Module Specifications
Academic Year 2026 - 2027
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Description This module examines war, war crimes, and genocides in Modern Europe, including the responses of international criminal law and international trials such as the Nuremberg Trials or the International Criminal Tribunals for Yugoslavia. Historians such as Zara Steiner and Ian Kershaw have described the period of Modern Europe as one of hopes and their collapse, with book titles like ‘The Lights that Failed’ and ‘To Hell and Back’. The history of mass atrocities and international criminal law can be told in a similar way. Modern Europe was marked both by industrial warfare, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and genocide, and by the emergence of rules and institutions aimed at reducing suffering and holding the perpetrators of violence to account. The module approaches this history through an investigation of the changes in European warfare and the main legal categories in international criminal law responding to these shifts, e.g. the categories of war crimes and genocide. It traces their intellectual origins, beginning with Eastern European lawyers in the 19th century, examines major instances of mass violence such as the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, and the conflicts in Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and considers how these categories have shaped the relationship between peoples and politics in Modern Europe. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Learning Outcomes 1. demonstrate an understanding of distinct categories outlawing mass atrocities in international criminal law 2. analyse how the intellectual origins of these categories shaped the international political decisions that led to their applications in trials 3. evaluate the effectiveness of international criminal law in alleviating human suffering on the basis of historical examples 4. develop and present coherent written arguments about this history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml
Indicative Content and Learning Activities
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Indicative Reading List | Books: None Articles: None
Other Resources | None
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