professor: deborah needleman armintor

classroom & meeting times: cury 211, tth 9:30-10:50

contact info: / 369-5018

office hours: lang 409b, tth 2:00-3:30 (or mw by appointment)

literature & the holocaust (engl 4660)

the holocaust:

“the holocaust refers to a specific genocidal event in twentieth-century history: the state-sponsored, systematic persecution and annihilation of european jewry by nazi germany and its collaborators between 1933 and 1945. jews were the primary victims—6 million were murdered; gypsies, the handicapped, and poles were also targeted for destruction or decimation for racial, ethnic, or national reasons. millions more, including homosexuals, jehovah’s witnesses, soviet prisoners of war, and political dissidents, also suffered grievous oppression and death under nazi tyranny.”

(from the u.s. holocaust memorial museum)

course description:
the german philosopher theodor adorno once said, “after auschwitz it is barbaric to write poetry.” misguided as adorno’s statement might be (adorno later wholeheartedly retracted it), the questions it raises continue to resonate in literature and film about the holocaust. how do writers and artists attach words and images to the holocaust and its aftermath? how do differences in genre (poetry, memoir, narrative fiction, graphic novel, documentary film, narrative cinema, and others), style, subject matter, and issues of authorial identity affect—or not affect—the “meaning” of holocaust literature? through close readings of various literary and cinematic texts, we will discuss these and other questions about language and trauma, literature and genocide, storytelling and history. the course is divided thematically into 4 sections:
i. representing the holocaust
ii. levi and wiesel
iii. women’s voices
iv. trauma, truth, and memory
course requirements grading: 2 open-book open-notes essay tests, consisting of 2 challenging questions each.
-test 1(based on sections i & ii):50% of course grade, distributed on 10/13; due via email on10/21.
-test 2(based on sections iii & iv): 50% of course grade; distributed on 12/1 and due via email on 12/16

required texts :

yosefa loshitzky, ed. / spielberg’s holocaust: critical perspectives on schindler’s list / 1997 / indiana
eli wiesel / the night trilogy: night, dawn, day / 2008 / hill and wang
primo levi / the drowned and the saved / 1989 / vintage
primo levi / survival in auschwitz / 1996 / touchstone
art spiegelman / maus i: a survivor's tale: my father bleeds history / 1986 / pantheon
art spiegelman / maus ii: a survivor's tale: and here my troubles began / 1992 / pantheon
cynthia ozick / the shawl / 1990 / vintage
stefan maechler , ed. / the wilkomirski affair: a study in biographical truth / 2001 / schocken
anne frank / anne frank: the diary of a young girl / 1993 / bantam
carol a. rittner, ed. / different voices: women and the holocaust / 1993 / paragon
attendance policy: attendance is mandatory and will be taken each class. your absence will be considered “excused” if you notify me by email before your absence or shortly thereafter. any student responsible for two or more unexcused absences will be asked to withdraw from the course.

plagiarism policy: any student suspected of plagiarism will be asked to meet with me. if i determine that plagiarism has occurred, i will report the student to the office of academic integrity and will recommend the maximum penalty (failure of the course). all students have the right to appeal. for more on unt’s academic integrity policy & its definition of plagiarism:

compliance with americans with disabilities act: any student with a disability requiring assistance is encouraged to register with the office of disability accommodation. please provide me with a written request by the fourth class day so i will know how best to accommodate you.

syllabus

preparation for the tests begins on the first day of class, so from day 1 be sure to:

•keep up with the readings, while marking up your books and handouts with underlinings, questions

(or simply question marks), ideas (whole or fragmented), connections, and potential paper topics

•take notes during class, and participate in class discussion, sharing both your questions and ideas with your instructor and peers

section i: representing the holocaust

week 1: th, 8/25: introduction to the course

week 2: t, 8/30: in-class screening & discussion of night and fog

th, 9/1: lawrence l. langer, preempting the holocaust (handout)

week 3: t, 9/6:lawrence l. langer, preempting the holocaust (handout)

th, 9/8:in-class screening & discussion of selections from shoah

week 4: t, 9/13:spielberg’s holocaust: critical perspectives on schindler’s list, chapters 1-7, 12; see

schindler’s list outside of class (2 dvds on reserve)

th, 9/15: continue discussing spielberg’s holocaustschindler’s list

section ii: levi wiesel

week 5: t, 9/20:primo levi, survival in Auschwitz (1st half of book)

th, 9/22: primo levi, survival in Auschwitz (2nd half of book)

week 6: t, 9/27:levi, the drowned and the saved (1st half of book)

th, 9/29: NO CLASS (prof armintor absent in observance of rosh hashanah)

week 7:t, 10/4:levi, the drowned and the saved (2nd half of book)

th, 10/6:eli wiesel, “night”(1st half)

week 8: t, 10/11:wiesel, “night” (2nd half)

th, 10/13:wiesel, “dawn” test 1 distributed in class

week 9: T, 10/18:wiesel, “day”

section iii: women’s voices

TH, 10/20:different voices: preface (p. xi), prologue (p. 1)

fri, 10/21: test 1 due via email ()

week 10: T, 10/25:anne frank: the diary of a young girl (1st half of book)

TH, 10/27:anne frank: the diary of a young girl(2nd half of book)

week 11: t, 11/1:different voices: ida fink, “a scrap of time” (p. 40); livia e. bitton jackson, “coming of age” (p. 73); charlotte delbo, “days and memory” (p. 329)

th, 11/3:different voices:sybil milton, “women and the holocaust: the case of german and german-jewish women” (p. 213); vera laska, “women in the resistance and in the holocaust” (p. 250)

week 12: t, 11/8: ozick, the shawl;different voices: sara namberg-przytyk, “the camp blanket” (p.143)

section iv: trauma, truth, memory

th, 11/10:maus i

week 13: t, 11/15:maus ii

th, 11/17:“the man with two heads” (grantahandout)

week 14: no class, THANKSGIVING BREAK

week 15: t, 11/29:wilkomirski affair: foreword & “fragments”

th, 12/1:wilkomirski affair: “the origins of fragments,” “a global literary event,” “the plunge

into the abyss,” test 2 distributed in class

week 16: pre-finals week; no class

finals week: test 2 due via email () on or before fri, 12/16