocide is to develop a statement of rationale. Totten provides guidelines for the development of rationale statements and how to use them, and offers several examples as illustrations. I found chapter 3, a brief history of genocide, to be refreshing. This is the first substantive chapter. The historical background is indeed brief, but it sets the stage for the struggle to adopt the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. The adoption of the convention, of course, did not put a stop to genocide. During the Cold War the great powers only paid lip service to the Convention as they manipulated local conflicts to their political advantage. Yet, even after the collapse of the Soviet Block and the diminishment of the Cold War the international community was slow to recognize and act on instances of genocide. Quibbling over definitions, the lack of will to intercede, and controversial intervention strategies and outcomes resulted in an international community reluctant to support the Convention. The result was graphically portrayed in the film Hotel Rwanda when, in the space of 100 days in 1994, extremist Hutu killers massacred a million Tutsis. The reasons a political body decides to act (or not act), are often complex. Actual motives not withstanding, debates over genocide intervention frequently have entailed debates over definition. Similarly, a lack of clarity has complicated “both the study of genocide and … the effort to prevail and/or prosecute cases of genocide” (p. 58). In Chapter 4, Totten explores definitional issues. He presents competing definitions of genocide and concludes with a method of helping readers understand the complexities of definitions and to differentiate among them. Readers who recognize the value of philosophy of language should find this chapter interesting, yet incomplete. The next chapter takes the analysis to the next level. In Chapter 5 Henry Huttenhbach explores the implications of adopting different definitions. He rightfully argues that there are consequences for adopting one definition over another. For example, what crime is committed has implications for what punishment is appropriate, and researching a phenomenon in part rests on the ability to recognize the phenomenon and differentiate it from other cases. The approach of the chapter is philosophically oriented. Huttenbach differentiates between political and conceptual definitions. What he categorizes as political falls clearly within what Israel Scheffler (1960) called programmatic definitions, a definition carrying normative baggage, i.e., promotes a program that would benefit a particular group or set of special interests. Huttenbach points out that at times the protected or promoted interests are national or state interests, but sometimes the interests are scholarly, historical or relate to identity issues. In his analysis, Huttenbach weighs the family of concepts associated with genocide. His interesting analysis finds many of the conceptions lacking in their ability to capture the essence of genocide. Huttenbach’s analysis, however, is not beyond its own critique. His test for a satisfactory definition (i.e., the essence of genocide) appears to be using analytically derived criteria, but he doesn’t offer evidence for this. Rather, his criteria appear to function much like a programmatic definition. He appears to use the Holocaust as his model case to derive the criteria by which to judge other cases. Thus, the Holocaust becomes the standard from which the necessary and sufficient conditions for genocide are derived. For example, by this analysis genocide must be institutionalized; it must be an intentional plan by a state or government. This, of course, has programmatic consequence. It throws doubt on the appropriate use of the term for individual or group acts of murder or mass murder, mob murder, like that found in Bosnia and Rwanda. Chapter 6 contains 10 brief case studies. The importance of conceptual clarity and definition dominates the early chapters of the book. In the end, Totten adopts an expansive less restrictive set of criteria of genocide for the selection of cases explored in the text. The operational definition used for the case studies is much closer to mass murder than institutionalized annihilation argued for by Huttenbach. With a focus on the 20th century, the cases are chronologically organized beginning with the Armenian genocide. The Armenian genocide precedes the Holocaust and comes closest to meeting Huttenbach’s holocaust-based criteria. Parallels between the two are explored. Ironically, from a substantive point of view, as a case study the Holocaust is perhaps the weakest. Rather than focusing on antecedents and other substantive aspects of the Holocaust, the case text discusses the areas that need to be explored when teaching the Holocaust. To a much greater extent, the other cases in the chapter present a historical context and key elements of the genocide. Many end with suggestions for educators, but for some this section consists only of a short paragraph that seems obligatory. As it turns out, however, the lack of depth in suggestions for educators has little consequence, since the next two chapters are dedicated to instructional strategies. In Chapter 7, Totten advocates for interactive inquiry-based instructional strategies. He is interested in developing reflective and critical thinkers. He is not satisfied with students of genocide simply acquiring information. To that effect, Totten describes several instructional strategies in sufficient detail for an instructor to create instructional units. He gives a rationale and justification for each. Many are based on the work and practice of genocide scholars. In chapter 8, H. R. Huttenbach presents the rationale and methodology for conducting a comparative study of genocide. It is through such comparisons that we can begin to develop an anatomy of genocide and the understanding we need to anticipate potential genocide and for early intervention. Chapter 9 connects the study of human rights and genocide with social responsibility. With the prevention of genocide in mind, the chapter views the deprivation of human rights as a catalyst for genocide. Starting with the early twentieth century, the chapter quickly moves from the failure to support human rights to the Holocaust, to the emergence of international bodies to stop crimes against humanity. The chapter concludes with a description of the development of genocide as a field of study and human rights education. The chapter argues that it is through education of human rights and genocide that social participation and citizen responsibility will emerge to combat further infringements of human rights. The concluding chapter addresses the intervention and prevention of genocide. The book addresses the prevention of genocide in two ways. First, there is a modest but important substantive treatment of genocide. This includes conceptual issues, case studies and moral argument. This last chapter is prescriptive, taking a stand on positions of policy and action. It advocates for a pro-active United Nations, while acknowledging the U.N., for a variety of reason, has often been unwilling or unable to act decisively. Totten argues that for the U.N., or some other international body to intervene in human rights violations, it must have both the political will and the means, and these both are influenced by educated and involved people. The second and related element of the book designed to prevent genocide is directed at education. The book offers arguments for and strategies for teaching about genocide, and thereby creating a world citizenry that will not tolerate mass murder. In this concluding chapter, the book also argues for systematic research from a variety of fields that will lead to an understanding of the complexities and forces of genocide. In so doing, Totten ties knowledge, understanding and education back to social responsibility and genocide prevention. Reference Scheffler, I. (1960). The Language of Education. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas. About the Reviewer Nicholas Appleton is Professor of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies in the College of Education at Arizona State University. His doctorate is in Philosophy of Education from the University of Massachusetts. Copyright is retained by the first or sole author, who grants right of first publication to the Education Review.