Instructor:
Dr. Daniel Skubik, PhD JD MDiv
Voice: 909.343.4288 / Fax: 909.343.4520
Web: http://www.calbaptist.edu/dskubik
E-Mail: dskubik@calbaptist.edu
Holocaust: A
Christian View
HIS 400 (A) [Special Studies]
Tuesdays/Thursdays, 2:00-3:20PM
California
Baptist University
Spring Semester, 2003
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, and
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 10th
anniversary edition released by Bantam, 1986, is strongly recommended)
Richard Rubenstein &
John Roth, Approaches to Auschwitz (John Knox Press, 1987)
Elie Wiesel, The Night
Trilogy: Night, Dawn, The Accident (any editions of the three titles will
suffice, but combined edition released by Hill & Wang, 1987, strongly
recommended)
All books are readily
available, new & used, from web shops such as Amazon.com, or Barnes
& Noble.
Other books and websites may be referenced throughout the term,
contents of which the student 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 |
Film (and catch-up on reading) |
|
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 159-196 |
|
Week #7 |
Discuss D; chapters 14-16, pages 279-353 |
|
Week #8 |
Midterms Week |
|
Week #9 (Mar 4/6) |
Spring Vacation Week |
|
Week #10 |
Discuss R&R: chapter 7, pages 199-228 |
|
Week #11 |
Discuss R&R: chapter 8, pages 229-253 |
|
Week # 12 |
Discuss R&R: chapter 9, pages 254-289 |
|
Week #13 |
Discuss R&R: chapter 10, pages
290-338, |
|
Week #14 |
Discuss R&R: chapter 11 + Epilogue,
pages 339-364 |
|
Week #15 |
No class meeting on 15th |
|
Week #16 |
Team Presentations: Teams #1-2 on 22nd
and #3-4 on 24th |
|
Tuesday, Apr 29 |
Final Exam scheduled per University
catalog, 2:00-4:00PM |
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 27th 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
25-30 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 ~5000 words. There are a maximum of four teams that
will be formed, and so a maximum of 12 people will commit to a presentation.
Should more than 12 persons wish to participate in a team, a lottery will be
held to limit the field.
Midterm or Final Examination
Students will commit to take
either the midterm or final examination, but not both, by Thursday, 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.
Reflective Essays
Three reflective essays on
Wiesel’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).
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
afternoon.
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 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 26 scheduled class sessions, and you are required to attend at least 20 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. Should you miss 10 class sessions (~40%), you will not be permitted to complete the course.