Defense Date
3-31-2020
Graduation Date
Spring 5-8-2020
Availability
One-year Embargo
Submission Type
thesis
Degree Name
MA
Department
History
School
McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts
Committee Chair
Robin P. Chapdelaine
Committee Member
Andrew Simpson
Keywords
Rwanda, Africa, genocide, Hutu, Tutsi, independence, colonial, Belgium, United Nations
Abstract
During the Rwandan genocide, Hutu targeted Tutsi and allies. Interpreting this complex event requires examining the late 1950s. Analyzing Tutsi and Hutu in central Rwanda in 1957 improves understanding of political and social context preceding the genocide. This study rejects that the genocide occurred as an inevitable event. Instead, it layers domestic actors with international groups: the White Fathers missionaries; the United Nations; Belgium; and the United States. Analyzing each group and synthesizing their interactions elevates Rwanda’s history from the falsehood of ancient adversaries to a complex, modern narrative. Studying Rwandan rhetoric and responses to it provides an opportunity to display and study Rwandan agency and identity. This research analyzes sources from Tutsi and the Hutu perspectives, the White Fathers, the UN Visiting Mission, and Belgian reports. It provides a complex understanding of each group’s actions. The study concludes by integrating the 1994 genocide, therefore presenting a nuanced view of identity and group dynamics in this transformative time of Rwandan history.
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Rollinson, A. E. (2020). Agency, Identity, and Authority in Rwanda: 1950s Political Rhetoric as a Bridge to Post-Colonial Genocide (Master's thesis, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1889