Instructor: Dr. Daniel W. Skubik, PhD JD MDiv
Office: J266 /
Voice: 951.343.4288 / Fax: 951.343.4520
Web: http://www.calbaptist.edu/dskubik
E-Mail: dskubik@calbaptist.edu
The Holocaust:
A Christian View
HIS 400 (A) [Special Studies]
Tuesday/Thursday,
California
Baptist University
Spring Semester, 2007
This course is designed to
introduce the student to the extensive historiography covering the period of
recent history and associated events cumulatively nominated the Holocaust/Shoah. It will provide opportunity for personal and
in-depth analysis of some of the causes and consequences of this “war against
the Jews.” Items for study and reflection will include dramatic literary and
film narratives, along with traditional historical analyses and documents. That
the course is subtitled “a Christian view” means to suggest that our
investigations will encompass both what it means to study these events as
Christians, as well as what these events can mean to Christians’
self-understandings, from philosophical and theological—alongside
historical—perspectives.
The course is open to all
students able and willing to engage in upper division study, and can be used to
fulfill history major or minor upper division unit requirements, or general
education requirements.
Required Texts
Lucy Dawidowicz,
The War Against the Jews: 1933-1945 [any
edition will suffice, but the 10th anniversary edition released by
Bantam in 1986 is strongly recommended]
Imre Kertész, Kaddish For a Child Not
Born (Northwestern University Press, 1997)
Richard Rubenstein &
John Roth, Approaches to Auschwitz: The Holocaust
and Its Legacy rev. ed. (Westminster John Knox Press, 2003) [you will want
this newer revision, not the original 1987 edition]
Elie Wiesel,
Night [any edition will suffice, but either the 25th
Anniversary edition by Bantam in 1986, or the combined The Night Trilogy
(containing Night, Dawn, and The Accident) released by
Hill & Wang in 1987 is recommended]
All books are readily
available, new & used, from web shops such as Amazon.com, or Barnes
& Noble, as well as from the CBU Bookstore.
Other books, like those noted below, handouts and websites also will be referenced throughout the term, contents of which all students will be responsible.
Suggested
supplemental titles of interest
Lucy Dawidowicz
(ed.), A Holocaust Reader
(Behrman House, 1976) [an edited compilation of key
primary source documents relating to the Holocaust]
Walter Lacquer (ed.), The Holocaust
Encyclopedia (Yale, 2001)
Readings & Assignments Schedule
|
Week #1 |
Introduction to course, requirements and
expectations |
|
Week #2 |
Discuss R&R [Rubenstein & Roth]: Prologue
& chapters 1-2, pages 1-70 |
|
Week #3 |
Discuss D [Dawidowicz]:
chapters 1-3, pages 3-69 |
|
Week #4 |
Discuss D: chapters 4-8, pages 70-166 |
|
Week #5 |
Discuss D: chapters 9-11, pages 169-241;
and |
|
Week #6 |
Discuss D: chapters 12-13, pages 242-278;
and R&R: chapter 6, pages 143-166 |
|
Week #7 |
20 – No face-to-face class meeting |
|
Week #8 |
Discuss D; chapters 14-16, pages 279-353 |
|
Week #9 |
Discuss R&R: chapters 7-8, pages
167-213 |
|
Week #10 |
Discuss R&R: chapter 9, pages 217-247 |
|
Week #11 |
Spring
Break |
|
Week # 12 |
Discuss R&R: chapter 10, pages 249-290 |
|
Week #13 |
Discuss R&R: chapter 11, pages 291-325 [Passover/Pesach began at sundown |
|
Week #14 |
Discuss R&R: chapter 12 + Epilogue,
pages 327-377 |
|
Week #15 |
Team Presentations (one each day) |
|
Week #16 |
Team Presentation |
|
Tuesday,
May 1 |
Final Examination period as set by
University, |
Assessment & Grading Scale
|
Team Presentation or Research Paper = 20% |
90 - 100 = A range (90-94 = A-) |
|
Midterm or Final Exam = 20% |
80 - 89 = B range (80-83 = B-
/ 87-89 = B+) |
|
Reflective Essays = 20% (2 @ 10% each) |
70 - 79 = C range (70-73 = C-
/ 77-79 = C+) |
|
Quizzes = 25% (5 @ 5% each) |
60 - 69 = D range (60-63 = D-
/ 67-69 = D+) |
|
Participation = 15% |
0 - 59 = F |
Team Presentation or Individual Research
Paper
Each student will choose by
March 8th whether s/he will commit to prepare a team presentation or
individual research paper on a topic arranged with the instructor. A team
comprises three students working together to prepare a detailed, full-form
outlined 35-45 minute presentation to the class, utilizing a variety of visual
aids to educate on the arranged topic. An individual research paper will be
prepared on an arranged topic, running ~3500 words (~10 pages). There is a
limit of three (3) teams that can be formed, and so a maximum of 9 people will
be permitted to commit to a presentation. Should more than 9 persons wish to
participate in teams, a lottery will be held to limit the field and choose team
members.
