Jewish & Christian Responses to the Holocaust
Hebrew Studies 368/Jewish Studies 368
Fall 2014
Tuesday & Thursday, 2:00 – 3:15, BOL B76
Instructor: Dr. Rachel N. Baum
Email: rbaum@uw m .edu
Office: Greene Museum 120 (Center for Jewish Studies; next to Sabin)
Office Hours: Tues/Thurs 3:30 – 4:30 pm, and by appointment
(I will have to miss office hours the first Tuesday of every month for a mtg; apologies. Please feel free to make an app’t for another time)
Course Description: The Holocaust presents a challenge to any person of faith. How could a loving and powerful God watch the murder of millions of people without intervening?
For Jews, the Holocaust presents a challenge to the traditional covenant – promise -- that Jews believe they have with God. Was the covenant broken at Auschwitz? What should Jewish life look like after the Holocaust? Can Jews pray to the same God after the Holocaust? Should they say the same prayers?
For Christians, the Holocaust raises questions of why Christian Europe did not resist Nazism more strongly. How much did Christianity contribute to the environment of anti-Judaism that fueled the Holocaust? Must Christian liturgy change in the shadow of the Holocaust? What should Christianity teach about other faiths, particularly Judaism? Must a Christian’s understanding of Christ and salvation change after the Holocaust?
For both communities, the Holocaust has initiated a desire for deeper interfaith relationships. What does it mean to sit at a table of brotherhood and sisterhood after the Holocaust? How do we learn to understand and respect each other’s traditions? How do we promote interfaith understanding within our communities?
This course will look at how theologians, philosophers, and people of faith have struggled with their religions after the Holocaust and how Jews and Christians have worked together to confront the challenges of living in a post-Holocaust world.
Required Texts:
The following texts are available from the UWM Bookstore and may be available on-line. If you order on-line, please make sure the ISBN numbers match to ensure that you have the correct edition.
Holocaust Theology, by Daniel Cohn-Sherbok (ISBN: 0814716202)
The Sunflower, by Simon Wiesenthal—1997 Revised Edition (ISBN: 0805241450)
Additional Readings found in Course Read er : Available from Clark Graphics , 2915 N. Oakland Ave, 962-4633 (not sur e of exact cost, but approx. $16 .)
Students are expected to bring the reading of the day to class with them. Students who come unprepared will receive a zero for the day’s work. If you have an exceptional situation, please speak to me about it before class.
Learning Outcomes for the Course (what you will know/be able to do by the end!):
By engaging in this class, students will be able to:
· Compare/Contrast the major theological beliefs & approaches of Judaism & Christianity (Primary assessment: quizzes)
· Explain how the Holocaust changed the theological approaches of Judaism & Christianity (Primary assessment: one-page papers)
· Evaluate the writing of post-Holocaust thinkers, looking at their assumptions and the development of their argument (Primary assessment: questions & one-page papers)
· Analyze the central issues and conflicts that shape contemporary relationships between the Jewish & Christian communities (Primary assessment: questions & one-page papers)
· Understand Judaism and Christianity as dynamic, lived religions, rather than as merely ideological belief systems. (Primary assessment: final project)
Assignments:
1. Discussion Questions ( 25 points )
Because this is a discussion-based course, it is vitally important that the class develops a comfortable atmosphere for discussion, where all students participate. To foster everyone’s participation, students will bring in discussion questions to spur conversation. We will spend time in class discussing how to write a good question.
The questions should be typed, with your name and the date on it. You will hand them in to me, and they will be graded. You should bring between 3 – 5 questions.
Students will bring in questions one time during the semester and we will use them to spur conversation during the class . You will sign up for a particular day.
2. Six Short Papers ( min one-page, single-spaced) (100 points each; total 600 points)
These are brief but well-thought and well-developed responses to the readings. I will provide questions for you to answer.
Your papers should be 1 – 2 pages, single-spaced. To strengthen your argument, you should quote from the text. Please think of these as mini academic papers. They are short papers, but are still formal academic papers.
Because of the short length, these papers do not need a traditional introduction and conclusion. Just get to your ideas as soon as possible. Be sure, however, that you have a thesis statement and that you paragraph your ideas, just as in any academic paper.
Papers are due on Thursday. There are eight written on the syllabus, and you need to hand in six . This means that you can take two “bye” weeks.
3. Reflections: ( 160 points total)
At the end of each unit, there will write a reflection on your learning thus far. The purpose of these reflections is to give you an opportunity to think about your intellectual and emotional journey throughout this course.
Reflection #1 will be worth 40 points; Reflection #2 will be 50 points; and Reflection #3 will be worth 70 points.
4. Final Project : Digital Story (14 0 points)
Your final project will be a digital story that you will work on throughout the semester. A digital story is a way of combining words and images. It involves a voice-over narration over images that you have selected or taken. For your final project in this course, you will be reflecting on your learning by creating a digital story. We will talk about this more in class and throughout the semester.
The preparation for the digital story will run throughout the semester, and will involve the reflections as well as extra credit opportunities.
5. Attendance (75 points )
See attendance policy below
6. Extra Credit Opportunities: Maximum 100 points
a. Class Participation (up to 50 points)
For this class to work, it is vitally important that everyone participates in class discussions. You may feel that your ideas aren’t smart enough, or fully developed enough, or you may just not know what to say. In my experience, students are always relieved when someone asks a “basic” question like, “What does this essay mean?” and after the first brave person says something, other students will admit their confusion. This is your class and if you don’t understand something, please ask. If you are too shy in class, please come see me privately. I will be calling on people to encourage everyone to talk. I really want to hear your ideas, and class goes much better when a large number of students talk, rather than just a few.
