Controversies in Holocaust Literature

We never encounter stories in isolation. Every narrative—in the news, in a class, even in casual conversation—comes coupled with its own context that affects how were receive and make sense of it. This is especially pertinent in the study of literature and film about the Holocaust, which has engendered fierce debates ever since the genre first emerged in the late-1940s. How do matters of historical study, community formation, and political action affect how we read this body of work? This course focuses on both famous and lesser-known examples of Holocaust media and the debates that they engendered. We will first encounter the “text” on its own at the beginning of each week, focusing on form and content. In the following class, we will dive into the reception history of the work, its publication context, and controversial aspects of the work in the world. Training our analysis on the terms of these debates, we will evaluate these readings (or mis-readings) and the assertions or claims they make.