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 Honours options in TRS and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on MyCampus.

TRS3023 The Holocaust and Ethics of Representation

TRS4053 The Holocaust and Ethics of Representation

TRS3034 Holocaust Narratives and the Ethics of Representation Non Honours

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 (2,500 words), but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustment (Students should follow the usual process for extensions). 

■ A recording of presentation as an alternative to presentation.

■ There are no alternatives to the Book Review (1,000 words), but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustment (Students should follow the usual process for extensions). 

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

It is the default expectation that all courses will offer opportunities for reassessment or deferred assessment. Where it is not possible to offer this in some assessment components, the grade achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade, and any exceptions for this course are described below.

[No exceptions]

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 critically what kinds of ideas motivated those most responsible for the Holocaust;

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

■ present findings orally through presentations

■ use IT resources to facilitate learning.