American Studies | A399 28744 – Advanced Topics in S & H for AMST: Holocaust and American History.
A399 | 28755 | Linenthal
A399: Holocaust and American History
This course will examine the ever-changing constructions of
Holocaust memory in the United States, from the revelations of the
horrors of the concentration and death camps in the spring of 1945,
through the bitter battles over commercialization of the Holocaust
in more recent times. When—and how—did the genocide of European Jews
and the mass murder of so-called “other” victims become “The
Holocaust?” How have changing political, aesthetic, and cultural
realities shaped the many expressions of Holocaust remembrance?
Readings will include: Robert Abzug, "Inside the Vicious Heart:
Americans and the Liberation of Nazi Concentration Camps"; Peter
Novick, "The Holocaust in American Life"; Edward
Linenthal, "Preserving Memory: the Struggle to Create America’s
Holocaust Museum"; Art Spiegelman, "Maus"; Richard Rubenstein, "The
Cunning of History: the Holocaust and the American Future"; and
selections from Samantha Power, "A Problem from Hell: America and
the Age of Genocide." There may be three in-class examinations and
several short writing assignments.