Presentation outlines and
research papers are due to Turnitin (through
Blackboard) no later than
Reflective Essays
Two (2) reflective essays,
on Wiesel’s and Kertész’s writings, are set for the term. The essay should
run ~1500 words (~4 pages), and should comprise a combined analytical assessment
and personal reflection on the narrative involved. The essay should be
structured in the following manner: part I is a very brief summary of key
elements of the narrative under discussion and integration of selected
materials we have covered in class with the narrative (~1000 words); part II is
personal reflection on what the narrative has taught you—as an historian or
human being—that goes beyond the material covered in class (~500 words). Essays
are due to Turnitin (through Blackboard) no later
than
Quizzes
There will be at least 6,
and as many as 9, quizzes given during the term, though only your best 5
quizzes will count towards your final grade for the course. Students will form
small, stable study groups of 2-3 students each by the second week of classes
for the duration of the term. Quizzes will be taken by each group as a group,
with the quiz mark shared by those present and taking the quiz on any
particular class day. The quizzes are objective in nature (true/false, multiple
choice, fill-in the blank, matching, etc), concerning material most recently
covered in the previous class session or relating to material to be covered in
class that day.
Midterm or Final Examination
Students will commit to take
either the midterm or final examination, but not both, by Tuesday, February 13th.
Each exam will be of similar format, with objective and essay components to be
completed in the allotted time. The final is not cumulative in any strict
sense, so there is no particular advantage to choosing one exam over the other
for content purposes.
Participation
Although speaking in class, publicly putting and
defending a position or interpretation, can be daunting, you are strongly
encouraged to learn to think through your own and others’ experiences and
insights within the context of our discussions. In this context, you are not
being evaluated for reaching “right” conclusions, but for demonstrating your
facility in forming arguments for any conclusions put, given the material we
will cover in class.
To give direct incentive to
so engage, 15% of your mark for the course will be comprised of my assessment
of your classroom participation during the semester. Participation is to
include in-class discussions during the semester, and does not include
attendance.
Both because of the nature
of the course and its content, and the teamwork required to complete assigned
assessment items like quizzes, attendance is expected, with a simple threshold requirement:
we have 26 scheduled class sessions, and you are expected to attend at least 19
class sessions (~75%). Should you miss more than 7 class sessions, you must
speak with me before you will be permitted to complete the course.
Extra-curricular & Extra-credit opportunities
There are several events and field
trips to be scheduled outside of our normal class times. You are strongly
encouraged, but not required, to participate. These prospectively include
meeting with the Rabbi and members of Temple Beth El (
CBU Statement on Academic Dishonesty
Faculty in the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS)
have been asked to include the
following statement in all our syllabi. Do speak with your instructor if at any
time you have questions or concerns about this statement and its meaning for or
application in your classes.
Academic dishonesty (cheating, plagiarism, copying,
and other forms) will be reported to the Dean of Students. Judicial sanctions
for offense [sic] are handled on a case-by-case basis depending on the
seriousness of the violation, prior violations and other factors. Judicial
sanctions may include, but are not limited to, loss of a letter grade or
failure in the course in which the offense occurred, suspension, and/or
dismissal from the University. A detailed discussion of academic dishonesty is
located in the Student Handbook.
Source: 2006-2007 Undergraduate Catalog, at p.80
Caveat
This syllabus schedule is
composed in good faith, with a schedule of readings and assignments that will
guide us throughout the term. Still, the instructor reserves the right to make
adjustments to this schedule as deemed necessary for the overall enterprise of
the course. Any changes will be communicated as far in advance as feasible, and
you are responsible for knowing if and when any changes have been made.