Holocaust and Memory — HIS

Instructor: Dr. Andrea PETŐ
E mail: petoand@t-online.hu Time: Tuesday 14.15- 17.00

Required Text: Reader available at the administration

One of the three novels:

Imre Kertesz, Fateless. Northwestern University Press, 1992.

Edith Bruck, Who loves you like this /; translated by Thomas Kelso ; introduction by Nelo Risi, Philadelphia : Paul Dry Books, 2001

Edith Bruck, Letter to my mother; translated by Brenda Webster with Gabriella Romani; introduced by Gabriella Romani. New York : Modern Language Association of America, 2007.

Available at the CEU Bookshop 5th district. Zrinyi 18, Tel: 327 3096, Website: www.ceu.hu, E-mail: bookshop@ceu.hu, Metro: M1 Deák tér/M2 Kossuth tér, Open: Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 10am-5pm.


Prerequisite: -

Course description
The course aims to interrogate the emerging field created by the intersection of Jewish Studies and Memory to study the literary and artistic representation of the Holocaust. The course covers the topics of how Memory of Holocaust is inscribed, framed, mediated and performed. The course also consists of field trips to the Jewish monuments of Hungary. It consists of two parts: an overview and theoretical introduction is followed by the analyses of the different forms of representation: literature, ego documents, films, internet, textbooks, statues, monuments, photos, oral histories.

COURSE REQUIREMENT:
Course requirements include a longer paper of min. 800 wods spaced (40%) about either Kertesz, Bruck, Weinman or Jancsó due for the last class. There will be four field trips each of them followed by a brief reaction paper of 500 words due after the next class. (10% of each). An active participation in class discusssion and the field trips (20%).

Reaction papers (500 words of each, 10%, total 40%, use MLA style)

1. Analyse the forms of representations in the Jewish Museum and Archive!
2. During the visit of the Holocaust Memorial Center analyze the representation of different experiences of the Holocaust?
3. Compare your experiences with the textbook: how to teach the Holocaust!
4. Bring a print out of one photo to the class with references that you think has got the most meaning for you about Holocaust! Be prepared to share your thoughts with the class!

Guidelines for reading

1. Compare the information in the articles with the novel you have read, would the same argument apply? Why? Why not? What are the differences?
2. How does the reading of these articles change your view of the Holocaust?
3. Whose problems are being addressed in these articles, who is asking questions, who provides the answers and who may profit from the knowledge and insights provided by these historians?
4. How do the historical scholarship and mainstream academia address the issue of experiences?