Hitler’s Genocide

Abstract

The personal and societal devastations wrought by the genocidal actions of individuals remain confounding to psychologists. As instructors aim to increase students' engagement in global concerns, courses that address the often confusing interplay among prejudice, mass persuasion, human aggression, and prosocial behavior seem to be well placed to reduce these ambiguities. With previous examples in the teaching literature scarce, this article describes a new course on the psychology of genocide through an interdisciplinary blend of historical and psychological evidence of the single worst episode of genocide in human history: the Holocaust. Course themes and topics, readings and assignments, and recommended audiovisual supports provide a useful framework for future application of this new course in the psychology of genocide.

Teaching about systemic racism with a hybrid intercultural course.

“…A multidisciplinary approach, which examined the same question from multiple disciplinary lenses (Choi & Pak, 2006): psychology, history, sociology, critical race, and feminist studies, was selected, as it includes macrosystemic and institutional structures in understanding anti-Black racism. Such an approach has promise; Simpson (2012) reports that a joint history-psychology course on the Holocaust led to a greater awareness of history and increased interest in global concerns. Grose-Fifer and Helmer (2020) found that an English-psychology Learning Living Community fostered stronger grade point averages, student retention, and greater sense of community.…”