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Which Genocide Matters the Most? An Intersectionality Analysis of the Canadian Museum of Human Rights

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2014

Olena Hankivsky  and
Rita Kaur Dhamoon
Olena Hankivsky*
Affiliation:
Simon Fraser University
Rita Kaur Dhamoon*
Affiliation:
University of Victoria
*
Olena Hankivsky, School of Public Policy, and Institute for Intersectionality Research and Policy, Simon Fraser University at Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver BC V6B 5K3, email: oah@sfu.ca
Rita Kaur Dhamoon, Department of Political Science, University of Victoria, PO Box 1700 STN CSC, Victoria BC, V8W 2Y2, email: dhamoonr@uvic.ca
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Abstract

Abstract. The Canadian Museum of Human Rights, scheduled to open in 2014, is envisioned as a place to learn about the struggle for human rights in Canada and internationally. Yet the museum has faced controversy because of the centrality of the Holocaust in the overall human rights story, prompting other groups whose nations and populations have experienced genocide to make demands that the museum provide equal treatment of other national and international atrocities. Through a feminist intersectionality lens, we examine this “Oppression Olympics,” whereby groups compete for the mantle of the most oppressed, as a case study of the problem with hierarchies of difference. Drawing on intersectionality theory, we ultimately provide an alternative lens and policy direction to the apparent impasse between competing communities.

Résumé. Le Musée canadien pour les droits de la personne, dont l'ouverture est prévue en 2014, est envisagé comme un lieu d'apprentissage sur la lutte pour les droits humains au Canada et dans le monde. Cependant, le Musée a suscité la controverse en raison de l'accent qu'il met sur l'Holocauste dans l'histoire générale des droits de la personne, et il a incité d'autres groupes dont les nations et les populations ont connu le génocide à demander un traitement équitable d'autres atrocités nationales et internationales. Sous l'angle de l'intersectionnalité féministe, nous examinons ces « Jeux olympiques de l'oppression », dans lesquels des groupes concourent pour le titre de plus opprimé, comme une étude de cas du problème des hiérarchies de la différence. En s'appuyant sur la théorie intersectionnelle, nous fournissons une optique et une orientation politique alternative pour aborder l'impasse apparente entre des communautés concurrentes.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 46 , Issue 4 , December 2013 , pp. 899 - 920
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association 2013 

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