Remapping the Holocaust

Catalog description

In most university courses, the Holocaust is taught chronologically, beginning with the rise of the Nazi Party and then following the German armies through Europe and into the Soviet Union. The retreat of those same forces beginning in 1943 parallels the concentration and professionalization of the killing process which then begins to break down as the war comes to an end. This narrative is not incorrect, and certainly makes sense for introductory courses. Yet it also mirrors the perpetrators' perspective. A graduate course allows us to explore different perspectives on the war and genocide and how these affect both the periodization and the geography of the Holocaust. In this course we will examine a number of divergent historiographic trends regarding the origins, enactment, end, and aftermath of the Holocaust. These will help students to think more broadly about the place of the Holocaust in world history and how new theories, methods and questions can be applied to other historical events.