A Conversation With Dr. Amy Randall

How did the current definition of genocide come into existence? Why is it important to conceptualize genocide from a gendered lens? In today’s episode of Conversations on Genocide, Podcast Team member Aline explores these questions and many others with Dr. Amy Randall, a History Professor at Santa Clara University. Dr. Randall discusses in detail the issues surrounding the legal definition of genocide and the importance of recognizing gender-based violence as an act of genocide. We’d like to thank Dr. Randall for taking the time to share her insights with us. If you wish to keep up with her work, please email her at arandall@scu.edu and consult her book, Genocide and Gender in the Twentieth Century.

Content Warning: Mentions of sexual and gender-based violence.

Amy Randall is Professor of History, Chair of the History Department, Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies by courtesy appt, and Associate Director for the Center for Arts and Humanities at Santa Clara University in California.

Randall is a Soviet historian and a gender studies and genocide studies scholar. Recent scholarship has focused on Soviet masculinities during the Khrushchev and early Brezhnev years, including a recent article in the Journal of Modern History, “Soviet and Russian Masculinities: Rethinking Soviet Fatherhood after Stalin and Renewing Virility in the Russian Nation under Putin." She is also the editor of the expanded and updated 2nd edition of the collection, Genocide and Gender in the Twentieth Century: A Comparative Survey (Bloomsbury, 2022), which includes a new introduction by Randall as well as her chapter, “Imperialism, Modern Race Thinking, Gender, and Genocide.”

Sources

• Randall, A. E. (Ed.). (2021). Genocide and gender in the twentieth century: A comparative survey. Bloomsbury Publishing. https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/genocide-and-gender-in-the-twentieth-century-9781350111004/
• Lemkin, R. (2014). Axis rule in occupied Europe: Laws of occupation, analysis of government, proposals for redress. The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005077436&seq=1
• Kimble, S. L. (2023). Internationalist Women against Nazi Atrocities in Occupied Europe, 1941–1947. Journal of Women's History, 35(1), 57-79. https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/883519
• Weiss-Wendt, A. (2017). The Soviet Union and the gutting of the UN Genocide Convention. University of Wisconsin Pres. https://uwpress.wisc.edu/books/5556.htm
• Madley, B. (2016). An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe, 1846-1873. Yale University Press. https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300230697/an-american-genocide/
• Warren, M. A. (1985). Gendercide: The implications of sex selection. https://philpapers.org/rec/WARGTI
• Jones, A. (2006). Straight as a rule: Heteronormativity, gendercide, and the noncombatant male. Men and Masculinities, 8(4), 451-469. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/31755559_Straight_as_a_Rule_Heteronormativity_Gendercide_and_the_Non-Combatant_Male
• Jones, A. (2006). Why gendercide? Why root-and-branch? A comparison of the Vendée uprising of 1793–94 and the Bosnian war of the 1990s. Journal of Genocide Research, 8(1), 9-25. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233456980_Why_Gendercide_Why_Root-and-Branch_A_Comparison_of_the_Vendee_Uprising_of_1793-94_and_the_Bosnian_War_of_the_1990s
• Jones, A. (2004). Gendercide and genocide. Vanderbilt University. https://www.vanderbiltuniversitypress.com/9780826514455/gendercide-and-genocide/
• Jones, A. (2000). Gendercide and genocide. Journal of Genocide Research, 2(2), 185-211. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233372180_Gendercide_and_Genocide
• Jones, A. (2002). Gender and genocide in Rwanda. Journal of genocide research, 4(1), 65-94. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/240532565_Gender_and_Genocide_in_Rwanda
• Jones, A. (2003). Review Essay-Gendercide: A Response to Carpenter. The International Journal of Human Rights, 7(1), 141-147. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263522834_Review_Essay_-_Gendercide_A_Response_to_Carpenter
• Jones, A. (2016). Genocide: A comprehensive introduction. Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Genocide-A-Comprehensive-Introduction/Jones/p/book/9781138823846
• Jacobs, J. (2010). Memorializing the Holocaust: Gender, genocide and collective memory. Bloomsbury Publishing. https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/memorializing-the-holocaust-9781848851030/
• Christopher, B. (1992). Ordinary men: Reserve police battalion 101 and the final solution in Poland. https://www.ias.edu/sites/default/files/sss/pdfs/Ordinary%20Men.pdf
• Fitzpatrick, S. (2017). The Russian Revolution. Oxford University Press. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-russian-revolution-9780198806707?cc=se&lang=en"

Mental Health Resources

The content featured in this podcast may be emotionally disturbing and intense. Listener discretion is advised. Please consult this document for mental health resources if needed.

U.S.-Based Resources:

• SAMHSA’s National Helpline: 1-800-662-4357
• Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: 988
• Open Path Collective: https://openpathcollective.org/
• BIPOC Mental Health Resources: https://www.thementalhealthcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/BIPOC-Mental-Health-Resources.pdf

Global Resources:

• Befrienders: https://befrienders.org/
• Find a Helpline: https://findahelpline.com/
• I Call Helpline: https://icallhelpline.org/
• 13 Yarn: https://www.13yarn.org.au/
• Help Guide: https://www.helpguide.org/find-help.htm

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