Human Rights Education Now! Episodes 40 & 41 Live with Sam Totten

[Human Rights Educators USA]

Dear Friends of Human Rights Educators USA,

Human Rights Education Now! Episodes 40 & 41 with Sam Totten are live!

Sam Totten is professor emeritus at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. His areas of research are: crimes against humanity and genocide in Sudan; the current war in Ukraine; the impact of genocide on the individual and the local community; the intervention and prevention of genocide; and the denial of genocide. Sam has served as an investigator with the U.S. State Department’s Atrocities Documentation Project, and as a Fulbright Scholar at the Centre for Conflict Management at the National University of Rwanda. His publications include: We Cannot Forget: Interviews with Survivors of the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda; Genocide by Attrition: Nuba Mountains, Sudan; Conflict in the Nuba Mountains: From Genocide by Attrition to the Current Crises; Sudan’s Nuba Mountains People Under Siege: Accounts by Humanitarians from the Battle Zone; Dirty Hands and Vicious Deeds: The U.S. Government’s Complicity in Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide; Centuries of Genocide: Critical Essays and Eyewitness Accounts; and All Eyes on the Sky – The Nuba Mountains, Sudan. 

In Episode 40, Sam Totten discusses the origins of his interest in human rights issues, as well as his transition into human rights education. Sam then describes his publications on HRE, along with his work with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council/Museum and the Guidelines for Teaching about the Holocaust. Next, Sam shares his engagement with high school Amnesty International Chapters, before briefly touching on the fall of Communism and the opening of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Sam examines the evolution of the field of genocide studies, debates about definitions of genocide, and the growth of journals and electronic media sites in genocide studies. Sam expands on his work as an a scholar-activist, including his investigative work in Darfur with refugees and humanitarian work in the Nuba Mountains

in Sudan. 

In Episode 41,  Sam Totten discusses the Genocide Studies Program in Rwanda and the challenges of implementing a masters curriculum. Sam then describes revisionist history, the Rwandan genocide, and issues-centered curriculum and human rights education. Next, Sam shares his thoughts on censorship issues in the United States, and his concerns about curriculum restrictions in K-12 and higher education. Sam analyzes issues around book banning and attacks on teachers, as well as self-censorship by educators. Sam then highlights his role models in human rights education (HRE) and key quotes which epitomize his views on HRE. Lastly, Sam concludes with his recommendation for advancing HRE in the United States, along with his concerns about the implications of Project 2025 if Donald Trump is re-elected and the importance of educators resisting censorship.

All episodes of Human Rights Education Now! are available on:

Buzzsprout, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Deezer, PlayerFM, Pocket Casts, and the HRE USA website,

HRE USA would love to learn how listeners are using episodes in their classrooms and with their communities. Please send comments and ideas for classroom use to kri...@hreusa.org. 

Thank you for supporting the Human Rights Education NOW! podcast!

With warmest wishes, 

The HRE USA Podcast Team 

For Listeners: Moved from Google Podcasts to YouTube Music in April

• Google Podcast was discontinued on April 2, 2024.

• We moved all our episodes onto YouTube Music. 

• All previously published episodes will remain available on Apple Podcasts,Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Deezer, and PlayerFM. 

Thank you for supporting the Human Rights Education NOW! podcast!