Genocide, Justice, & Memory in Rwanda

Preceded by decades of colonization, a genocide unfolded in Rwanda in 1994, during which 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu were killed within the span of 100 days. This course will first explore the case of Rwanda within a broader theoretical context, discovering the analytical and definitional challenges of classifying an episode of mass violence as genocide. We will also explore the conditions under which the genocide occurred, examining theories about its root causes and the factors that led to the mass mobilization of civilians into killing militias. Finally, we will examine how the crime of genocide has shaped justice, reconciliation, and memory in Rwanda.

You will stay at the KIM Hotel in Kigali. Breakfasts and lunches will be provided at the hotel. Two dinners will be provided, but the remaining dinners and any desired snacks will be your responsibility.

April 1, 2025

Pre-departure meetings: TBD

Travel abroad: June 13–29, 2025

Information Sessions

Email Jillian LaBranche at [email protected] with questions or for technical assistance.

Earn 3 UofM Credits for the course: SOC 4190

This course will explore broad themes of genocide, justice, and memory, using the case of Rwanda to explore related theories. Not only will you develop an in-depth knowledge of the Rwandan Genocide and the nation’s path to reconstruction, but you will also develop a sociologically grounded understanding of genocide and collective memory. 

During our time in Rwanda, we will visit sites of memory, allowing us to understand how Rwandans tell their own difficult history. We will also meet with a Gacaca judge and multiple survivors and rescuers. These personalized conversations will help us to understand how and why the genocide unfolded in Rwanda, how Rwandans make sense of what happened, and how they practice reconciliation.

The course is led by Jillian LaBranche, a PhD Candidate in the Sociology Department. Jillian studied abroad in Rwanda as an undergrad in 2013 and conducted 6 months of fieldwork in Rwanda in 2022. She researches transitional justice, education, and collective memory in Rwanda (and Sierra Leone). Her dissertation work analyzes how parents and teachers who experienced genocide teach younger generations about their nation's violent history. 

At The University of Minnesota, Jillian has worked with the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies' Genocide Education Outreach Program, and she has also served as a teaching assistant and instructor-of-record for courses on violence, crime, and the law. In Sierra Leone, she also taught a course on Transitional Justice Mechanisms at the University of Sierra Leone.

• Genocide memorials, including Kigali, Nyamata, Ntarama, Murambi–US Embassy
• Murambi Art Museums and Local Markets
• Akagera National Park(Safari) and Nyungwe Forest National Park (Canopy Walk)
• Visits with survivors, rescuers, and peacebuilding NGOs

Contact Jillian LaBranche at [email protected] if you have questions or require additional information.

April 1, 2025

Summer 2025 Cost of Participation

Program fees can vary widely due to location, cost of living, airfare, and program inclusions. The program fee generally includes tuition, group flight airfare, airport transfers, in-country program related transportation, housing, some meals, entrances to course-related excursions and site visits, program administration, and international health insurance. You must also budget for passport and passport photos, some meals, textbooks, independent travel, and miscellaneous living expenses.

Email Jillian LaBranche at [email protected] for additional information until fees are posted..

If you wish to cancel your participation in the program, you must email the program leaders and submit a “Request for Cancellation of this Application” in your LAC application. Cancellation is effective from the date the request is submitted to the LAC application. You will likely continue to accrue non-recoverable costs until notification is sent.

The cancellation policy and relevant financial obligations also apply if you have been confirmed and your application is canceled by the instructors for failing to submit required materials by the deadline, and if you are dismissed from the program after it has already started.

You have the option to appeal the cancellation policy when canceling a program due to extenuating circumstances. Learn more about the LAC's cancellation policy and what constitutes as extenuating circumstances.

Financial Obligation

The application fee and confirmation deposit are non-refundable. The instructors reserve space in the program for you upon receipt of the Confirmation and Payment Agreement. At this point, the Program incurs certain non-recoverable costs.  Therefore, if you cancel at any time after the Confirmation and Payment Agreement has been received, you will be responsible for part or all of the program fee, as described in the sections below.

The application fee, deposit, and program fee, if applicable, will be fully refunded in the following cases:

• The instructors and/or the LAC cancel the course before the official start date or,
• You are a waitlisted student and your application is canceled because no additional spots became available in the program.

Refund Schedule

• 61 days or more prior to start date: Application fee + confirmation deposit +
  non-recoverable flight or affiliate costs
• 60 days or less prior to start date: Application fee + non-recoverable flight costs + 100%
  of remaining program costs