Representing the Holocaust in Words & Images
Jewish Studies/Hebrew Studies 261: Online
SAMPLE SYLLABUS: This is not the exact syllabus you will have in your semester, but it will give you a good sense of what we will do together
Dr. Rachel N. Baum
Greene Museum 120 (Center for Jewish Studies, next to Sabin, on Downer)
229-5156
Course Online Access:
Desire to Learn at http://d2l.uwm.edu
Any problems with access, please contact or call (414)229-4040
Course Description: The Holocaust remains one of the most horrific events in modern history. It is nearly impossible to comprehend the torture and murder of men, women, and children on such a massive scale. History has had a difficult enough time piecing together the events of the past . . . what about art? Is it appropriate to write novels and poetry about such horror? Do literature and film add anything to the study of history? What should such literature and film do? Should it shock us? Educate us? Horrify us? Make us cry? How can literature and film help us to remember a past we did not experience?
This course will provide a general background to the Holocaust as well as to the study of literature.
Learning Outcomes:
A student successfully completing this course will be able to:
· Identify the major events of the Holocaust and describe the historical progression of the Nazi murder of the Jews of Europe
· Describe the major ethical, aesthetic, and representational concerns around representations of the Holocaust
· Recognize, evaluate, and analyze the complex moral context of the Holocaust, with particular attention to the roles of victim, perpetrator, and bystander
· Analyze a Holocaust text (literature or film) with particular attention to the ethical, aesthetic, and representational issues raised by the text.
Required Reading:
1. Gerda Weissman Klein, All But My Life. You can purchase this from the UWM Bookstore, or online.
2. Other texts will be delivered electronically, via Ginkgotree. In fact, our class is participating in a pilot project on the use of Ginkgotree. Basically, this program allows professors to create a kind of “online textbook” for students, at reduced rates. You will pay $15 for access to Gingkotree, but will not have to buy the books that students in this course usually do, or a course reader. I am having you buy the Klein text because I want you to read a full length memoir, and it’s a great book. On D2L, you will find information about Ginkgotree (under Content) and the Gingkotree link is on the upper right hand side of the navigation bar (to the left of the Logout button).
3. Because I want to try to keep costs down for you, as part of the pilot project, I am not requiring you to purchase Maus II by Art Spiegelman. It is a graphic “novel” about Spiegelman’s father’s experiences in Auschwitz, and it's a very important book about the Holocaust. Some of you may already own one of the volumes, however (Maus I or Maus II), and/or may choose to purchase it or to get it from your local library. I think you will get more out of the unit if you do read one of the books in its entirety, but you will still get a lot out of the unit without purchasing the book.
Online Education: Online courses might also be called “self-directed learning.” Online courses allow students to more easily fit their learning into their schedule of work, family, and other courses. Yet the workload is just as stringent as the workload for a face-to-face course – perhaps even more so, because rather than sitting in class for 75 minutes a week, you will be sitting in front of your computer during that time, in addition to completing the reading and writing assignments of the course. This course in particular lends itself to online learning, because it is a course filled with media – films, video clips, images, and so on. If you stick with the work, I know you will have a valuable, enriching, and fun time. But you must keep up with the work! The schedule is set up in such a way as to prevent you from falling behind – Keep up with the assignments, and you will be fine! If you have questions or start to fall behind, be sure to contact me. This is even more important in an online course than in a face-to-face course.
Required Resources:
Computer Skills. In order to be successful in this course you should have basic computer skills. You should be able to perform basic word processing tasks. You should be able to browse the Internet and send and receive email messages. There are other tasks that you will need to perform throughout the course, but we will learn these as we go. If you do not have the basic computer skills listed above, you will probably struggle in this course. You may consider finding another course option that will fit your needs.
Computer requirements. Because this course is conducted online, you will need access to a computer that has a broadband connection. You may own a computer and have high-speed internet access where you live. If not, you will need to use the UWM campus computer labs to complete your course work. Information about lab locations and hours are located here:
https://www4.uwm.edu/uits/services/campus/ccis/
Checking D2L regularly: Because this is an online class, you must make an effort to “come to class” regularly. Please check D2L on Mondays for your work for that week/unit, and plan on checking in about every 2 – 3 days to read the forums, see if there are announcements, etc. You will not be able to see the entire course at once, but will receive each unit on the Monday on which it begins. Most of the units last for two weeks.
Please be sure to check the “Announcements” section on the front page of our D2L course site frequently. I will use this space for introductions to the units, things I want you to know, general announcements, etc.
Software Requirements/Second Life Assignment: In addition to needing to use D2L, you will need a computer that can run Second Life. Second Life is a virtual 3D world. You create an avatar and use him/her to live in the virtual world. There are a variety of educational and recreational activities to do in Second Life. Our class will be going on a virtual field trip to an exhibit of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. This will require that you download the Second Life software. If your computer is not able to run SL, you will need to find one that can. Please do this early in the semester, so by the time the assignment comes around, you will know which computer you will use. UWM campus computers have SL installed on them.
