Instructor: Dr. Daniel W. Skubik, PhD JD MDiv
Office: J266 / Office Hours per schedule
Voice: 951.343.4288 / Fax: 951.343.4520
Web: http://www.calbaptist.edu/dskubik
E-Mail: dskubik@calbaptist.edu

The Holocaust: Historiographic, Philosophic & Religious Perspectives

HIS 435
Tuesdays/Thursdays, 2:00-3:20PM

California Baptist University
Spring Semester, 2010

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.

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.

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1. Analyze and discuss the rise and fall of National Socialism in Germany, 1920s-1940s
2. Analyze and discuss the roots of anti-Semitism that flourished during the 19^th-20^th centuries
3. Analyze and discuss the role of Christianity during the Holocaust and in the post-Holocaust era
4. Analyze and discuss the value of and problems created by the historiographic record of the Holocaust

Required Texts

Lucy Dawidowicz, The War Against the Jews: 1933-1945 [any edition will suffice, but the 10^th anniversary edition released by Bantam in 1986 is strongly recommended]

Richard Rubenstein & John Roth, Approaches to Auschwitz: The Holocaust and Its Legacy rev. ed. (Westminster John Knox Press, 2003) [sometimes called revised edition, other times 2^nd edition]

Elie Wiesel, Night [any edition will suffice, but either the 25^th 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]

Primo Levi, The Drowned and the Saved (Vintage International, 1988)

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, handouts and websites also will be referenced throughout the term, contents of which all students will be responsible.

Readings & Assignments Schedule

Week #1 (Jan 7)	Introduction to course, requirements and expectations Introduction to historical studies of the Holocaust/Shoah
Week #2 (Jan 12/14)	Discuss R&R [Rubenstein & Roth]: Prologue & chapters 1-2, pages 1-70
Week #3   (Jan 19/21)	Discuss D [Dawidowicz]: chapters 1-3, pages 3-69 Read Wiesel: Night
Week #4   (Jan 26/28)	Discuss D: chapters 4-8, pages 70-166 [Holocaust Memorial Day observed, Wednesday, Jan 27^th] Reflective Essay #1 on Night due by 11:59PM on 31^st
Week #5   (Feb 2/4)	Discuss D: chapters 9-11, pages 169-241; and R&R: chapter 5, pages 121-142
Week #6 (Feb 9/11)	Discuss D: chapters 12-13, pages 242-278; and R&R: chapter 6, pages 143-166 11^th – Commit to midterm or final exam
Week #7   (Feb 16/18)	Discuss D; chapters 14-16, pages 279-353
Week #8   (Feb 23/25)	Discuss R&R: chapters 7-8, pages 167-213 25^th – Sign-up for Team Presentation or Individual Research Paper
Week #9 (Mar 2/4)	Midterms week [date of midterm to be decided by class consensus or vote; other day will be free for review and study]
Week #10 (Mar 9/11)	Discuss R&R: chapter 9, pages 217-247 Read Levi: Drowned & Saved
Week #11 (Mar 16/18)	Spring Break
Week # 12   (Mar 23/25)	Discuss R&R: chapter 10, pages 249-290 Reflective Essay #2 on Levi due by 11:59PM on 28^th
Week #13   (Mar 30 / Apr 1)	Discuss R&R: chapter 11, pages 291-325 [Passover/Pesach began at sundown 1^st – Easter Break; no class meeting last night, Mar 29^th]
Week #14 (Apr 6/8)	Discuss R&R: chapter 12 + Epilogue, pages 327-377 [Holocaust Remembrance Day observed Sunday, Apr 11^th]
Week #15   (Apr 13/15)	Presentations 1-2 15^th – no class meeting
Week #16 (Apr 20)	Presentations 3-4
Thursday, Apr 22	Final Examination period, as set by University 2:00-4:00PM

Assessment & Grading Scale

Team Presentation or Research Paper = 20%	90 - 100 = A range (90-94 = A-)
Midterm or Final Exam = 25%	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 = 10%	0 - 59 = F

Team Presentation or Individual Research Paper

Each student will choose by February 25^th 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 30-minute multimedia presentation to the class, utilizing a variety of visual and auditory aids to educate on the arranged topic. In the alternative, an individual research paper will be prepared on an arranged topic, running ~3500 words (~10-12 pages). There is a limit of four (4) 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 and choose team members.

Presentation outlines and research papers are due through the Assignments section on Blackboard no later than 11:59PM on Apr 20^th.

Reflective Essays

Two (2) reflective essays, on Wiesel’s and Levi’s writings, are set for the term. Each essay should run ~1500 words (~4-5 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 a historian or human being—that goes beyond the material covered in class (~500 words). Essays are due through the Assignments section on Blackboard no later than 11:59PM on the days designated in the syllabus.

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 Thursday, February 11^th. Each exam will be of similar format and length, 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 24 scheduled class sessions, and you are expected to attend at least 18 class sessions (~75%). Should you miss more than 6 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 that may 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 (Riverside) for Holocaust Remembrance Day activities, travel to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, and showing of several Holocaust films on selected evenings each month. Extra credit details will be provided whenever activity announcements are made.

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 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: 2009-2010 Undergraduate University Catalog, at p.53

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.