The Holocaust as Public History

Module overview

This module explores the Holocaust as a problem of public pedagogy. It examines the establishment of Holocaust museums in both Jewish and non-Jewish communities between 1945 and the present. It treats questions of memorialisation and commemoration in a variety of different communities and case studies. It examines the Holocaust as a problem of education, in both schools’ settings and civil society initiatives. It explores the impact of the digital revolution on issues of communication, considering the evolution of Holocaust pedagogy and awareness in the post-survivor age. This module encourages students to develop their own communication activity.

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

engage with historiography and theoretical frameworks contributing to the debates relating to the Holocaust as public history and its relationship to the wider world.
apply your developed knowledge of the Holocaust as public history, structuring your ideas and research findings into well-ordered written assignments.
undertake a thorough critical analysis and assessment of a variety of textual, visual and material culture sources.

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

a wide variety of primary sources relating to the Holocaust as public history.
public history, in particular the way in which historians communicate the history of the Holocaust to the public through various approaches.
a wide variety of secondary source material relating to the Holocaust as public history, including theoretical frameworks used in the field.

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

use to good effect textual, visual and material culture sources, synthesising this material to develop cogent and persuasive arguments.
research complex historical questions and communicate your findings convincingly and concisely in written assignments.
utilise and develop your time-management skills.

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching methods include seminars and workshops. Learning methods include skills-based workshops and discussion of key themes and ideas.

Study time
Type	Hours
Workshops	24
Preparation for scheduled sessions	100
Completion of assessment task	100
Wider reading or practice	52
Seminar	24
Total study time	300

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

Arkadi Zeltser (2018). Unwelcome Memory: Holocaust Monuments in the Soviet Union. Jerusalem: Yad Vashem.

Stuart Foster, Andy Pearce et al., (2020). Holocaust Education. Contemporary Challenges and Controversies. UCL Press.

Steffi de Jong (2019). The Witness as Object. Video Testimony in Memorial Museums. Berghahn.

Emily-Jayne Stiles (2021). Holocaust Memory and National Museums in Britain. Palgrave Macmillan.

Diana I. Popescu, ed. (2022). Visitor Experience at Holocaust Memorials and Museums. Routledge.

Assessment

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Written assignment	60%
Essay	40%

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Resubmit assessments	100%

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Written assignment	60%
Essay	40%

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External