Genocide — Social Studies definition
Defined in 2 courses:
- Acts committed with intent to destroy, wholly or partly, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. (U.S. History: Reconstruction to the Early 21st Century)
- Specified acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group as such; historical and judicial claims require evidence of acts and intent. (Global History & Geography II: c. 1750 to the Early 21st Century)
Where it is taught
- The Holocaust: Persecution, Genocide & Historical Evidence — World War II, Genocide & Consequences, U.S. History: Reconstruction to the Early 21st Century, Grade 8
- Rwanda & Bosnia: Genocide, Institutions & Accountability — Global Challenges & Historical Inquiry, Global History & Geography II: c. 1750 to the Early 21st Century, Grade 10
In use
Historical knowledge of genocide rests on extensive, mutually corroborating records, testimony, physical evidence, and perpetrator documentation.
The Holocaust: Persecution, Genocide & Historical Evidence
In Rwanda, extremists organized genocide against Tutsi; Hutu opponents and others were also killed.
Rwanda & Bosnia: Genocide, Institutions & Accountability
Questions using genocide
Problem 1
Answer and explanation
No. Evaluate the particular detail while considering the extensive independent evidence establishing the larger history. Local uncertainty is not universal doubt.
Problem 2
Answer and explanation
Independent records can corroborate deportation and the site’s role. A disputed name or date should be investigated specifically. It does not outweigh the wider documentary and physical record. The task assesses evidence, not whether students will debate victims’ humanity or the event’s existence.
Identify different forms and origins of evidence.
Compare the shared route and chronology while checking names or dates.
Explain why converging evidence supports the established event despite a possible local discrepancy.
Response criteria
- Describe the historical context and institutions accurately.
- Use relevant evidence and explain how it supports the claim.
- Represent perspectives without stereotypes or invented testimony.
- Identify a limitation, counterevidence, or information still needed.
Problem 3
Answer and explanation
Distinguish background, trigger, perpetrators, targets, and mechanisms. Categories did not make violence inevitable. Identify specific officials, militias, propaganda, and acts rather than assigning guilt or a fixed attitude to all Hutu people.