In the Shadow of the Holocaust

Subject 126-469 (2009)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2009. Search for this in the current handbook

Credit Points: 12.50
Level: 4 (Undergraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject is not offered in 2009.
Time Commitment: Contact Hours: A 2.5-hour seminar per week
Total Time Commitment: 2.5 contact hours/week , 9.5 additional hours/week. Total of 8.5 hours per week.
Prerequisites: 37.5 points of second/third year subjects in German. European studies students wishing to enrol in this subject would normally have completed 37.5 points of European studies at second/third year.
Corequisites: None
Recommended Background Knowledge: None
Non Allowed Subjects: None
Core Participation Requirements:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

Contact

Birgit Lang
langb@unimelb.edu.au
Subject Overview: Theodor Adorno has famously stated that writing poetry after the Holocaust is a barbaric act. This subject examines the very crisis of representation that has been brought about by the Holocaust for different generations of German and Austrian writers and filmmakers from the immediate post-war period until today. The main focus of the course will be on questions of memory (and forgetting), which run like a thread through all works of Vergangenheitsbewältigung, i.e. coming to terms with the past. Theories of memory will also allow students to explore how the different subject position of the writers and filmmakers in question informed their exploration of the topic.
Objectives:
  • be familiar with German-language literary texts and films, which are concerned with the representation of the Holocaust from the 1940s until today;
  • have an understanding of relevant theories of memory and literature to further their understanding of the topic.
Assessment: A team project consisting of 1000 word written assignment and 10 minute oral presentation 20%, a written mid-semester assignment of 1,000 words 20%, and 3,000 word essay due at the end of semester (60%). Attendance at 75% of tutorials is a hurdle requirement in this subject.
Prescribed Texts: A subject reader will be available at the University Bookshop.
  • The Fragility of Empathy After the Holocaust. Ithaca (Dean, Carolyn J) Cornell UP, 2004
  • After Hitler. Recivilizing the Germans, 1945-1995 (Jarausch, Konrad) Oxford: OUP, 2006
  • Lyrik nach Auschwitz? Adorno und die Dichter (Kiedaisch, Petra (ed.)) Reclam, 1995
Breadth Options:

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.
Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Generic Skills:
  • be able to apply new research skills and critical methods to a field of inquiry;
  • develop critical self-awareness and shape and strengthen persuasive arguments;
  • communicate arguments and ideas effectively and articulately, both in writing and to others in speech;
  • have an increased understanding of social and cultural diversity.
Notes: Students who have completed 126-469 Post-Holocaust Literature may not enrol in this subject.
Related Majors/Minors/Specialisations: German
German
German

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