representations of the Holocaust in literature and film
a freshman seminar, fall 2000
taught by Professors Millicent Marcus and Al Filreis
Tuesday-Thursday, 10:30 AM; screenings Mondays 4 PM
Logan Hall 392 (screenings in Nursing 112)

English 16 is a freshman seminar. Others may enroll only by permission of the instructors.
This is a seminar about the Holocaust as it has been depicted in books, film, and written or oral testimony by survivors. The Holocaust is aptly conceived as a locus for studying the most basic and urgent problems of aesthetics and authority, of metaphorizing memory and pain, of representing evil, of symbolism and action, of narrative immediacy and political truth-telling, and of testimony (witness-bearing) as legal and language forms. Participants in the seminar will approach all these topics through interactive discussions of a wide variety of films, commentaries, literary texts, testimonies, and theoretical writings about the Holocaust.

Assignments will include six short papers and a final exam. In addition to attending all regular class meeting times, students will be expected to attend all film screenings (most Mondays at 4 PM).

reading schedule

texts

films

exam

There will be a comprehensive final examination, given during the regularly scheduled time assigned to this course by the university registrar. (The date and time will be announced during the term.)

papers

Students will be required to write six short papers (2 pages, double-spaced, approximately 500 words). Three of the papers will be Type A writing assignments, and three will be Type B.

  • Type A papers: During the weeks when we will be viewing films, a series of topics will be handed out immediately before Monday afternoon screening. Students will be assigned topics on the basis of which they will lead informal discussions during the Tuesday and Thursday class periods. On Thursday of that week, a two-page paper (double spaced, approximately 500 words) will be handed in based on the topic assigned. There are six weeks when Type A papers will be assigned: the weeks of 9/26, 10/3, 10/24, 10/31, 11/14, and 12/5.

  • Type B papers: During most of the weeks when we will be discussing a text, students have the option of writing and handing in a Type B paper. Every student must write three such papers--in other words,
    Primo Levi in later years
    choosing three of the five occasions when such papers are due. But note that the Periodic Table assignment is required of all students, so in effect you must write 2 of the other 4 options. The topics for these papers are given below. Type B papers must be handed in at the beginning of class on the first day of discussion of the relevant text (mostly Tuesdays). Papers handed in after class or on Thursday of that week will not be accepted. The point of this paper is for student to write about a work before we discuss it in class. Type B papers can be handed in at the beginning of class on 9/19, 10/10, 10/17 (note that this is a Type B week), 11/7, and 11/28. Paper topics for Type B are as follows:
    • paper due at the beginning of class on 9/19: Does Levi in Survival in Auschwitz have a theory about survival (about who survives and who doesn't)? To the extent that he does have such a theory, what is it? Summarize it generally but also be sure to offer a sampling of details from the text to support your summary. Now what do you think of what you take to be Levi's theory of survival? Do the details of Levi's own experience support his theory? What is your reaction to surviving Auschwitz as depicted in Survival in Auschwitz?
    • paper due prior to class on 10/10: What are some or all of the differences in narration (narrative style; narrative strategy; use of narrative devices) between Keneally's book and Spielberg's film? Given what you think are Spielberg's overall aims and what you think are Keneally's overall aims, which narrative approach do you think is more effective at meeting those aims? Which narrative approach do you prefer and why?
    • paper due at the beginning of class on 10/17: In your view, does Langer believe that there is therapeutic value in survivor testimony? Take about half the space in your paper describing what you take to be Langer's position on this matter. Then in the second half say what you think of Langer's position - and explain your view with reference to Langer's book.
    • paper due at the beginning of class on 11/7: Each student will be assigned an element. Analyze the way in which the element functions as symbol or metaphor within that particular episode of Levi's life story.
    • paper due at the beginning of class on 11/28: (Note that we realize this is a difficult paper topic. Do utterly the best you can.) Martin Jay's essay, "Of Plots, Witnesses, and Judgments," is written as a rejoinder to Hayden White's "Historical Emplotment and the Problem of Truth." Jay takes White to task. Read Saul Friedlander's introduction to Probing the Limits of Representation, then White's essay and then Jay's rejoinder. Your paper should be nothing more or less than a 500-word precis (analytical summary or paraphrase) of what Jay says. How and why does Jay make his case against White?


Most of the class at Al's home, December 2000.