Prof. Renato Matić, PhD, and Assist. Prof. Ivan Perkov, PhD, from the Department of Sociology at the Faculty of Croatian Studies (FHS), have been awarded a grant of USD 4,000 from Northwestern University to support the development and enhancement of a course dedicated to teaching about the Holocaust for the 2026/2027 academic year.

The grant is part of a support program awarded to a limited number of instructors and universities worldwide with the aim of strengthening Holocaust education and improving teaching content and methodologies. The award recognizes the quality of their previous work and their systematic, interdisciplinary, and pedagogically grounded approach to the subject.

The course “Holocaust” is offered within the graduate sociology program and provides students with a theoretical and comparative insight into the historical, social, and political dimensions of the Holocaust. The curriculum includes analysis of sociological theories of power and violence, the study of antisemitism, fascism, and Nazism, as well as comparative perspectives on genocides after the Second World War. Special emphasis is placed on memory culture, the role of society and the state in crimes against humanity, and the critical interpretation of sources and contemporary forms of denial.

The awarded funds will enable further curriculum development, the inclusion of new sources and teaching materials, and the expansion of international academic cooperation. The grant also represents an important form of international institutional recognition. It confirms that Croatian scholars, and particularly the teaching staff of the Department of Sociology at the Faculty of Croatian Studies, actively participate in global academic discussions on memory, history, and social responsibility.

At a time of increasing historical revisionism and the relativization of crimes, Holocaust education is considered essential for understanding responsibility and preventing violent ideologies.