Facebook page. I have set up a Facebook page for our class. This will let me send you reminders, announcements, articles & videos of interest, and so on. I use FB in all my classes, but require it in my online classes, because it is so helpful for keeping online students connected. This does NOT mean that you need a Facebook account, or must actively use Facebook. If you have a FB account and “like” our class page, my announcements will show up in your news feed. If you do not use FB, please check the page about once a week to see what you have missed. You can find the link on our class D2L site (Look on the right hand side navigation bar), or do a search for “UWM Jewish 261 Fall2013” (make sure you find FALL 2013, since I have other pages).
I don’t friend students, so don’t be offended – It’s not that you’re not fabulous; it’s just easier this way.
GRADING
ASSIGNMENTS: When an assignment has a due date, it means that the assignment must be completed by MIDNIGHT of that day. If a forum response is due on Sunday, therefore, it means that you have until midnight Sunday night. Things that you hand in are generally due on Thursday or Sunday, which leaves you the beginning of the week for reading/viewing.
Forum Postings: 240 points (40 points per post)
Forums are the online version of in-class discussion. They are vital to our course, because they give you an opportunity to work through the issues of the course, and to engage in discussion about them with your classmates. They also offer me a chance to see your thinking about the issues and to raise some of the key concerns of the course. You must respond to the question I have asked, and your post must be a minimum of 250 words.
Forum posts & responses will be graded between 0 – 4 points (This will be multiplied by 10 to get your points for the post) . Full assignment on D2L.
For the discussion forums, you will be in a group of 7 - 9 students. This will let you really participate in the forums without having a burdensome number of posts to read, and will let you get to know the students in your forum better.
I have written the forum prompts on the syllabus, but may tweak them or expand on them as the semester progresses. Be sure to respond to the prompt you see on D2L, which will always be the most recent and correct version!
Forum Responses: 180 points (30 points per response)
These are brief (minimum of 150 words) responses to the posts made by your classmates. The more thoughtful you make these, the better class discussion will be. Say something substantive about the original comment, rather than just finding 150 words to say, “Great job!” You might use this space to ask for clarification about an issue, or to ask a question of your classmate.
These will be graded from 0 – 3. This will be multiplied by 10 to get your points score for the response.
Quizzes: 320 points (64 points each)
There are five quizzes throughout the semester. These are graded immediately on D2L.
Reflections (260 points)
There will be three written reflections on your learning throughout the course. Full assignment on D2L. The first reflection is worth 40 points; the second is worth 80 points, and the final reflection is worth 140 points.
Grading is based on a 1000 point system. Your final grades will be computed thusly:
950– 1000 points = A
900 - 949 points = A-
860 - 899 points = B+
821 - 859 points = B
800 – 820 points = B-
760 – 799 points = C+
721 – 759 points = C
700 – 720 points = C-
650 – 699 points = D+
600 – 649 points = D
Below 600 points = F
A Personal Note about Technology
I’m really excited about the use of Second Life in this class and want to tell you why, so you can be excited too! I think that sometimes students feel like technology is just one more thing to figure out, and it can feel like it’s not an essential part of the course.
I think that at its best, technology can help us learn in new ways. A lot of professors are teaching exactly the same way they were taught, TWENTY OR THIRTY YEARS AGO. When I went to grad school, the internet was only in its infancy and Windows was just being developed………..and I’m 44, not 90. So the world has changed in HUGE ways in a short amount of time, and I think that education must change with it. I love finding 21st century ways to learn, teach, explore, reflect, connect. I still believe in the basics – reading, writing, thinking – but know that there are 21st century ways to do those things.
Okay, I’ll throw in one more. Because you will be using 21st century tools to learn & to reflect on your learning, you will also be developing 21st century skills. Using Ginkgotree and Second Life will help you to think about important 21st Century issues and will increase your “digital literacy” (ability to use and think about digital tools).
POLICIES:
Participation by Students with Disabilities: If you need special accommodations in order to meet any of the requirements of this course, please contact me as soon as possible
Accommodation for Religious Observances: Students will be allowed to complete examinations or other requirements that are missed because of a religious observance.
Academic Misconduct: Students are responsible for the honest completion and representation of their work, for the appropriate citation of sources, and for respect of others' academic endeavors. Claiming other people’s writing or ideas as your own is a serious offense. Be sure to credit your sources – including information you’ve gotten off of the Internet – in your work. If you are unsure how to do this, be sure to see me.
The University Policy about these issues and others (e.g., students called to active military duty, discriminatory conduct, incompletes, etc.) can be found at:
http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SecU/SyllabusLinks.pdf
Email Etiquette: I check my email regularly and will usually respond to email within 24 hours. Please make the subject line something identifiable, such as Jewish Studies 261, so that I don’t accidentally delete your message. Should you not hear from me within a day, please resend it. And while we’ve all gotten more informal, please remember that I’m your professor.
Major/Minor in Jewish Studies
This course fulfills a requirement for the Jewish Studies major and minor. The major offers two tracks: Hebrew Studies and Jewish Cultural Studies (which does not require Hebrew language). With its combination of core courses and electives, the Jewish Studies program allows students to create a course of study that can focus on religion, culture, Israel, Holocaust, media, or immigration. A dynamic and innovative major, Jewish Studies prepares students to work in our multicultural world.
For more information on the Jewish Studies major and minor, please contact me, as I am coordinator of the Jewish Studies program.