John King Roth
is an American-based author, editor, and the Edward J. Sexton Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at
Claremont McKenna College (CMC) in
Claremont, California. Roth taught at CMC from 1966 through 2006, where he was the founding director of the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights, which is now the Mgrublian Center for Human Rights. Best known for his contributions to
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
and
genocide studies
Genocide studies is an academic field of study that researches genocide. Genocide became a field of study in the mid-1940s, with the work of Raphael Lemkin, who coined ''genocide'' and started genocide research, and its primary subjects were the ...
, he is the author or editor of more than fifty books. In 1988, he was named the U.S. National Professor of the Year by the
Council for Advancement and Support of Education
The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) is a nonprofit association of educational institutions. It serves professionals in the field of educational advancement. This field encompasses alumni relations, communications, marketin ...
, and the
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Early life
Roth was born in Grand Haven, Michigan, on September 3, 1940. He received his B.A. from
Pomona College
Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became t ...
in 1962, graduating magna cum laude and with honors in philosophy and membership in Phi Beta Kappa. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy at
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
.
Career
After graduating from
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
, Roth joined the faculty at Claremont McKenna College, where he taught philosophy, with an emphasis on Holocaust and genocide studies. In 1985, Roth joined the economist Gordon Bjork and the political scientist
Ward Elliott
Ward Elliott (August 6, 1937 – December 6, 2022) was an American political scientist who was the Burnet C. Wohlford Professor of American Political Institutions at Claremont McKenna College (CMC) in California. Elliot had been a professor at CMC ...
to initiate what has become a signature program at CMC, the tutorial-based
philosophy, politics, and economics major. He has also served as a visiting professor of Holocaust studies at the
University of Haifa
The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming ...
(Israel) and visiting professor of philosophy at
Franklin College (Switzerland) and
Doshisha University
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(Japan). Roth was a
Fulbright Lecturer in
American studies
American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, history, society, and culture. It traditionally incorporates literary criticism, historiography and critical theory.
Schol ...
attached to the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Education, Research, and Church Affairs in
Oslo, Norway
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of i ...
, from 1995 to 1996. He served as the Robert and Carolyn Frederick Distinguished Visiting Professor of Ethics at
DePauw University
DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the ...
in
Greencastle, Indiana
Greencastle is a city in Greencastle Township, Putnam County, Indiana, United States, and the county seat of Putnam County. It was founded in 1821 by Ephraim Dukes on a land grant. He named the settlement for his hometown of Greencastle, Pennsylv ...
from 2007 to 2008.
Roth's expertise in Holocaust and genocide studies, as well as in
philosophy,
ethics
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...
,
American studies
American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, history, society, and culture. It traditionally incorporates literary criticism, historiography and critical theory.
Schol ...
, and
religious studies, has been advanced by postdoctoral appointments as a Graves Fellow in the Humanities, a Fulbright Lecturer in American Studies at the
University of Innsbruck
The University of Innsbruck (german: Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck; la, Universitas Leopoldino Franciscea) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. ...
, Austria, and a Fellow of the National Humanities Institute at
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
. He used a Demonstration Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to develop two model interdisciplinary courses: “Perspectives on the American Dream” and “The Holocaust.” With Professor
Kenji Yoshida
is a Japanese anime producer, manga artist and illustrator best known as the co-founder of Tatsunoko Production. Yoshida is the younger brother of Tatsuo Yoshida and the older brother of Ippei Kuri. He replaced Tatsuo as president after the l ...
of
Doshisha University
, mottoeng = Truth shall make you free
, tagline =
, established = Founded 1875,Chartered 1920
, vision =
, type = Private
, affiliation =
, calendar =
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, Roth received the first Faculty Pairing Grant awarded by the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission. In 2001, he held the Koerner Visiting Fellowship for the Study of the Holocaust at the
Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies
The Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies (OCHJS) is a recognised independent centre of the University of Oxford, England. Its research fellows teach on a variety of undergraduate and master's degrees in Oriental studies, and it publishes ...
in England. From 2004 to 2005, Roth was the Ina Levine Invitational Scholar at the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies,
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust hi ...
in Washington, D.C.
