The Research of Resistance: USC Students Explore Opposition to Genocide Past and Present

Wolf Gruner (third from left), who leads the research cluster with Stephen D. Smith, speaks with students at the April 3 presentation.

Jasneet Aulakh, a junior majoring in history, English, philosophy, politics, and law. Aulakh's research used personal interviews to debunk the myth that the 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms in India pitted the entire Sikh community against the entire Hindu community.

The April 3 presentation brought USC students (some of whom are pictured above), faculty, staff, and others, to the Institute.

Jeremy Schwartz, a senior majoring in international relations, looks on during another student's presentation. Schwartz screened his documentary film, "Resilience," which explores the post-conflict resistance and activism of organizations that help rehabilitate survivors of mass violence. The film includes interviews with survivor-activists from Columbia, Ethiopia, and Somalia.

Stephen D. Smith (center), who leads the research cluster with Wolf Gruner.

Roza Petrosyan, a junior majoring in history and psychology. Petrosyan's research used survivor testimony to explore women's resistance to the Armenian Genocide.

The April 3 presentation brought together USC students, faculty, Institute staff, and partners.

Heather Ashby, a PhD candidate in the USC Dornsife History Department. Ashby studied black radical activism between the First and Second World Wars, examining how people of African descent articulated connections between the oppression of Africans and Jews during the 1930s.

Jasneet Aulakh, a junior majoring in history, English, philosophy, politics, and law, looks on during another student's presentation. Aulakh's research used personal interviews to debunk the myth that the 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms in India pitted the entire Sikh community against the entire Hindu community.

Jeremy Schwartz, a senior majoring in international relations. Schwartz screened his documentary film, "Resilience," which explores the post-conflict resistance and activism of organizations that help rehabilitate survivors of mass violence. The film includes interviews with survivor-activists from Columbia, Ethiopia, and Somalia.

On April 3, 2012, four USC students came to the Shoah Foundation Institute to discuss the research projects they conducted over the summer in connection with an interdisciplinary research cluster led by Executive Director Stephen D. Smith and Wolf Gruner, Shapell-Guerin Chair in Jewish Studies and a professor of history in the USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. The research cluster, which is part of USC Dornsife 2020, investigates why certain individuals, groups, or societies do or do not follow the path of mass violence and genocide. More

Album posted on: April 3, 2012