Mass Atrocities in the Digital Era
Genocide and other mass atrocities, as well as the study of genocide andmass atrocities, are inextricably linked with digital phenomenon in the twenty-first century. Social media is used for propaganda and other forms of communication; most documentation of genocide and other atrocities is collected and/or stored through digital technology. Increasingly, memorialization takes digital forms as well.
Our Focus Areas
In 2020, the Genocide Studies Program began to take a more systematic appraisal of the centrality of digital technology to the discipline of genocide studies through the Mass Atrocities in the Digital Era (or MADE) initiative. While still under development, the initiative will take shape through three primary focuses:
Addressing how the digital elements of genocide and other mass atrocities can best be incorporated into the efforts to hold perpetrators and enablers of those acts and processes available. (More)
Addressing how digital media influence the form that memorializing the victims of mass atrocities takes, as well as how people who interact with those digital memorial efforts think about the past. (More)
Considering how digital resources can be marshalled to prevent the outbreak of mass atrocities, whether through the development of early warning mechanisms, social media policy, or particular initiatives to counter digital elements of attempts to perpetrate atrocities. (More)