Northern Ont. university dares to look at the darkest side of human nature

Last weekend, Nipissing University in North Bay opened the Centre of the Study of State Violence, which will look at subjects such as the Nazi or Rwandan genocides, as well as broader cases of when a state sponsors violence against identifiable groups. (Supplied)

Last weekend, Nipissing University in North Bay opened the Centre of the Study of State Violence, which will look at subjects such as the Nazi or Rwandan genocides, as well as broader cases of when a state sponsors violence against identifiable groups.

“State violence is many, many, many things,” said Dr. Hilary Earl, director of the Centre and a history professor.

“It isn’t just war atrocities and genocide, and it isn’t just war crimes or crimes against humanity in the legal framework.”

Not just genocide

State violence includes less obvious elements such as educational policies, where the population is taught that it’s not only OK to hate certain groups, but justified.

“In the case of Nazi Germany, the state used the educational system as a way to indoctrinate just average Germans,” Earl said.

“One could make the case that in Canada, in the United States and various other places around the world that practiced colonialism at some point or another, used our curriculum to indoctrinate people.”

Even a lack of environmental protections for land considered sacred to Indigenous people “could also be considered state violence,” she said.

“What we’re actually talking about is structural violence and all its incarnations.”

Earl is aware that passing such judgements can lead to political pitfalls, particularly at a time when populist movements are emerging that, for example, demonize immigrants. Ways of defining the war in Gaza and the reemergence of antisemitism are other areas where the debate is white hot across the globe.

“In the case of my colleagues and myself, and the people who work in this centre, we don’t shy away from difficult subjects,” she said.

“We don’t shy away from the present. In fact, we embrace it full on … in the sense that we have difficult conversations about the present and where, you know, these situations have emerged.”

Earl said they won’t back away from issues such as Gaza or the current climate surrounding immigration, because having the academic freedom for discussions on these topics is vital.

“We’re very fortunate that we have a president who believes in academic freedom,” she said.

“We have the freedom to actually talk about ideas in the classroom. … It would be an awful thing, as a university, if you cancelled everyone that you disagreed with -- it would be an awful thing.”

When asked why the university decided to open a centre dedicated to the study of such a dark side of human nature, Earl said it’s about finding a way forward to a better future.

“It isn’t just about the violence part of things; it’s also about the repair and it’s about the future, about moving forward,” she said.

“It’s about reconciliation. You know, in Canada, we’re living through a period of reconciliation that requires us to examine the dark parts (of our history). But also think about the ways that we can partner and move forward and change things and create laws that improve everybody’s lives.”

The goal is also to create “informed citizens in the world who hopefully will change policies in the future.”

“It isn’t just about right now, or the terrible things that happened, but it’s also about the hopeful things that can happen in the future,” Earl said.

“It’s about understanding and documenting and thinking about how we can not make those mistakes again. So it is, yes, it’s dark, but it’s also hopeful.”

In practical terms, Earl said students at the centre will engage in research, create films and podcasts, as well as artwork on the topic of state violence.

“So, it’s really a multi-purpose, multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary space that generates knowledge in a variety of ways, including partnerships with the community,” she said.

“It’s also a space of politics and thinking about current events, you know, the displacement of people as a result of war which is going on today ... We’ll have discussions about racism, (about) the polarity between the Jewish and Palestinian communities --we’re having discussions about those things.”

While she admits to being concerned that discussions at the centre could be misinterpreted or used in a negative way – especially in the era of AI – Earl said they plan to focus on fairness and open dialogue, and not be derailed.

“Especially with AI these days, you just don’t know what’s going to materialize online … or how things are going to be taken out of context,” she said.

“The best way to deal with that, often, is to ignore it ... Try not to engage it, don’t give the algorithm any food to feed it, and you know, that’s about all you can do, really.”

More information about the centre can be found here.