Guides: TAV Research Methods at McGill: Home

Getting Started

While at McGill, see the following encyclopedias:

Encyclopedia of Genocide by Israel W. Charny (Editor)
Call Number: HV6322.7 E53 1999
Written by almost 100 experts from many countries, this award winning text is the first reference work to chart the full extent of this horrific subject with objectivity and authority, including over 200 known genocides committed prior to the 21st century.
Encyclopedia of the Holocaust by Israel Gutman (Editor)
Call Number: D804.3 E53 1990
Reference Collection.

You can also view the following resources off campus:

Yale University Genocide Studies Program
The Genocide Studies Program at Yale’s MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies conducts research, seminars and conferences on comparative, interdisciplinary, and policy issues relating to the phenomenon of genocide. The website includes case studies and resources to study genocide.
Holocaust Encyclopedia (online)
From the United States Holocaust Museum.

Using McGill Resources

As a public institution, all of McGill's print resources are open to the public! You can use books from McGill's print collection on site, but you cannot check items out. If you bring a USB Key to the Library, you can use our Spirit Book Scanners to scan book chapters. These scanners can be found in the McLennan Library on the Main Floor.

Other Useful Guides from McGill Library

Holocaust Studies
by Sonia Smith Last Updated Aug 9, 2022 286 views this year
International Law
by Ana Rogers Last Updated Mar 8, 2023 1659 views this year

Look for Human Rights in the International Law Guide.

Find Secondary Sources

Academic Search Complete (BAnQ)
With your BAnQ credentials, you have access to Academic Search Complete which is an excellent resource to search for journal articles.
For items not available as Full Text, you can request them Interlibrary Loan from the BAnQ (prêt entre bibliothèques publiques, or PEB).
BAnQ PEB
Instructions (en français) on how to request an item from the BAnQ via Interlibrary Loan (PEB/Le service de prêt entre bibliothèques).

Find Online Resources

Armenian Genocide (1915-1917)

The Armenian Allegation of Genocide: The Issues and the Facts
From Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Armenian National Institute: Genocide Research
The Armenian National Institute is dedicated to the study, research, and affirmation of the Armenian Genocide. On this page, the institute offers selected primary sources for the study of the Armenian genocide, including photos, sample documents, and press coverage.
Armenian Museum of America: Sound Archive
The Armenian Museum of America offers selections of its 3,000 disc collection of early Armenian recordings and musical ephemera, many from the Armenian American diaspora.
The Armenian Genocide Museum Institute
Offers photographs and useful maps and chronology.
Film: My Son Shall Be Armenian
Exploring the question of Armenian identity, My Son Shall Be Armenian follows filmmaker Hagop Goudsouzian, who travels with five Montreal men and women of Armenian descent to the land of his ancestors in search of survivors of the 1915 genocide. Through interviews with elders and the touching accounts of his fellow travellers, Goudsouzian has crafted a dignified and poignant film on the need to make peace with the past in order to turn toward the future. In French with English subtitles.

Holocaust (1941-45)

Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonials
This website is devoted to collecting and cataloging the testimonies of survivors of the Holocaust. Requires a login to access testimonials.
Survivors' Stories (Montreal Holocaust Museum)
The Montreal Holocaust Museum has dozens of testimonials of Canadian Holocaust Survivors available on its website which are part of a project to digitize and preserve the testimonies of Holocaust survivors across Canada.
Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center
As the Jewish people’s living memorial to the Holocaust, Yad Vashem safeguards the memory of the past and imparts its meaning for future generations.

Sixties Scoop (1951-1980s)

The Canadian government has not formally recognized the historical and present treatment of Indigenous peoples as acts of genocide; however, many historians, legal scholars, and activists have claimed that treatments of Indigenous peoples such as the Sixties Scoop and the Residential School System amount to genocide.

Sixties Scoop (Canadian Encyclopedia)
Background article on the Sixties Scoop from the well-regarded online resource the Canadian Encyclopedia.
Sixties Scoop (Indigenous Foundations UBC)
Informative article on the Sixties Scoop and Indigenous child welfare, including a curated list of further resources at the end.
TRC Summary Report
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada identified the Sixties Scoop as part of systemic cultural genocide against Indigenous peoples.
In Our Words
In Our Words is a website dedicated to sharing the stories of Sixties Scoop survivors and connecting survivors with each other and their birth families. The Map feature allows you to visualize where survivors were born, and pins include testimonials of survivors who are comfortable sharing their stories.
Film: Birth of a Family
In this deeply moving feature-length documentary, three sisters and a brother meet for the first time. Removed from their young Dene mother during the infamous Sixties Scoop, they were separated as infants and adopted into families across North America.
Film: Richard Cardinal: Cry from a Diary of a Métis Child
In this short documentary, Abenaki director Alanis Obomsawin weaves excerpts from Richard Cardinal’s diary into a powerful tribute to his short life. Released in 1984—decades before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission—the film exposed the systemic neglect and mistreatment of Indigenous children in Canada’s child welfare system.

Cambodian Genocide (1975-79)

The Canadian government has not recognized the Cambodian genocide as an instance of genocide.

