(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)February 7, 2022

MAHWAH, N.J. – On February 16 at 7 p.m., Alexander Laban Hinton, distinguished professor of Anthropology, Founder and Director of the Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights, and UNESCO Chair on Genocide Prevention at Rutgers University, and the author more than a dozen books including the award-winning Why Did They Kill? Cambodia in the Shadow of Genocide, will discuss his newest book, It Can Happen Here: White Power and the Rising Threat of Genocide in the US, published in 2021 by N.Y.U. Press. He will be in conversation with Dr. Erick Castellanos, associate professor of International Studies and Anthropology at Ramapo College. The program will take place under the auspices of The Gross Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and will be delivered remotely via Zoom. All wishing to attend may register at: https://bit.ly/3d2J6Nh.

Hinton explains how murky politics, structural racism, the promotion of American exceptionalism, and a belief that the U.S. has achieved a color-blind society have diverted attention from the deep roots of white supremacist violence in the U.S.’s past. Drawing on his years of research and teaching on mass violence, Hinton details the warning signs of impending genocide and atrocity crimes, the tools used by ideologues to fan the flames of hate, and the shocking ways in which “us” versus “them” violence is supported by inherently racist institutions and policies.

Hinton’s research has primarily been focused on issues of genocide and mass violence. It is comparative if often inflected through the lens of the Cambodian genocide, where he conducted extensive ethnographic fieldwork. He has written on topics ranging from torture to post-conflict peacebuilding and transitional justice. He views It Can Happen Here as exploring the intersections of testimony at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, the resurgence of white power, and his experience of teaching about violence and hate at this moment in U.S. history (and at one of the most diverse universities in the country).

 

In addition to his position at Ramapo College, Erick Castellanos has also taught at Tufts University in Medford, Mass., and at Whitman College, in Walla Walla, Washington.  His education includes a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Brown University, a M.A. in International Relations from The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at The Johns Hopkins University, and B.A. in International Relations from Pomona College.  Castellanos is originally from Mexico where he lived until he was sixteen when he moved to California. He has also lived in Italy and Sweden where he studied and conducted research. His travels have taken him throughout Europe, Southeast Asia, and South America.

For information or to request disability-related accommodations for this event, please contact holgen@ramapo.edu or call 201-684-7409.

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About Ramapo College

Ramapo College of New Jersey is the state’s premier public liberal arts college and is committed to academic excellence through interdisciplinary and experiential learning, and international and intercultural understanding. The comprehensive college is situated among the beautiful Ramapo Mountains, is within commuting distance to New York City, was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America by CondeNast Traveler, and boasts the best on-campus housing in New Jersey per Niche.com. Established in 1969, Ramapo College offers bachelor’s degrees in the arts, business, data science, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, as well as in professional studies, which include business, education, nursing and social work. In addition, the College offers courses leading to teacher certification at the elementary and secondary levels, and offers graduate programs leading to master’s degrees in Accounting, Applied Mathematics, Business Administration, Contemporary Instructional Design, Computer Science, Creative Music Technology, Data Science, Educational Leadership, Nursing, Social Work and Special Education, as well as a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

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