About the Minor
Director: Ann Saltzman, Professor of Psychology
For students of all backgrounds and academic interests, this concentration focuses on the Holocaust or Shoah, the systematic attempt to annihilate the Jewish people during the period of the Third Reich (1933-1945).
Increasing interest in the Holocaust-more than 60 years after the fact-testifies to the widespread sense of it as everybody's crucible, a metaphor of evil in the 20th century. It has been observed that, after the Holocaust, "one era came to a crashing close, and a whole new future began to unfold in which the basic question is not to what great height humankind might progress, but rather will humanity proceed to destroy itself in an Armageddon of its own making?" (Ryan, 1979)
Struggling with that question, scholars, psychologists, artists, theologians, historians, educators, and political and social scientists have addressed themselves increasingly over the years to Holocaust study. How did it happen? How could it have happened? What has the Holocaust taught us about ourselves? How can the horror be conveyed or represented? How can we transcend its sinister implications for our future? Although the Jewish people were clearly the central targets of Nazi persecution, other groups were also targeted. Historical awareness of this extended mosaic of victims is incorporated into this course of study as is the opportunity to pursue the broader moral and political issues generated by the Holocaust, e.g., problems in ethics and meta-ethics, international human rights, etc.
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Requirements for the Minor (20 credits)
In courses that do not focus on the Holocaust exclusively, students are required to focus on the Holocaust in papers, presentations, or other course components where students have the choice of topics.
I. Required Courses (12 credits)
HOLST 33/Perspectives on the Holocaust (4)
HIST 153/Europe, 1914-1945: The World Wars and the Great Dictators (4) OR HIST 138/Germany, Nazism, and the Holocaust (4)
JWST 12/The Jewish Experience: An Introduction to Judaism (4) OR HIST 70/Modern Jewish History (4)
II. Choice of eight (8) credits from the following
See departments or programs for course descriptions.
ENGL 34/Topics in American Ethnic, Immigrant, or Regional Literature [when topic applies] (4)
ENGL 140/Topics in Literature [when topic applies] (4)
GERM 11, 12/Selected Topics in German Literature in English Translation [when topic applies] (2, 2)
HIST 58/History of Biology in the 20th Century (4)
HOLST 110/Topics in Holocaust Studies (4)
HOLST 150/Independent Study in Holocaust Studies (1-4)
JWST 30/Selected Topics in Jewish Studies [when topic applies] (4)
PHIL 104/Problems of Ethics and Meta-Ethics (4)
PSCI 139/International Human Rights (4)
PSYC 147/Seminar in Social Issues of Psychology [when topic applies] (2-4)
Additional courses offered irregularly may also be applicable. Consult Holocaust Studies course listings published each semester.
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