Studying and Preventing Genocide and Atrocities
Welcome! My name is Hollie Nyseth Nzitatira, and I’m a Professor at The Ohio State University. I’m a sociologist and criminologist who studies genocide, or actions taken to destroy a group of people. I analyze why this violence happens, which types of interventions help reduce harm, and how communities and countries rebuild in the aftermath. I have published over 70 peer-reviewed articles on genocide, transitional justice, and human rights. I am the co-editor of the Oxford Handbook on Atrocity Crimes and was awarded the 2023 International Association of Genocide Scholars Engaged Scholar Award, which is given to one scholar every two years. Below, you’ll find more information about some of my current projects.
Re-Entry and Reintegration
After Genocide
Violence tears apart the social fabric of communities; to reconstruct this social fabric in the aftermath, we need to consider every thread. This includes the people who committed violence, as well as their families. My forthcoming book project, with Oxford University Press, examines what happens when people who were incarcerated for genocide return to their communities. Funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities, my research team and I interviewed 190 Rwandans before they left prison and found them for follow-up interviews four months and one-year after their release.
Studying Atrocity Prevention
There have been more than 40 genocides since the Holocaust, ultimately affecting hundreds of millions of individuals and changing our world in ways we will never fully comprehend. My research focuses on how to prevent genocide and related mass atrocities. Some of this work includes using statistics to forecast atrocities before they occur. Other research involves interviewing people about the decisions they make during genocide. Toward this end, I have interviewed hundreds of individuals who have committed violence, as well as many others who have risked their lives to rescue those being targeted. Finally, I also study how communities rebuild after genocide and atrocity, with an emphasis on transitional justice processes tied to coming to terms with violent and harmful pasts.
Genocide Education Resources and Training for Teachers
Together with Sara E. Brown and Jamie D. Wise, I create educational materials for middle and high school educators who teach about genocide and mass atrocities. Teaching about genocide can be incredibly difficult, ranging from the heart wrenching content to the fact that there is an ever-evolving body of scholarship that often does not get translated into resources for educational purposes. We create resources to hopefully make this task a little bit less daunting by synthesizing current knowledge about genocide and mass atrocities. We also create learning activities grounded in cutting-edge peer-reviewed research and with a focus on the human story of genocide.
Contact
Feel free to contact me with any questions about my research, talks, or teacher trainings.
Email
nzitatira.1@osu.edu