Course Syllabus

Holocaust and Genocide

Auschwitz Concentration Camp, 1945. Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Semester & Location:	Fall 2024 - DIS Copenhagen
Type & Credits:	Core Course - 3 credits
Study Tours:	Hamburg, Germany Poland
Major Disciplines:	Anthropology, History, Sociology
Prerequisite(s):	None
Faculty Members:	Christopher Sparshott, current students please use the Canvas Inbox
Time & Place:	Mondays & Thursdays 8:30-9:50 V10-B24

Learning Objectives

• Develop Historical Understanding: Students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the Holocaust, with a specific focus on its events, key figures, and the impact on different groups.
• Engage with Primary Sources: Students will learn to use physical locations, such as Holocaust sites and stumbling stones, as primary sources for historical research, enhancing their ability to interpret and analyze material culture and spaces.
• Analyze Memory and Representation: Students will critically examine how the Holocaust is remembered and represented in various contexts, including museums, memorials, and public spaces, with attention to the narratives of individuals versus groups.
• Conduct Biographical Research: Through focused projects, students will develop skills in biographical research, reconstructing individual stories to understand broader historical phenomena.
• Enhance Critical Thinking and Interpretation: By engaging with diverse sources and perspectives, students will improve their ability to critically analyze historical events and their representations, considering ethical and moral implications.

Faculty

PhD (Modern History, Northwestern University, 2007). MA (Modern History, Northwestern University, 2002). BA (Modern History, Oxford University, 2001). For two decades, I have taught courses in modern history at Northwestern University in the United States and Qatar in the Middle East. My teaching emphasises creative approaches to learning that build bridges to the past. I am passionate about bringing history to life and introducing students to new places, people and ideas through innovative, student-focused pedagogy. Secretly, my goal is to turn all students into historians! I am continuing my academic journey in Denmark as a teaching and learning specialist and a faculty member focusing on 20th-century Europe at DIS. 

Readings

1. Yehuda Bauer, Rethinking the Holocaust, 2002
2. Simone Gigliotti, et al, The Holocaust: A Reader 1st ed. 2005
3. Christopher Browning, Ordinary Men: Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland, 2017
4. Laurence Rees, The Holocaust, 2018  

Note: The instructor will provide additional primary and secondary sources, which will be uploaded to Canvas in the Calendar below. 

Additional texts include, but are not limited to:

1. Marilyn J. Harran and Dieter Kuntz, The Holocaust Chronicle: A History in Words and Pictures, 2000
2. Jon E. Lewis, Voices from the Holocaust, 2006
3. Jürgen Matthäus et al., Jewish Responses to Persecution, 1933–1946: A Source Reader (Documenting Life and Destruction: Holocaust Sources in Context) 2017

Approach to Teaching

"What would I have done?" This is the best question you can ask about the past. My teaching focuses on building bridges to the past that encourage students to leave behind the modern world and immerse themselves in the past. My goal is to reconstruct the past through primary sources and put students at the centre of major moments in history. To achieve this, I avoid lectures and focus on a combination of discussion, investigations, roleplaying and many other forms of interactive class that encourage students to become historians for a term (and hopefully longer).    

DIS Accommodations Statement 

Your learning experience in this class is important to me.  If you have approved academic accommodations with DIS, please make sure I receive your DIS accommodations letter within two weeks from the start of classes. If you can think of other ways I can support your learning, please don't hesitate to talk to me. If you have any further questions about your academic accommodations, contact Academic Support acadsupp@dis.dk. 

Expectations of the Students

Students often complain that history classes are boring because they spend all their time learning the dates on a timeline. In this course, I am not interested in what you remember. Instead, I am much more interested in what you can say about the past. This is what I call your "historical voice". I encourage students to actively engage with the history and be willing to develop and share their findings with the class. 

Specifically, active engagement in this class is defined as your active participation in the learning process, as well as your willingness to take responsibility for your own learning. In this course, you will be expected to attend all lessons, participate in class discussions, and complete assignments on time.

By actively engaging in this course, you will not only develop a deeper understanding of the subject matter, but you will also develop critical thinking skills, communication skills, and a passion for lifelong learning.