This course also deals with topics that can be very personal and sensitive – namely, religious beliefs. As a class, we will work to create an environment where all viewpoints can be respected and heard. Don’t let the sensitivity of the issues stop you from talking – Try instead to consider how your words might be heard by other people, and think about perspectives other than your own. In my experience, this particular class offers a wonderful opportunity to engage in dialogue with people with different beliefs & ideas!
b. Supplemental Activities (with written paper)
There are a number of activities that will aid your learning in this class – lectures, films, and other cultural events connected to Jewish-Christian dialogue, the Holocaust, and so on. I will announce some of these events in class, but you should feel free to suggest some to me as well. If you attend an approved event & write a short paper about it, I’ll give you 25 points of extra credit. Please be sure to approve all extra credit events with me in advance.
All written work must be typed, with one inch margins, in 12-pt font. Your name, date, and course number should be in the upper right-hand corner.
Grading:
The grading for this course is based on 1000 points. Your final grade will be computed thusly:
950 – 1000 points = A
900 – 949 = A-
860 – 899 = B+
821 – 859 = B
800 – 820 = B-
760 – 799 = C+
721 – 759 = C
700 – 720 = C-
650 – 699 = D+
600 – 649 = D
Below 600 points = F
Your grade will be kept up to date on D2L, and I encourage you to use the grading system to inspire your active participation in the class.
Time Commitment
Students are different: some are fast readers, others are not; some can more easily put their ideas into words than others. That said, here is an average breakdown of how you can expect to spend your time this semester:
In-class time: 37.5 hours (2.5 hours a week)
Reading & Comprehension: 75 hours (5 hours/week)
Writing: 20 hours
Digital Story: 20 hours
POLICIES:
Attendance: Discussion is a vital part of this class, so it is very important that students attend and participate. Therefore, you are allowed two free absences. After that, you will lose class points for not attending. Here is how it lays out:
1 absence: 75 points
2 absences: 75 points
3 absences: 70 points
4 absences: 65points
5 absences: 50 points
6 absences: 40 points
7 absences: 30 points
8 or more absences: 0 points
Students who miss more than 10 classes will f ail the class , independent of their grades on other elements of the course .
Leaving class early /arriving late : Students are expected to attend for the entire class. If you must leave class early, please make a note of that on the attendance sheet (on the final page of the attendance sheet packet). Note on the sheet the date and the time you will be leaving class. While sometimes it is unavoidable that students arrive late or leave early, students who do this excessively will have the time detracted from their attendance. (e.g., missing fifteen minutes of class five times will equal absence of one 75-minute class)
Late Assignments: If you are absent the day an assignment is due, please bring it to the following class. You can find out what we did in class by looking at the syllabus; otherwise, please ask another student for notes. I will post any handouts on the D2L site.
Participation by Students with Disabilities /Learning Challenges :
If you need special accommodations in order to meet any of the requirements of this course, please contact me as soon as possible. Students who have a Visa from the Student Accessibility Center should give it to me as soon as possible.
Accommodation for Religious Observances:
Students will be allowed to complete examinations or other requirements that are missed because of a religious observance.
Technology Policy:
Technology Policy will be discussed on first day of class. I will
Academic Misconduct
Students are responsible for the honest completion and representation of their work, for the appropriate citation of sources, and for respect of others' academic endeavors. Claiming other people’s writing or ideas as your own is a serious offense. Be sure to credit your sources – including information you’ve gotten off of the Internet – in your work. If you are unsure how to do this, be sure to see me.
My Zero-Tolerance Policy Towards Plagiarism
The internet has made it easier to cheat in a variety of ways. I have had more cases of plagiarism over the last few years than I have in the past. Filing academic misconduct charges against a student is time-consuming and depressing. Because of my past experience, I have now instituted a zero-tolerance policy towards plagiarism. Of course, most students don’t cheat, so this is directed only towards those of you who might at some point consider taking the easy way out of a paper or exam.
If I catch you cheating on anything in my class – a one-page paper or a quiz – you will fail the class. No questions asked. I will not care that it was your first time cheating, or that you are under a lot of stress. Cheating is wrong and it will not be tolerated in this class. I will report the case to the dean of students and you will fail the class. It will not matter if you have been in the class for one month or for the entire semester.
The University Policy about these issues and others (e.g., students called to active military duty, discriminatory conduct, incompletes, etc.) can be found at:
.edu/Dept/SecU/SyllabusLinks.pdf
Email Etiquette: I check my email regularly and will usually respond to email within 24 hours. Please make the subject line something identifiable, such as Hebrew Studies 368, so that I don’t accidentally delete your message. Should you not hear from me within a day, please resend it. Also, although email has made all of us less formal, please remember that this is a college course and I am your instructor. Overly casual emails are not appropriate.
Major/Minor in Jewish Studies
This course fulfills a requirement for the Jewish Studies major and minor. The major offers two tracks: Hebrew Studies and Jewish Cultural Studies (which does not require Hebrew language). With its combination of core courses and electives, the Jewish Studies program allows students to create a course of study that can focus on religion, culture, Israel, Holocaust, media, or immigration. A dynamic and innovative major, Jewish Studies prepares students to work in our multicultural world.
For more information on the Jewish Studies major and minor, please contact me, as I am coordinator of the Jewish Studies program.