Roth was a member of the
United States Holocaust Memorial Council in
Washington, D.C.
)
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, and he served for many years on the church relations committee at the
US Holocaust Memorial Museum. In 1998, he was chosen to direct the
Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the museum, but he was criticized by national conservative media for some of his past writings, which were characterized as insufficiently supportive of Israel. The academic community largely rallied to his defense and the museum's council voted overwhelmingly to reaffirm his selection, condemning the criticism as "character assassination", but he withdrew from the position.
Roth is a former chair of the California Council for the Humanities and trustee of Humanities Washington, both affiliates of the
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...
. From 2010 to 2015, he served on the board of the Federation of State Humanities Councils, chairing that board from 2011 to 2013. In addition, Roth chairs the reading committee for the Elie Wiesel Essay Prize in Ethics and is currently active on the editorial boards of the International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, American Journal of Theology & Philosophy, and
Holocaust and Genocide Studies
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust his ...
. He also is editor of the Issues in Philosophy Series and the Holocaust and Genocide Studies Series published by
Paragon House
The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church, is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists, or "Moonies". It was officially founded on 1 May 1954 under the name Holy Spi ...
and the Stephen S. Weinstein Series in Post-Holocaust Studies, published by the
University of Washington Press
The University of Washington Press is an American academic publishing house. The organization is a division of the University of Washington, based in Seattle. Although the division functions autonomously, they have worked to assist the universi ...
.
Selected works
*''Advancing Holocaust Studies'' (Routledge, 2021).
*''Ethics During and After the Holocaust: In the Shadow of Birkenau'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005)
*''The Failures of Ethics: Confronting the Holocaust, Genocide, and Other Mass Atrocities'' (Oxford University Press, 2015)
*''Losing Trust in the World: Holocaust Scholars Confront Torture'' (University of Washington Press, 2017)
*''The Oxford Handbook of Holocaust Studies'' (Oxford University Press, 2010)
*''Teaching about Rape in War and Genocide'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016)
*''Sources of Holocaust Insight: Learning and Teaching about the Genocide'' (Cascade/Wipf and Stock, 2020)
Awards
*Claremont McKenna College Alumni Association Honorary Lifetime Membership, 1990
*Claremont McKenna College Crocker Award for Excellence, 1980, 1989, 1991, 2004
*Claremont McKenna College G. David Huntoon Senior Teaching Award, 1995
*Claremont McKenna College George C. S. Benson Distinguished Achievement Award, 2004
*Claremont McKenna College Glenn R. Huntoon Award for Superior Teaching, 2006
*Claremont McKenna College Presidential Award for Merit, 1987, 2004
*
Council for Advancement and Support of Education
The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) is a nonprofit association of educational institutions. It serves professionals in the field of educational advancement. This field encompasses alumni relations, communications, marketin ...
and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching’s U.S. National Professor of the Year, 1988
*Holocaust Educational Foundation’s Distinguished Achievement Award for Holocaust Studies and Research, 2012
Honorary Degrees
*Doctorate of Humane Letters,
Grand Valley State University, 1998
*Doctorate of Humane Letters,
Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion
The Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (also known as HUC, HUC-JIR, and The College-Institute) is a Jewish seminary with three locations in the United States and one location in Jerusalem. It is the oldest extant Jewish semi ...
, 1999
*Doctorate of Humane Letters,
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universi ...
, 1990
*Doctorate of Humane Letters,
Transylvania University
Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded in 1780 and was the first university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is accredited by the Southern ...
, 2006
*Doctorate of Humane Letters,
Western University of Health Sciences
Western University of Health Sciences (WesternU) is a private medical school and health sciences university with its main campus in Pomona, California, with an additional osteopathic medical school in Lebanon, Oregon. With an enrollment of 3,8 ...
, 1999
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roth, John K.
Living people
American philosophy academics
Claremont McKenna College faculty
American philosophers of religion
American male writers
Year of birth missing (living people)
Pomona College alumni
Yale University alumni