Rowan Center for the Study of Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights

Dr. Jennifer Rich, Sociology, Executive Director
Professor Jody Russell Manning, History, Associate Director
Dr. Mikkel Dack, History, Director of Research
Dr. Debbie Sharnak, History, Director of Human Rights Initiatives

RCHGHR is in the news!

• Our very own Associate Director, Professor Jody Russell Manning, gave a talk to the Bristol Community College Holocaust and Genocide Center about his experiences working at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.
• Congratulations to our HGE MA graduate student, Lucas Brenner, for being awarded a 2024 Warren Fellowship for Future Teachers from Holocaust Museum Houston! https://hmh.org/.../professional.../warren-fellowship/ 
•  Lucas is at Rowan University currently pursuing his M.A. in Holocaust and Genocide Education. He also has been substitute teaching in New York in his hometown area, when he is not attending classes or working as the graduate assistant for CASE and RIEL, to gain more experience for when he has his own classroom. Congratulations!

We are extremely proud to inform you that the Zoryan Institute’s academic journal, Genocide Studies International (GSI), in partnership with the University of Toronto Press (UTP), has published its very first educational supplement tailored to secondary school educators, utilizing past and new papers published in the journal.

These supplements, designed by Genocide Education specialist and our very own RCHGHR Executive Director, Dr. Jennifer Rich, aim to help bridge the gap between academic, scholarly knowledge and more broad, public knowledge.

The first supplement is designed to help teachers cover the topic of Holocaust Remembrance Day, observed on January 27th. 

This supplement uses three papers published in GSI, that have been carefully selected for their important content and to introduce broader themes, like genocide denial, to classroom conversations. To help facilitate student learning, the supplement also includes lesson plans, activities, and multimedia resources that align with the high school curriculum. 

The supplements are live on the High School Genocide Education Resources page of the GSI website, and can also be found at the University of Toronto Press.

We hope that this supplement, and the ones to come, will be a valuable addition to your teaching toolbox, and will help to enhance your students’ understanding of genocide and human rights. 

Should you have any questions or would like to know more about this initiative, please do not hesitate to contact rchghr@rowan.edu or richj@rowan.edu

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• Here's our 2024 Spring calendar!
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• In December 2017, select leaders of academic Holocaust and Genocide Studies Centers from across the country gathered in Washington, DC to discuss the state of the field. The Rowan Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies emerged onto the national stage as an innovative advocate for interdisciplinary study of these important topics and a leading force in preparing future generations of educators to know about genocide, understand its context, and act to make a difference in our troubled world. 
• Today’s newspapers and web newsfeeds are sadly filled with stories of hatred, prejudice and bigotry. Seventy years after the Holocaust, genocide still exists and political rhetoric has often become heated and directed at marginalizing those who are different. In order to combat pressing global problems of rising antisemitism and Islamophobia, bullying, and violence against whole peoples, Rowan University established the Rowan Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies (RCHGS) in 2015. Linking the study of past mass atrocities with action, the RCHGS is committed to making a difference in our world today and tomorrow.
• VISION
• Over the next ten years, the RCHGS will become a leading national center in the field of Holocaust and genocide education and research. It will lead vital discussions about prejudice, discrimination, war, and violence in order to in order to encourage civil dialogue and critical engagement Through transformative education and programming, we will shape future leaders who recognize that it takes courage and compassion to stand up for populations who have been “othered” in some way, and who develop the skills needed to create positive change in society.
• HOW WILL WE DO THIS?
• The RCHGS will be at the forefront of development of Holocaust and genocide education, and will stake new ground in scholarship, particularly in the areas of memory, and how people remember and respond to genocide.
• KNOW. UNDERSTAND. ACT.
• KNOW.  Interdisciplinary Research: the RCHGS will produce research that is cross- and inter-disciplinary, which we will share with national and international scholars.
• UNDERSTAND. Graduate education and public programs: Rowan University will create and offer the nation’s first M.A. in Holocaust and Genocide Education. To extend our outreach, we will offer public programs to our regional community.
• ACT.  Activism: The interaction between the Holocaust, other genocides, and human rights is critical, and we will encourage participants in our degree and non-degree programs to take action on local, national, and international levels.
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