UNO First in Region to Offer Holocaust & Genocide Studies Minor

OMAHA – Beginning with the Spring 2016 semester, students at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) will be able to minor in Holocaust and Genocide Studies.

The creation of this new program is a critical part of UNO’s ongoing Sam and Frances Fried Holocaust and Genocide Studies Initiative and has been established thanks to its substantial financial support.

The mission of the Initiative is to promote and facilitate the scholarly study of the Holocaust and other genocides, and seek to ensure that the mass atrocities of the Holocaust are never repeated.

“This new minor is not just an important continuation of the support from the Fried family, but another example of how UNO is at the forefront of newly emerging areas of academic exploration. I am excited that our university will now be the regional leader in the study of two incredibly important historical and social topics,” UNO Chancellor John Christensen said.

One of the minor's chief mandates is to provide a curriculum that combines historical background with an interdisciplinary exploration of both the Holocaust and genocide through political science, literature, philosophy, sociology, religious studies and other offerings.

The new minor will be supported by faculty from multiple departments, teaching courses such as the History of the Holocaust, Comparative Genocide, International Law, Judaism in the Modern Age, and Contemporary Moral Problems.

The Holocaust and Genocide Studies minor is intended to remember the victims, understand the causes of genocide, draw lessons and help students become responsible global citizens, aware of the importance of creating an environment of tolerance.

The Fried Fund will also continue to fund Holocaust and Genocide Lecture and Roundtable Series events every semester, the first of which took place on Monday, Nov. 16. Over 150 community members, faculty and students came to learn more about the current global refugee crisis.

In Spring 2016, Dr. Kenneth R. Rutherford, co-founder of the Landmine Survivors Network, will give a talk on his work in the Nobel Peace Prize-winning coalition that spearheaded the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and the global movement that led to the 2008 Cluster Munitions Ban Treaty.

As UNO seeks to provide its students with opportunities to learn with and from people who come from other parts of the world, the Initiative will foster and promote greater collaboration between UNO and local community organizations.

The foundations for this collaboration have already been laid this fall in the International Law course. As part of a service-learning project, students developed legal and cultural orientation materials for local refugee resettlement agencies that help victims of genocide in Nebraska.

Plans are currently being developed for an Intercultural Learning Academy that would pair UNO students with high school students who are genocide survivors from countries such as Sudan and Myanmar to provide mentorship and tutoring.

The new minor is housed in the College of Arts & Sciences. Interested students should contact Dr. Lana Obradovic at lobradovic@unomaha.edu for more information.

For questions or media requests, please contact:

Sam Petto, UNO Media Relations Coordinator
402.554.2704 | unonews@unomaha.edu

or

Charley Reed, UNO Associate Director of Media Relations
402.554.2129 | unonews@unomaha.edu

About the University of Nebraska at Omaha
Located in one of America’s best cities to live, work and learn, the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is Nebraska’s premier metropolitan university. With more than 15,000 students enrolled in 200-plus programs of study, UNO is recognized nationally for its online education, graduate education, military friendliness and community engagement efforts. Founded in 1908, UNO has served learners of all backgrounds for more than 100 years and is dedicated to another century of excellence both in the classroom and in the community.

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