Chabot College
Fall 2002
Replaced Fall 2010
Course Outline for English 48
THE LITERATURE OF THE HOLOCAUST
Catalog Description:
48 – The Literature of the Holocaust
3 units
Explores the literature of the Holocaust through readings in a variety of genres including the memoir,
the diary, the essay, as well as fiction and poetry. Historically and culturally contextualizes the
literature and examines the implications of writing which attempts to represent the Nazi genocide
against the Jews. Strongly recommended: Eligibility for English 1A. 3 hours.
[Typical contact hours: 52.5]
Prerequisite Skills:
None
Expected Outcomes for Students:
Upon completion of the course the student should be able to:
1. identify the different kinds of Holocaust literature, as well as the similarities and differences
between this literature and other “topical” literature;
2. discuss when these works appeared, how they have evolved, and why they were first—and
continue to be—written;
3. demonstrate familiarity with the structures of the works studied and identify techniques such as
irony, analogy, metaphor, allusion, and satire as common to the works read;
4. recognize the diversity of the literature while identifying common themes (including the problems
posed by a fiction which re-imagines an inconceivably harsh reality);
5. demonstrate understanding of the various ways the literature represents its subject matter
depending on the culture and time within which it was produced.
Course Content:
1. Representative sample of literary works, including fiction, poetry, essays, memoirs, and diaries
2. Supplemental readings giving historical, critical, and thematic context for the literary works
Methods of Presentation:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Readings from a variety of literary works
Lectures on literary, philosophical, and historical representations of the Nazi Holocaust
Films
Discussion
Small group collaborative learning
Instructor conferences
Assignments and Methods of Evaluating Student Progress:
1. Typical Assignments
a. Write a one page summary of This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen
b. Write a 7 to 10 page essay on a literary representation of the Holocaust
2. Methods of Evaluating Student Progress
a. Homework
b. Journals
c. Essays
d. Midterm examination
e. Final examination
f. Quizzes
g. Written exercises
Chabot College
Course Outline for English 48
Page 2
Fall 2002
Textbook(s) (Typical):
This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen, Tadeusz Borowski, Penquin, 1976
At The Mind‘s Limits, Jean Amery, Shocken, 1986
Survival in Auschwitz, Primo Levi, Macmillan/Collier, 1961
Mauss, Art Spiegelman, Pantheon, 1986
Making Stories, Making Selves, Ruth Linden, Ohio State, 1993
Probing the Limits of Representation, Saul Friedlander, Harvard University Press, 1992
Special Student Materials:
None
dk 10/31/01
D:\CURRIC\FALL01\ENG48REV.DOC