Instructor:
Dr. Daniel Skubik, PhD JD MDiv
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]
Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays, 12:20-1:15PM
California
Baptist University
Spring Semester, 2005
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. 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]
Primo Levi, The Drowned
and the Saved (Vintage International, 1989)
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.
Other books, like those noted below, and websites may be referenced throughout the term, contents of which all students also 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)
Other texts will also be
noted as the term progresses.
Readings & Assignments Schedule
|
Week #1 |
Introduction to course |
|
Week #2 |
Discuss D: chapters 1-3, pages 3-69 |
|
Week #3 |
Discuss D: chapters 4-8, pages 70-166 |
|
Week #4 |
Discuss D: chapters 9-11, pages 169-241;
and |
|
Week #5 |
Discuss D: chapters 12-13, pages 242-278;
and R&R: chapter 6, pages 143-166 |
|
Week #6 |
Discuss D; chapters 14-16, pages 279-353 |
|
Week #7 |
Film (and catch-up on reading remainder of
week) |
|
Week #8 |
Midterms Week: catch-up on discussions
and Review for midterm (28th & 2nd) |
|
Week #9 |
Discuss R&R: chapters 7-8, pages
167-213 |
|
Week #10 |
Discuss R&R: chapter 9, pages 217-247 |
|
Week #11 |
Discuss R&R: chapter 10, pages 249-290 |
|
Week # 12 |
Discuss R&R: chapter 11, pages 291-325 |
|
Week #13 |
Discuss R&R: chapter 12 + Epilogue,
pages 327-377 |
|
Week #14 |
Team Presentations (one each day) |
|
Week #15 |
Team Presentation (25th) and
Review for final (27th) |
|
Week #16 |
Final Exam: scheduled per
University catalog, 11:00 AM – 1:00PM |
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.
Assessment & Grading Scale
|
Team Presentation or Research Paper = 20% |
90 - 100 = A range |
|
Midterm or Final Exam = 20% |
80 - 89 = B range |
|
Reflective Essays = 20% (2 @ 10% each) |
70 - 79 = C range |
|
Quizzes = 30% (6 @ 5% each) |
60 - 69 = D range |
|
Participation = 10% |
0 - 59 = F |
Team Presentation or Individual Research
Paper
Each student will choose by
March 11th 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 ~4000 words. There is a limit of four
teams that can be formed, and so a maximum of 12 people will be permitted to
commit to a presentation. Should more than 12 persons wish to participate in
teams, a lottery will be held to limit the field.
The Turnitin Account ID for
this course is 1232571 and the join password is *****. Students are strongly
encouraged to take the Turnitin tutorial before creating an account and
submitting a paper for this class. Go to http://www.turnitin.com
for details. Early submissions are encouraged but not required.
Reflective Essays
Three reflective essays on
Wiesel’s and Levi’s writings are set for the term, with the student required to
submit two of those three essays. You need not commit ahead of time to
submitting any particular two, and submitting a third paper will not create any
advantage (no extra credit or best 2-of-3 substitutions).
The essay should run ~2000
words, 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 (~300 words); part II is an integration of selected
materials we have covered in class with the narrative (~1000-1200 words); part
III is personal reflection on what the narrative has taught you—as an historian
or human being—that goes beyond the material covered in class (~500-700 words).
The Turnitin Account ID for
this course is 1232571 and the join password is *****. Students are strongly
encouraged to take the Turnitin tutorial before creating an account and
submitting a paper for this class. Go to http://www.turnitin.com
for details.
Quizzes
There will be at least 7,
and as many as 10, quizzes given during the term, though only your best 6
quizzes will count towards your final grade for the course. Students will form
small, stable study groups of 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 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 Monday, February 21st.
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, 10% 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 39 scheduled class sessions, and you are required to attend at least 30 class sessions (~75%). Should you miss more than 9 class sessions, you must speak with me before you will be permitted to complete the course. Should you miss 16 class sessions (~40%), you will not be permitted to complete the course.