A Rose-Tinted Take on the Past
The organization of historical events into a comprehensible narrative/set of narratives is common practice (and maybe even natural tendency) in human societies throughout the globe. We construct them...
View ArticleVeterans, the RDRC, and Biased Sources
This weekend I was browsing through articles on the New Times’ homepage and came across one with the headline “Veterans get life skills.” It discusses how the RDRC (Rwanda Demobilization and...
View ArticleNetworks and Connections
In reading more of Marie Umutesi’s ordeal during the Rwandan genocide this week, it became much clearer to me that the 1994 genocide was not caused my an innate ethnic hate within the society. While we...
View ArticleWeek 3 – Making sense of the genocide
The main reason I am taking this course is to try to understand what led to 1994 genocide in Rwanda. More than that, I really desire to comprehend what psychologically occurred to several thousands of...
View ArticleTwitter Update
I just wanted to post something I read on Twitter last night that pertains to the class. The Rwandan Ministry of the Interior (@MINITER) posted a link yesterday to an article in The New Times Rwanda....
View ArticleRwanda, the Great Lakes Region and the crisis in the DRC
This was a very interesting talk, which touched on the topics of the presence of the FDLR in the Kivu region, the RPF and accusations of it’s continued support to the M23 and also Rwanda’s involvement...
View Articlehidden agendas of an authoritarian state
This week our class discussed in depth what we believe to be the definition of an authoritarian state. Authoritarian states are those whose governments have firm control over all organs of the state,...
View ArticlePCON Lecture: Arab Spring
The lecture tonight did an excellent job at showing us how and why the Arab Revolutions were successful. One aspect that Mark LeVine discussed was the importance of power and space. He said that all...
View ArticleMark LeVine: Music, Culture & Arab Spring
Music as a source of unity and a vehicle for coherence is a concept that is seen across national histories, often as the impetus for mobilizing revolutionary movements. In tonight’s lecture regarding...
View ArticleDeveloping a Deeper Understanding
One of Straus’ main points in his article is his effort to abolish the notion that the genocide that occurred in Rwanda had resulted due to “ancient tribal hatred.” This notion is the result of a...
View Article
