Persecution and Genocide

In Persecution and Genocide: A History, Gervase Phillips takes a broad look at persecution from Ancient times to the present day.

Eschewing the determisnism that ascribes intolerance to 'human nature', reinforced by those who have sought an explanation for our species' propensity for aggression in its evolutionary psychology, Phillips covers topics such as the debates around 'human nature' and persecutio; the Roman persecution of the Christians, the persecutions of heretics in the Medieval and EarlyModern periods, the persecutions of Witches in Early Modern Europe; ideologies of Race and their role in persecution; Judeophobia and Anti-Semitism; and Mass Murder in the Twentieth Century. The stories of persecution htta he tells remind us that persecution is rarely a simple matter; instances can only be properly understood historically, in their own time and place. Although Phillips draws on insights from psychology, sociology and anthropology, an historical focus illustrates how particular and unique circumstances give rise to specific episodes of persecution. It demonstrates t that persecution, despite its seeming ubiquity, is not our destiny and its long, grim history can, therefore, be brought to an end.

As the fisrt scholarly study of persecution, as a discreet historical phenomenon, Persecution and Genocide: A History is the perfect guide to all students interested in the development of the world we live in today.