The Holocaust in Modern Memory

Catalog description

The Holocaust, which ended more than 70 years ago, has never been more present than it is today, exercising a hold on the imagination, especially in the United States and Western Europe, more powerful even than in the immediate aftermath of the war. But why should that be true? Why is it that the social memory of this particular event should have such power over generations so far removed in both time and space--particularly when other episodes of genocidal violence, similar in scale and historical importance--play almost no role in our collective memories and consciousness? This upper-division seminar focuses attention on those questions by examining the history of the memory of the Holocaust: how it is remembered; what is remembered and what is forgotten; how the memories are shaped; and to what uses they are put. Close readings of survivor memoirs and historical interpretations, and visual analyses of films and monuments will help students learn to critique the ways in which all "history" is socially constructed. Code 1. RE.