| Unit name | Holocaust and its Aftermath (Level C Special Topic) |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HIST14008 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | C/4 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Jones |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
All students taking this unit will also take the Special Topic Project: HIST13003 |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Although the Holocaust is often described as beyond the “limits of representation”, for many of us our perceptions of it have been deeply influenced by our responses to visual stimuli. From photographs and newsreel footage of the liberation of the camps to feature films and contemporary museum displays; visual sources continue to influence our understanding of the Holocaust and to play a significant part in the construction of memory.
Through close examination of a range of source material, this Unit will challenge you to explore how the role of the visual in perceptions of the Holocaust has evolved from World War II to the present day and to examine the functions, limitations and ethics of the use of such sources by historians.
On successful completion of this unit students will have a critical understanding of the ways in which the Holocaust has been represented visually since 1945, as well as the significance of visual sources for shaping the reception and interpretation of the Holocaust. Students will develop their skills in assessing, presenting, analysing and evaluating complex ideas and arguments through engagement in seminar discussions, and their evaluation of primary sources (particularly visual sources) relating to the Holocaust.
Weekly 2-hour seminar
Access to tutorial consultation with unit tutor in office hours
The unit will make use of the copious sources available on the internet that concern the Holocaust.
1 x 2-hour exam (100%). This will assess knowledge and critical understanding of the subject.
AHR Forum, ‘Representing the Holocaust’, Special Issue of The American Historical Review, Vol.115, Issue 1, February 2010
D Dwork and RJ Van Pelt, Holocaust: A History, London, 2002
Hornstein, Shelley and Jacobowitz, Florence (eds) Image and Remembrance: Representation and the Holocaust, Indiana University Press, 2003
Penrose, Antony (ed), Lee Miller’s War: Photographer and Correspondent with the Allies in Europe 1944-1945, London, 2005
Sontag, Susan, Regarding the Pain of Others, London 2004
Young, James E, At Memory’s Edge: After-Images of the Holocaust in Contemporary Art and Architecture, Yale University Press, 2000
Zelizer, Barbie (ed), Visual Culture and the Holocaust, Rutgers University Press, 2001