Assignments and Evaluation

Participation: 20%

 Your discussion grade requires you to attend classes and actively engage in class discussions in person and online, demonstrating a good knowledge of the material. You will be given two discussion grades over the term, the first worth 10% in the middle of the term and a second worth 10% at the end of the term. You can read more about your discussion grade in assignments.

Danish WW2 Project: 10% Group

Stumbling stones, or “Stolpersteine,” are small, brass-plated memorials embedded in sidewalks outside the last known residences of victims of the Holocaust. Created by artist Gunter Demnig, these stones commemorate individuals who were persecuted and murdered by the Nazis, including Jews, Roma, political dissidents, and others. Each stone is inscribed with the name, birthdate, fate, and date of death (if known) of the person it honours, providing a poignant and localized reminder of the Holocaust’s impact.

For this assignment, students will work in small groups to find and research individual or group stories associated with stumbling stones in Copenhagen, excluding those outside the Synagogue, which will be discussed in class. Each group will photograph the stones they select and conduct historical research to uncover the stories behind the names inscribed on them. This research will include information about the individuals’ lives before the Holocaust, their experiences during the Nazi occupation, and, if applicable, their fates. The assignment culminates in a brief three-slide presentation, where groups will share their findings, incorporating photographs of the stones and a narrative of the individuals or groups they memorialize. This project not only highlights the personal histories behind these memorials but also encourages a deeper engagement with the local history and the enduring legacy of the Holocaust.

Long Tour Assignment: 20% (Individual/Group)

Part 1: Participation (10%)

 Students are required to actively participate in a series of small activities throughout the tour of Holocaust-related sites in Poland. These activities are designed to enhance their understanding of the historical context and encourage engagement with the sites visited.

Part 2: Auschwitz Case Study (10%)

This component involves a group project focusing on the curation of memory at Auschwitz. In groups, students will explore how individual and group stories are presented and remembered, analyzing the role these narratives play in shaping public memory. The case study will culminate in a short three-slide presentation where groups will present their findings. Students are encouraged to take relevant photographs and consider the locations as primary sources, interpreting the spaces as “speaking” to the history they represent.

This assignment is related to but distinct from the broader course research project. It offers a focused examination of memory curation at one key site.

Research Assignment: 50% (Individual)

Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps established in 1940 near Oświęcim, Poland. The complex included Auschwitz I, the administrative centre; Auschwitz II-Birkenau, a major site of mass murder opened in October 1941; and Auschwitz III-Monowitz, a labour camp. Over 40 sub-camps were also part of this network. the first transport of Polish prisoners in June 1940 and the arrival of the first mass transports of Jews in 1942. Approximately 1.1 million people were killed at Auschwitz, the vast majority being Jews, alongside Poles, Roma, Soviet POWs, and others. The camp was liberated by Soviet forces on January 27, 1945. Studying Auschwitz is crucial for understanding the mechanisms and scale of the Holocaust, providing insight into this tragic period of history.

This project will involve reconstructing the experiences of individuals or representative groups at Auschwitz, offering a biographical analysis to deepen our understanding of the Holocaust. By focusing on personal stories, students can explore the diverse perspectives and roles within the camp, from guards and their collaborators to different groups of prisoners, such as Jews, Poles, Roma, and Soviet POWs, as well as the varied experiences and jobs these prisoners had, such as forced labourers, medical experiment subjects, or members of the Sonderkommando. Additionally, students can examine the role of local bystanders and the broader community’s response. This approach is valuable because it humanizes the historical narrative, moving beyond statistics to emphasize the personal and emotional dimensions of the Holocaust. It allows for a more nuanced understanding of the complex social dynamics and moral choices faced by individuals, enriching our comprehension of this tragic period in history.

The project will consist of several key stages. Initially, students will engage in an ungraded brainstorming session to develop their research ideas. This will be followed by a two-page research proposal, providing an introduction to the chosen subject and its context within the Holocaust. Students will then create a research plan using a storyboard format, outlining the narrative structure and key points of their study. Finally, they will present their findings on the experiences of individuals at Auschwitz in a multimedia format, combining visual and textual elements to convey a comprehensive biographical analysis.

• Research Idea – ungraded
• Research Proposal - 10%
• Research Plan – 10%
• Presentation - 10%
• Final Draft - 20%

Academic Regulations 

Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:

• Course Enrollment and Grading
• Academic Expectations and Honor Code

DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.DISabroad.org