The Holocaust
HIST 376
Fall 2008
| Section:
01
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| Certificates: International Relations, Jewish and Israel Studies |
| Course Cluster: Jewish and Israel Studies |
Is it possible to make sense of the horror that was the Holocaust? Can this history ever be normalized or analyzed impartially, and if so, is such objectivity desirable given the poignant moral claims of this history and its enmeshment with politics? This advanced seminar explores these and other questions in the ongoing challenge of coming to terms with National Socialism and the Holocaust. The course is intended for history majors and advanced students in related fields who already possess a good working knowledge of German, Jewish and/or European history. Rather than treating the Holocaust in isolation, this course will situate it within the history of Nazi Germany by making use of the latest interpretive tools and methods and an extensive collection of primary sources from this field to explore the unique set of problems Holocaust history poses and the means that historians have developed to address them. Most of the course will be devoted to the development of a research project that will culminate in a substantial research paper of 15-20 pages. The aims of the seminar are to impart a good grasp of the main outlines of the Holocaust, develop and refine the skills of historical research, and cultivate a critical awareness of the possibilities and limits of history as a tool of analysis. |
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Essential Capabilities:
Interpretation, Writing
This seminar will focus on the problems of historical interpretation encountered in the history of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust and l culminate in a longer research paper.
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS HIST |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: HIST203 |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Omer Bartov, ed., HOLOCAUST: ORIGINS, IMPLEMENTATION, AFTERMATH (London and New York: Routledge, 2000).
Deborah Dwork and Robert van Pelt, HOLOCAUST: A HISTORY (New York: Norton, 2002).
Saul Friedländer, NAZI GERMANY AND THE JEWS, 2 vols. (New York: HarperCollins, 1997-2007).
Ian Kershaw, THE NAZI DICTATORSHIP: PROBLEMS AND PERSPECTIVES OF INTERPRETATION, 4th ed. (London and New York: Edward Arnold, 2000).
Victor Klemperer, I WILL BEAR WITNESS: A DIARY OF THE NAZI YEARS, 2 vols., translated by Martin Chalmers (New York: Modern Library, 1999).
Heda Margolius Kovaly, UNDER A CRUEL STAR: A LIFE IN PRAGUE 1941-1968, translated by Franci Epstein and Helen Epstein (New York: Holmes and Meyer, 1997).
Michael L. Morgan, A HOLOCAUST READER: RESPONSES TO THE NAZI EXTERMINATION (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001).
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Examinations and Assignments:
Attendance and participation 10%
Midterm 30%
Prospectus 10%
Seninar presentation 10%
Final research paper 40% |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
While there are no prerequisite courses for this seminar, preference will be given to history majors and non-majors with some coursework in European history. |
| Instructor(s): Grimmer-Solem,Erik Times: ..T.R.. 10:30AM-11:50AM; Location: PAC421; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 19 | | SR major: 5 | JR major: 6 | | |
| Seats Available: 8 | GRAD: 0 | SR non-major: 8 | JR non-major: 0 | SO: X | FR: X |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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