The Binary of Genocide

While the act of genocide dates back to the 13th century, the word itself is fairly young — coined in 1944. Keith David Watenpaugh, one of the country’s leading experts on human rights and the history of genocide, sits down with Ed for a conversation on the implications of that coining, the legalities that inform its interpretations, what it might require to ultimately render the word meaningless, the shocking number of times it’s been correctly used and tips on how we should proceed until that day comes when it is no longer needed. Bio: Keith David Watenpaugh is an American historian and theorist of human rights and humanitarianism. He is an internationally recognized expert on genocide as well as refugees and forcibly displaced communities across world history. He is also a leader of international efforts to defend the human rights of displaced and refugee university students and scholars, primarily those affected by the wars and civil conflicts in the Middle East, South Asia, and East Africa.Publications:Washington PostNewsweekUniversity of California, DavisGoogle Scholar