Genocide Studies and Prevention – Press Release
February 21, 2006
The International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), headed by Israel W. Charny, President, and the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (A Division of the Zoryan Institute), headed by Roger W. Smith, Chair, are pleased to announce that they have co-founded a new academic journal, Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal (GSP), published in partnership with the University of Toronto Press. GSP is the official journal of the IAGS.
GSP’s mission is to understand the phenomenon of genocide, create an awareness of it as an ongoing scourge, and promote the necessity of preventing it, for both moral and pragmatic reasons. It seeks to educate, inform, and encourage new generations of scholars to conduct research on genocide and provide a forum for those who wish to work toward preventing it. This interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal will stress that genocide is a universal human experience; to that end, it will publish scholarly articles and reviews on all aspects of genocide and will welcome, in particular, comparative analyses and articles on intervention in and prevention of genocide.
The twentieth century has been called “The Age of Genocide.” Some historians estimate that over 100 million lives were lost in the twentieth century as a result of violence associated with genocide. From the extermination of the Hereros in what is now Namibia, through the genocide of the Armenians during World War I and the Holocaust during World War II, to the genocidal killings of Khmer by Khmer in Cambodia and the horrible massacres Bosnia and Rwanda, governments around the world refused to intervene. It became clear that the attention of the world needed to be focused on the massive destruction of human life. To that end the International Association of Genocide Scholars was formed, and it has now created a new journal to help focus the world’s attention on the necessity of saving human life.
A distinguished team of scholars will co-edit the journal:
Alex Alvarez, Professor of Criminal Justice, Northern Arizona University
Herbert Hirsch, Professor of Political Science, L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth University
Eric Markusen, Professor of Sociology and Social Work, Southwest Minnesota State University, and Senior Researcher, Danish Institute for International Studies, Dept. for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Samuel Totten, Professor of Secondary Education Curriculum and Instruction, University of Arkansas, and Scholar of Genocide Studies, Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide, Jerusalem
The editors welcome and encourage submissions for this new scholarly journal.
For more information, and for manuscript submission procedures, please contact the Editorial Office at
Genocide Studies and Prevention L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, VA 23284 USA
Tel: 1-804-828-8052 Fax: 1-804-828-7463 E-mail: gspjrnl@yahoo.com
About the International Association of Genocide Scholars
The International Association of Genocide Scholars is a global, interdisciplinary, non-partisan organization that seeks to further research and teaching about the nature, causes, and consequences of genocide, and advance policy studies on prevention of genocide. The Association, founded in 1994, meets biennially to consider comparative research, important new works, case studies, the links between genocide and gross human rights violations, and prevention and punishment of genocide. The aim of the Association is to focus more intensively on questions of genocide than is possible in the existing two-hour format of most conferences and to draw colleagues from different disciplines into an interdisciplinary conversation. Membership is open to scholars, graduate students, and other interested persons worldwide.
About the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies
The International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (A Division of the Zoryan Institute) is devoted to helping develop a new generation of scholars to engage in research and publication in the field of genocide and human rights studies, through comparative and interdisciplinary analysis. It seeks to help develop an academic-level educational support system for those who wish to work toward the prevention of genocide. It strives to show, through the study and sharing of the genocidal traumas of many peoples, that genocide is a universal human experience and that, as such, it must be the concern of all individuals and institutions.
About the University of Toronto Press Incorporated
University of Toronto Press Incorporated is the largest scholarly press in Canada and one of the most respected university presses in North America. Founded in 1901, UTP publishes 150 academic books and 35 journals annually, in areas such as cartography, theatre, classics, economics, history, literary criticism, politics, sociology, drama, law, political science, criminal justice, and philosophy.
