Religion, Holocaust, and Genocide Unit and Science, Technology, and Religion Unit

Cruel Science and Religion
For a possible dual-sponsored session with the Science, Technology, and Religion Unit and the Religion, Holocaust and Genocide Unit, we invite papers on cruel science and religion. What are specific ways that “science” and technology have contributed to human rights abuses, genocide, and other mass atrocities? What role has (pseudo)-science and played in justifying such tragedies? Specific papers could focus on historical or contemporary examples of the intersection of science and violence (including both the role of technological development in facilitating genocide, and the role of genocide in facilitating technological development through medical experimentation on prisoner populations). Of particular interest are submissions that attend to how religious actors and institutions have abetted or resisted these instances of cruel science. Papers accepted for this session will be considered by Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal for possible inclusion in a focus issue.