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Course Syllabus

Course Information
Course Number/Section HUSL 6378.501
Course Title The Holocaust in Literature

Term Fall, 2010

Days & Times Wednesday, 7:00 – 9:45 p.m. - Classroom JO 4.312

Professor Contact Information

Professor Dr. Zsuzsanna Ozsváth

Office Phone 972-883-2758
Email Address zozsvath@utdallas.edu
Office Location JO 5.116
Office Hours Wednesday 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. or by appointment

Course Pre-requisites, Co-requisites, and/or Other Restrictions

N/A

Course Description

The enormous pressure the Holocaust exerts on our contemporary world manifests itself in a variety of ways, among them, in our
persistent efforts to evoke, define, and explain this cataclysmic event and to incorporate it into our creative imagination. Besides
ongoing evaluation and re-evaluation of the Shoah in the fields of historical research, moral philosophy, and social studies, there is a
massive body of literature and art that has arisen in its wake, ranging from eyewitness accounts to novels, short stories, and poetry;
from music to painting, sculpture, and film.

The purpose of this seminar is to consider the ways in which millions of people: men, women, and children, the newborn and the aged,
the healthy and the sick, were shot, burned, gassed, and murdered by individuals as well as by large groups of people from all walks of
life, and to study the wide-ranging approaches used by generations of historians trying to understand what has happened during those
twelve years of Nazi rule in Germany. But we also will explore the ways in which artists have reacted to the events of the Shoah, then
and now, and study the psychological, moral, and aesthetic tensions this devastating event has imposed upon our contemporary
consciousness. In addition, we will assess the role the Holocaust plays in the late twentieth-century early twenty-first-century literary
imagination. Hence, we will read a number of texts revolving around this catastrophic event and consider not only their radically new
aesthetic devices but also their portrayals of evil and moral survival. In addition, we will explore a wide-ranging set of critical
responses the literature of the Holocaust has engendered.

Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes

Students will analyze the background and the history of the Holocaust; and they will consider the philosophical, moral, and aesthetic
responses this calamitous event has engendered. Reading some of the most dramatic and beautiful texts of our time, they will also
explore the issues and conflicts that arose among the creators and interpreters of the “literature of atrocity.”

Required Textbooks and Materials

Required Reading:

J. Becker, Jacob the Liar – ISBN-13: 978-1599703154

T. Borowski, The Way to the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen – ISBN-13: 978-0140186246
Z. Ozsvath, In the Footsteps of Orpheus – ISBN-13: 978-0253338013
R. Hochhuth, The Deputy – ISBN-13: 978-0802142429
J. Weil, Mendelssohn Is on the Roof – ISBN-13: 978-0810116863
R. S. Wistrich, Hitler and the Holocaust – ISBN-13: 978-0812966837
A. Appelfeld, Badenheim 1939 – ISBN- 13: 978-1-56792-391-9
P. Levi, Survival in Auschwitz – ISBN- 13: 978-0684826806

Class Syllabus August 12, 2010

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In addition, we will read poetry by Celan, Radnóti, and Sachs, stories by Ida Fink, excerpts of Kaplan’s Diary, essays and chapters by
Omer Bartov, Berel Lang, Lawrence Langer, David Patterson, and Rosenfeld.

There will also be the showing of two movies: Genocide, Shoah, and Forbidden Games.

All books for the course are available in the Campus Book Store as well as in the Off Campus Books.
(Please check that the publisher and the ISBN number of the book you plan to purchase match the number given on this
syllabus.)

Required Materials

Texts listed above under “Required Texts” in addition to works which are noted below with *.

Readings which are noted with * will be located on the electronic reserve site of the Mc Dermott Library. The site is located at:
http://library.utdallas.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&PAGE=First. Once on this site, choose the tab labeled “Course Reserve.”
After you have reached the Course Reserve site, choose Dr. Ozsvath’s name from the first pull down menu, and then your course in
the second window. Then click “Find IT.” A new window will open. Click on the statement “Electronic Reserves for HUSL
6378.501, Ozsvath.” When you reach the new page you will be asked for a password which will be provided in class and must not be
shared with students who are not taking the class. After filling in the password, click the “Accept Button” (if you don’t it won’t let
you into the site). Once on the class reserve site simply click on the folder which represents the date you need and all of the reading
assignments will be located there as PDF’s. If you have any problems navigating the site, if a reading is illegible, if a reading is
missing, or if you cannot open one of the PDF’s, please contact the McDermott Library Staff, they are always available to help.

Suggested Course Materials

Suggested Readings/Texts
A bibliography will be provided in class.

Suggested Materials
See above.

Assignments & Academic Calendar

Topics, Reading Assignments, Due Dates, Exam Dates

Introduction
Aug 25: Introduction and showing of the film: Genocide

Myth-making
Sept 1: * L. Poliakov, “The Fateful Summer of 1096,” in The History of Anti-Semitism: From the Time of Christ to the Court Jews,
pp. 41-72;
* J. Katz, “Voltaire,” in From Prejudice to Destruction: Anti-Semitism, 1700-1933, pp. 34-47;
* J. Carmichael, “The Focus of Theology,” in The Satanizing of the Jews, 44-78;
* R. Wistrich, “Karl Marx and the Enlightenment,” in Between Redemption and Perdition: Modern Anti-Semitism and
Jewish Identity, pp. 9-16;
* Anthony Julius, “English Literary Anti-Semitism,” in Trials of the Diaspora, pp. 148-241.