The Cambodian Genocide Program (Yale)
Since 1994, the award-winning Cambodian Genocide Program, a project of the Genocide Studies Program at Yale University’s MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies, has been studying these events to learn as much as possible about the tragedy, and to help determine who was responsible for the crimes of the Pol Pot regime. This resource includes publications, chronology, photographs, and more.
Khmer Legacies Video Histories
This GSP Vimeo site contains collections of video interviews with genocide survivors and rescuers: currently 148 videos from the Khmer Legacies Video Histories (KLVH), a series of interviews with Cambodian survivors compiled by 2007-10 GSP Visiting Fellow, Socheata Poeuv.
Cambodia Tribunal Monitor
Cambodia Tribunal Monitor is a consortium of academic, philanthropic, and non-profit organizations committed to providing public access to the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia and open discussion throughout the judicial process.
Survivors' Stories (Digital Archives of Cambodian Holocaust Survivors)
The Digital Archives of Cambodian Holocaust Survivors is an ad hoc group inspired by the reach of the web to create a digital archive that is accessible to all and acts to preserve and protect the memories of the Cambodian Genocide.

Anfal Genocide (1986-89)

The Canadian government has not recognized the Anfal genocide as an instance of genocide.

BBC News Archive
The BBC News published a series of important stories on the Anfal Trial in the 2000s. Try searching for keywords like "Kurds", "Anfal", "Genocide"
Human Rights Watch: Genocide in Iraq Report
This report from Human Rights Watch is a narrative account of a campaign of extermination against the Kurds of northern Iraq.

Bosnian Genocide (1992-95)

The Canadian government has recognized the Srebenica Massacre (1995) as an instance of genocide.

Clinton Digital Library: Bosnia
The digital collection of U.S. President Bill Clinton includes a collection labeled Bosnia that consists of records related to Bosnia from the files of Jane Holl, director of the European Affairs Office of the National Security Council (1991-1994) and Donald Kerrick, director of the European Affairs Office of the National Security Council (1994-1995).
Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1992–1995 (USHMM)
From the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, this page provides an overview of the Bosnian Genocide and provides links to some primary sources.

Rwandan Genocide (1994)

Living Archives
The Living Archives Project is a digital repository of life stories of Rwandan exiles and genocide survivors in Canada.
Clinton Digital Library: Rwanda
The digital collection of U.S. President Bill Clinton includes a research guide devoted to Rwanda, which includes declassified documents concerning Rwanda and digitized records.
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (UN)
Legacy website of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
Film: Chronicle of a Genocide Foretold
The cornerstone of The Rwanda Series, this volume in three parts recounts a horrifying crime that could have been prevented by the international community and international law. Shot over three years, Chronicle of a Genocide Foretold follows several Rwandans before, during and after the genocide. All 3 parts are available via free streaming on the NFB website; this link is to Part 1: Blood Was Flowing Like a River.
Film: Hand of God, Hand of the Devil
Part of the Rwanda Series, this film raises disturbing questions about Canada's role in Rwanda. Having assisted the former regime, will Canadian aid now sow the seeds for a new crop of killers?

Darfur Genocide (2003-present)

The Canadian government has not recognized the Darfur genocide as an instance of genocide.

Darfur Bibliography (USHMM)
From the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, an overview of the Darfur Genocide with links to further resources, including primary sources.
International Criminal Court Records in Darfur
Documents and court records related to "alleged genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in in Darfur, Sudan, since 1 July 2002."
Sudan Case Study (Yale)
Hosted by the Yale Genocide Studies Program.
Sudan Open Archive
The Sudan Open Archive offers free digital access to knowledge about all regions of Sudan.

Collections at McGill

There are some items that may be of interest held in McGill University Archives or McGill's Rare Books and Special Collections. The general public are welcome to consult materials by appointment in the Reading Room. The Reading Room is open 10 AM - 6 PM, Monday to Friday. Please submit requests to rarebooks.library@mcgill.ca at least 24 hours in advance of your visit.

Saul Shapiro Collection of Anglo-American Judaica
There are a number of items related to the Holocaust in the Saul Shapiro Collection of Anglo-American Judaica. The link here will bring you to a search in the McGill Library Catalogue that will include items of interest.
John Peters Humphrey Fonds (McGill University Archives)
The fonds of the accession files consists of correspondence, drafts for the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (1947), publications, conference material, relating to human rights worldwide, diaries, plaques given to honour professor Humphrey's work on the United Nations Declaration for Human Rights, related photographs and books used in the exhibit. Finding aid available by request by emailing refdesk.archives@mcgill.ca.
Palmer Cox Collection: Speech about the Armenian Genocide
Item consists of the beginning of a speech, delivered likely in a East Quogue (N.Y.) Hall, concerning the Armenian genocide and World War I. From the Palmer Cox Collection, an author and illustrator born in Quebec.

Helpful Websites

UN Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect
This office works to prevent genocide through early warning systems and raising awareness on atrocities around the world.
Genocide Watch
The coordinating organization for the International Campaign to End Genocide (ICEG), an international coalition of organizations dedicated to educating the general public and policy makers about the causes, processes, and warning signs of genocide.
United to End Genocide
“Established in 2005, United to End Genocide is mobilizing the first permanent anti-genocide constituency committed to stopping the worst atrocities around the world.”