Illuminating the unique experiences of women both during and after genocide, JoAnn DiGeorgio-Lutz and Donna Gosbee’s edited collection is a vital addition to genocide scholarship. The contributors revisit genocides of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, from Armenia in 1915 to Gujarat in 2002, examining the roles of women as victims, witnesses, survivors, and rescuers. The text underscores women’s experiences as a central yet often overlooked component to the understanding of genocide.

Drawing from narratives, memoirs, testimonies, and literature, this ground-breaking volume brings together women’s stories of victimization, trauma, and survival. Each chapter is framed by a consistent methodology to allow for a comparative analysis, revealing the ways in which women’s experiences across genocides are similar and yet profoundly different.

By looking at genocide from a gendered perspective, Women and Genocide constitutes an important contribution to feminist research on war and political violence. Featuring critical thinking questions and concise histories of each genocidal period discussed, this highly accessible text is an ideal resource for both students and instructors in this field and for anyone interested in the study of women’s lives in times of violence and conflict.

JoAnn DiGeorgio-Lutz is a Professor of Political Science and the Department Head of Liberal Studies at Texas A&M University (Galveston Campus). She teaches courses on comparative genocide, foreign policy, and international relations. She has published widely in a variety of formats on genocide in Guatemala and Cambodia and is the recipient of two J. William Fulbright Awards.

JoAnn DiGeorgio-Lutz's profile page

Donna Gosbee is a PhD student at the Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas. She is a Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Scholar and a former adjunct instructor teaching Holocaust coursework at Texas A&M University–Commerce. Donna’s research and writing have primarily focused on the experiences of the Roma and Sinti during the Holocaust.

Donna Gosbee's profile page

"Covering an unusually broad range of genocides around the world, this volume assembles highly original, empirically rich, and methodologically thoughtful research on the suffering and the agency of women during and after events of mass violence in France, Romania, Armenia, Cambodia, Rwanda, Guatemala, Kosovo, India, and Bangladesh in the 20th century. This book is a must-read for students of women’s history and genocides, and it may serve as a model for further explorations into the gendered experience of violence, terror, and war."— “Thomas Kühne, Strassler Professor of Holocaust History, Clark University

"This powerful compendium makes the never-told and forgotten stories of women who survived or perished in twentieth century and twenty-first century genocides unforgettable. It makes a strong contribution to understanding how genocides are gendered and why women’s voices and lives matter in the study of and resistance to genocides."— “Anne Sisson Runyan, Professor, Departments of Political Science and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, University of Cincinnati