The Past Discovered

Sept 8: Shoah (documentary film)

The Pain-Laden Rhyme

Sept 15: * Kaplan, Scroll of Agony: The Warsaw Diary of Chaim A. Kaplan, pp. 19-48; 362-400;
* P. Celan, “Winter,” “Nearness of Graves,” and “Black Flakes,” in J. Felstiner, Selected Poems and Prose of Paul Celan
pp. 9, 11, 15;
* P. Celan, “Death Fugue,” in M. Hamburger, Poems of Paul Celan pp. 31, 33;
* Miklós Radnóti, Foamy Sky, “The Seventh Eclogue,” 189,191; “A la Recherche. . .” 199, 201;
* N. Sachs, “O the Night of the Weeping Children!” and “What Secret Cravings of the
Blood,” in L. Langer, Art from the Ashes, pp. 638, 640
* Ida Fink, “The Key Game” and “A Spring Morning.” in L. Langer, Art from the Ashes, pp. 242-248

Class Syllabus August 12, 2010

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Tales of Horror
Sept 22: Borowski, This Way to the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen

The Magic of Story-Telling

Sept 29: J. Becker, Jacob the Liar

Suppression
Oct 6: A. Appelfeld, Badenheim 1939

Well-Hidden Metaphors
Oct 13: Forbidden Games (film)

Moral, Historical, and Aesthetic Considerations

Oct 20: *Berel Lang, “The Unspeakable vs. the Testimonial,” and “Evil, Suffering, and the Holocaust,” in Post-Holocaust:
Interpretation, Misinterpretation, and the Claims of History, pp. 32-51 and 71-85;
*O. Bartov, “An Idiot’s Tale,” in Murder in our Midst: The Holocaust, Industrial Killing, and Representation, pp. 89-113;
*D. Patterson, “Modern and Postmodern Dimensions of the Holocaust,” in Wrestling with the Angel: Toward a Jewish
Understanding of the Nazi Assault on the Name, pp. 1-42.

Banned Forever
Oct 27: J. Weil, Mendelssohn Is on the Roof

Memory and Aesthetic Structure: Artistic Designs and the Holocaust

Nov 3: * L. Langer, Using and Abusing the Holocaust, 1-15, 16-29, 30-35;
* Alvin Rosenfeld, A Double Dying, 62-81;

Anatomy of Hell
Nov 10: P. Levi, Survival in Auschwitz

Atrocity and “Virtue”

Nov 17: Z. Ozsváth, In the Footsteps of Orpheus

Documentary Art and Atrocity

Nov 24: The Deputy
PAPER & ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE

Discussion
Dec 1: Class Discussion

Grading Policy

Grades will be based on regular class attendance, participation in class discussions, one in-class presentation, and one research paper
with annotated bibliography (15-20 pages), which could be suitable for one of the portfolio essays.

Class Attendance
Regular class attendance (15%) and active participation in class discussions (15%) comprise 30% of the final grade.

Missing more than 3 classes will affect your grade.

All papers must be submitted in paper form on the due date designated above unless other plans have been approved at least
48 hours prior to the actual due date of the paper. The paper must also be submitted to turnitin.com by midnight of the
paper due date. The assignment is not complete unless papers have been submitted to turnitin.com Instructions for the use of
tunritin.com will be provided in class.

Web sites in general and Wikipedia in particular are not accepted as sources for your papers in this class.

In addition, you must comply with university policies regarding dishonesty: cheating and plagiarism.

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Course Policies
Make-up exams
N/A

Extra Credit
N/A

Late Work

If you cannot turn in your paper by November 24, 2010, please notify the instructor at least 48 hours prior to this due date to make
other arrangements. If an incomplete is approved, an “X” will appear on your Fall grade report, and your paper will be due at the
beginning of the Spring, 2011 semester. All papers turned in as a result of an incomplete must be turned in two weeks prior to the due
date of final grades. Please check the UT Dallas Catalog and Academic Calendar regarding rules and dates for incomplete
work.

Special Assignments
N/A

Classroom Citizenship
See above.

NOTE: All cell phones and computers must be turned off upon entering the classroom. Students with special needs which
require use of computers during class must submit a written request to me signed by representatives of Student Services
explaining these needs.

NOTE: Students must bring along the various texts assigned in the syllabus for every individual session during the semester.

For additional information pertaining to academic performance such as Technical Support, Field Trip Policies / Off-Campus
Instruction and Course Activities, Student Conduct & Discipline, Academic Integrity, Copyright Notice, Email Use, Withdrawal from
Class, Student Grievance Procedures, Incomplete Grade Policy, Disability Services, and Religious Holidays, please visit:
http://provost.utdallas.edu/home/syllabus-policies-and-procedures-text

These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the Professor.

Class Syllabus August 12, 2010