Doctoral Dissertation Research: An Ethnographic Investigation of the Rwandan State's Fight Against Genocide Ideology

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Graduate student Mark Geraghty, under the direction of Professor Jean Comaroff, will undertake research on nation-building efforts in post-genocide contexts. Geraghty will conduct his research in Rwanda, where the government has framed its campaign as a fight against genocide ideology, which has been officially declared to be the root cause of genocide. Genocide ideology is said to consist of the ideas, revealed through acts, speech and writing, which foster ethnic hatred. This research addresses the prospects of renewed violence in the wake of one of the deadliest bouts of ethnic massacres and genocide of the twentieth century.The researcher will gather data on the effects and possible unintended consequences of the government's campaign through a combination of semi-structured interviews, more informal conversational interactions, observed practices, the collection of life-histories, the compilation of case-studies, and the use of local archival and media sources. He will conduct research in official contexts where the state seeks to directly engage and interact with the citizenry in eradicating genocide ideology, such as gacaca genocide courts, ingando re-education camps, and genocide commemoration events. He also will interview people who are not directly involved in governmental activities, to understand how different sections of the population receive and respond to the government's fight against genocide ideology. This research project will contribute to both academic literatures and policy initiates on situations of post-conflict reconciliation by addressing the extent to which regimes seeking to transcend pasts marked by ethnic violence and genocide can overcome logics of demonization and dehumanization of others. The results of the research will inform scientific understanding of the causes of ethnic and political violence and the impact of laws, policies and programs intended to prevent their return. Funding this research will also contribute to the training of a social scientist.