November 14-16, 2024

Dimensions of Genocide: Persistence, Denial, Resistance and Justice

The 6th International Conference on Genocide at Sacramento State is a call for a collective meditation and action on the myriad contemporary and historical realities of Genocide, and the possibilities to end their pernicious influence and persistence on current world events, politics, and social relations. The United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide defines Genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.” We call on the global community of academics, Genocide and justice scholars, community activists, humanitarian aid workers and practitioners, students, politicians, policy makers and artists to come together and consider the various dimensions of Genocide, past and present. Topics could include Genocides and other atrocity crimes that are rooted in the logic of Genocide, such as current and past wars, neocolonial oppression, rise of fascism, ethnic cleansing, femicide, homophobia, transphobia, racialized state violence and Genocide denials. The goal, through a close examination of these dimensions of Genocide, is to identify strategies and resources for the end of genocidal practices across the globe. These could include but are not limited to resistance, pathways to restorative and transformative justice, reparation, reconciliation, healing, and divestment. 

This year’s conference will feature special sessions and events on the 30th Commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. We will also honor the late Dr. Alexander Kimenyi, a Rwandan professor of Ethnic Studies who inaugurated the International Conferences on Genocide at Sacramento State.