NEW 472/474

1) New 472-Social Change/474-Survival

The class will study the Holocaust and all its complexities, from the factors that allowed it to happen, to the specifics of the events, to the legacies and responses to such a horrific event. We will take a very interdisciplinary approach and try to integrate the material for as broad and comprehensive an understanding as possible.

   New 474-Human Survival

This seminar broadens the scope of study on massive human destructiveness to include other genocides and examples of inhumanity. The format is the same as in New 472.

These are "W" designated courses.
4 credit Hours

2) Dr. Jerry Rosenberg
101E Carmichael Hall
348-8414 / E-mail: jrosenbe@bama.ua.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday, 4pm to 5pm or by appointment

3) These seminars are concerned with the process and analysis of social change and issues of human and humane survival.  We will study Genocides and the Holocaust, attempting to understand it as an intense and unparalleled human experience. The causes, events, outcomes and implications are researched through books, films, interviews, tapes, various documentaries and class discussions. This course will look at the historical event, the trends of prejudice, anti-Semitism and mass movements, and the many historical antecedents that led to the Holocaust and are identifiable as  contributors to other examples of mass destruction .For the Holocaust  we will study the rise of Nazism, the emergence of the institutions of the Holocaust and the Final Solution, the victims and victimizers, the immediate and long term implications and consequences of the Holocaust and the world today. As a paradigmatic model, the Holocaust will lead us to other genocides.

While this course is primarily for New College students, since it is a required course, students from other divisions can take the course with permission of the instructor.

4) This course, as, has a "W" designation. This means that writing skills, as demonstrated in the exam papers, will play a major part in the determination of the class grade. The writing component will be met by the exam format, that includes three or four take home essay exams, at least one graded and returned before midterm, with detailed feedback on the writing performance. The writing component will be met by the steady writing improvement in response to the exam feedback, and have the last two exams above the threshold for graduating seniors. The specifics for this threshold will be spelled out in the exam section of the calendar.

5) There are no specific course prerequisites, but it is recommended that the student has had Social Science 1, is at least of Junior status, has a good background in the Social Sciences if SSI has not been taken, and is prepared to work very diligently with difficult and demanding material.

6) Educational Objectives:

• To learn the factual events of the Holocaust.
• To identify and understand the trends and forces that led to the rise of Nazism and the Holocaust.
• To understand the nature of the behavior of the perpetrators as well as the victims and survivors and bystanders. To study survival under conditions and extremes.
• To identify the common factors of the Holocaust and other events of destruction and inhumanity as well as the differences between the Holocaust and these other events.
• To be able to refute revisionists historians and deniers who claim there never was a Holocaust.
• To raise our consciousness to contemporary examples of inhumanity.

7) The required texts for the course are listed on the website.

8) A detailed description of the assignments, readings and exams are covered in the class calendar on the website.

9) There will be three or four take-home exams, the specific questions, material to be covered, due dates and an outline of the writing requirements, are detailed in the class calendar and exam schedule. Exams are due on the date specified unless modified by the class and instructor.

Every four days the exams are late, the grade will be lowered one full letter.

10) Each test of equal value, but steady improvement across the semester will be considered in determining the final grade. This reflects the philosophy that where one stands at the end of the semester is a better measure of learning then performance on an single early exam. In other words, I do give credit for improvement where the grades are borderline. The final grade is ultimately determined by the cumulative performance across all the take-home exams.

11) Since this is a seminar, attendance is important. Attendance will be taken each class. Since this particular seminar meets only once a week for four hours, missing any class is to miss a great deal of material. If problems arise that you know about in advance, please come and discuss them with me. If emergencies occur, come talk to me as soon as possible after the emergency. While all absences will be reviewed on an individual basis, excessive absences, excused or otherwise will effect the final grade.

12) The class calendar, with assignments, readings, exam questions and the exam schedule are all on the website.

13) Academic Misconduct: Any cases of Academic Misconduct will be reported to the Academic Misconduct monitor for the College of Arts and Sciences.

14) Disability Access Statement: "To request disability accommodations, please contact Disability Services (348-4285). After initial arrangements are made with that office, contact your professor."