Course Catalogue

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This interdisciplinary course examines responses to the Holocaust in imaginative works and the impact of this catastrophic event in contemporary culture, exploring the tensions between efforts to make sense of the Holocaust and to narrate it, and broader cultural discourses about genocide and its meanings. It will address historical facts, as well as the theological, moral, philosophical, and cultural legacy of the Holocaust as represented through memoirs, novels, poetry, drama, and film.

1x2hr seminar per week over 10 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus.

This is one of the Level 3 options in TRS and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on MyCampus.

Grade D3 or above in any TRS level 2 course or at the discretion of the Head of Theology and Religious Studies.

TRS3023 The Holocaust and Ethics of Representation

TRS4053 The Holocaust and Ethics of Representation

TRS4087 Holocaust Narratives and the Ethics of Representation

None

The standard assessments for this course are: 

■ Essay (2,500 words) - 65%

■ Presentation of 5 minutes - 10%

■ Book Review (1,000 words) - 25%

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available: 

■ There are no alternatives to the essay or book review, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustment (Students should follow the usual process for extensions). 

■ Recorded presentation as alternative to presentation.

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.  

This course will provide the opportunity to:

■ explore the history and events of the Holocaust through a wide range of texts and cultural material, including: anti-Jewish propaganda, historical accounts, journals and diaries from the 1940s, memoirs written by survivors after the events, documentary footage, and fiction and narrative films that re-imagine the Holocaust;

■ focus on the parallel processes of narration and commemoration of events that seem to defy comprehension and explore ethical dilemmas that arise from these narratives;

■ analyse and investigate the production of history and historical memory (and the differences between those), and the set of cultural meanings that an event such as the Holocaust acquires;

■ examine ethical questions raised by historians, theologians, philosophers, psychologists, writers and film directors.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ offer an account of the history of the Holocaust, how it came about, and what kinds of moral and ethical questions this event raises;

■ address key dilemmas of Holocaust representation;

■ evaluate the ideas that motivated those most responsible for the Holocaust;

■ carry out close readings and analysis of course texts and film to identify ways that people have coped with personal and cultural trauma through aesthetic means;

■ present findings orally through presentations;

■ use IT resources to facilitate learning.