USC Dornsife Center for Advanced Genocide Research

Since its founding in 2014, the USC Dornsife Center for Advanced Genocide Research (previously USC Shoah Foundation Center for Advanced Genocide Research) has concentrated its efforts on developing an innovative research agenda. While it welcomes and supports creative and interdisciplinary research that focuses on genocide in general, the Center’s own research programs focus on three distinct areas:

• Resistance to genocide and mass violence
• Violence, emotion and behavioral change
• Digital genocide studies

The Center organizes a rich academic program consisting of international fellowships and annual conferences, a lecture series and unique research opportunities such as the Interdisciplinary Research Week and the graduate student research workshop with Yad Vashem.

The Center advances interdisciplinary research by supporting the most innovative fellows, conference presenters, guest speakers, workshop and Research Week participants, as well as visiting scholars. 

Alongside its research programs and activities, the Center also encourages faculty to incorporate testimonies into their research and university teaching. The Center trains and supports faculty in conducting their own research that then feeds into their lectures and seminars. It also promotes assigning research projects to students since serious scholarly engagement and research with the testimonies provides the most valuable educational experience.

The Center was originally founded as the academic arm of the USC Shoah Foundation. In 2021, the Center became an independent research center within the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences.