Events › With Intent to Destroy: The Birth of the Concept of Genocide

Join us at the Swasey branch where we will hear Ben Meiches from World Affairs Council of Tacoma give a talk on the topic of genocide.

Genocide. Whenever the word appears in the news headlines, documentaries, or movies, everyone knows a horrific atrocity is potentially unfolding. However, from a historical perspective the visceral reaction to this word is somewhat surprising because the concept of genocide was invented barely eighty years ago and only recently became a widespread part of international dialogues. This talk will describe the historical creation of the concept of genocide by Raphaël Lemkin and its adoption in international law and contemporary political discourse. 

Ben Meiches is a faculty member at the University of Washington Tacoma. He earned his Ph.D. In Political Science from Johns Hopkins University in 2015. At the University of Washington, Tacoma, his research and teaching focus on global politics, political violence, human rights and international theory. He is a particularly interested in armed conflict, genocide, and the development of international law. He is the author of two award-winning books: Nonhuman Humanitarians: Animal Interventions in Global Politics and The Politics of Annihilation: A Genealogy of Genocide both with University of Minnesota Press.