HOLOCAUST FICTION: THE LITERATURE OF WITNESS
JUST 490M, ENG 450J, COLI 480T
Fall 2010
Binghamton University SUNY
Dr. Paul-William Burch
Office: Academic B 130-A
Office Hours: MW 2:30 to 3:30 PM & by appointment
Telephone: 607.427.9653
Email: [email protected]
Required Texts:
Lawrence Langer,
Piotr Rawicz,
Jerzy Kosiński,
Elie Wiesel,
Cynthia Ozick,
Hans Keilson, (trans. Ivo Jarosy)
Time: Wednesday, 4:20-7:25 PM
Class Location: SW 325
Art from the Ashes (Anthology)
Blood from the Sky
The Painted Bird
Gates of the Forest
The Shawl
The Death of the Adversary
The required texts, all paperback, have been ordered at the university bookstore. I strongly
encourage you to buy all the books as soon as possible. The University Bookstore begins returning
books as early as the third week of the semester. You may of course, buy your books online as well.
Throughout the semester I will also distribute other photocopied reading materials for the class,
and there will be guest speakers.
COURSE DESCRIPTION, OBJECTIVES, ATTENDANCE, AND
PARTICIPATION IN CLASS
Do history and literature collude or collide in reconstructing what David Rousset terms l’univers
concentrationnaire—the concentrationary universe—the death-dominated landscape of the Third
Reich? How can the literary imagination convey, much less explain, the unspeakable, unimaginable
terrors of the Nazi program of atrocity and extermination? And what place has imaginative
literature alongside the fact-bound reconstructions of history (including diaries, journals, and
memoirs, etc.)? Like history (including the memoir and journals), fictional responses to the
Holocaust strain against the limitations of language and credulity. Like testimony, memoirs, and
journals, fiction struggles to absorb the event and to wrest from it a meaning.
Holocaust fiction puts into words what customarily remains outside the flow of historical narrative:
the sufferings, resistances, aspirations of the individuals ravaged by genocide, survivors whose lives
and experiences are left outside of historical accounts. Students in this course read fiction written
chiefly by Holocaust survivors in the context of the literature of witness to address issues of
representation, factuality, and voice.
Our objectives for this course will be to establish a context for reading Holocaust fiction by
studying the literature of witness and by reading Holocaust diaries and memoirs; do close readings
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of fiction written by Holocaust survivors; write critical responses to texts; participate in class
discussions.
Welcome to the course! Holocaust literature, unlike any other subject, makes great demands on our
hearts and spirits. Indeed, we sometimes refer to Holocaust Literature as the “literature of
atrocity.” What we do in this class does not swerve or turn away from human suffering and human
cruelty, even deliberate, extreme cruelty. I expect you to read deeply and attentively, to ask
questions, and to share your thinking. I insist that you respect the memories of the victims and
survivors and the discourse of your fellow classmates as we struggle to engage this difficult
subject.
You must attend one three-hour seminar each week. Attendance means critical, lively concentration
and assessment of work at hand. Every class is important, and our time together is short. I expect
you to attend every class prepared and to participate in the discussions of the class. If you miss
three classes (equal to 9 class hours), your final grade will be dropped one letter grade. Four or
more absences (equal to 12 class hours) mean that you will fail the course. Failure to make up a
scheduled conference counts as an absence. If you fail to return to class after the class break, you
will be counted absent. If an emergency or illness prevents your attending, please notify me by email. If you are absent, you are still accountable for anything discussed or done that class.
I do not accept late work. If you are absent, I will accept assignments e-mailed to
[email protected] until 11:59 PM of the day the assignment was due.
E-mail messages, notices on Blackboard, or announcements in class will provide due dates and
procedures for assignments and class preparation. You may be asked to submit some papers via email attachment. You are also required to participate via our course site on Blackboard. Throughout
the semester, you may also receive assignments to post to the Discussion Board on Blackboard.
Completing these posts is part of your participation grade. To access the Blackboard site as a
registered user, know your university e-mail address and PODS password and log in at
http://blackboard.cc.binghamton.edu/?bbatt=Y.
All the latest course information, changes, due dates, and requirements will be posted on the
Blackboard Announcements page. Check the Blackboard site regularly throughout the week but
especially on the day of class (when last-minute changes are most likely to occur). If you do not
have a computer with Internet access at home, you can access the site through any of Binghamton
University's pod computers, which are scattered across campus. Go to the Binghamton University
Computing Web page to learn pod locations (http://computing.binghamton.edu/).
Silence your phones, beepers, and pagers. No taping is allowed. If you take your computer to class,
use it only to facilitate your note taking.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADES
Grades for this course will be figured on a point system. You will know the point value of any
assignment at the time the assignment is made, but here are the major categories of assignments
and the point values:
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• Close Readings/Explication de texte papers (approximately four) —100 points per assignment
• Midterm Examination (hour exam) —100 points
• Final Examination (two-hour examination during exam week)—200 points. The Final will have one
essay question that is cumulative. The remainder of the Final Examination will consider all the
material since the midterm examination.
• Contribution to class discussions and participation (including Blackboard/online, individual and
group work, etc.)—50 possible points per semester
• Miscellaneous in-class writing assignments or reading quizzes 10-50 points each; these may not be
announced.
Your work in this course, which has a Harpur W designation, includes significant writing. You are
required to write four close readings/explication de texte of 3- 5 pages (750 -1250 words). These
are entirely your readings and analyses of the assigned texts through the prism of the literature of
witness, intended to exercise your critical and analytical faculties. Outside research is neither
desirable nor allowed. The topics/and or passages to be analyzed will be distributed in class a week
or so before the due date. You are encouraged to arrange conferences before the submission date
to discuss and evaluate your preparation and /or drafts. Prepare the papers according to the MLA
style sheet.
The mid-term and final examinations will also have major essay components wherein you will be
asked to read and interrogate the works through the prism of the literature of witness.
For each examination you will be given a study guide that lists the essay questions. From the
several questions offered on the study guide only ONE or possibly TWO will appear on the
examination. To facilitate your reading and preparation you will also be given a blank study sheet
that you should take to the examination. On both sides of the study sheet, write or type drafts (or
notes toward drafts) of your examination essays. Your study sheet may also include identification
items and other information you may want to remember, but it is intended chiefly to allow you to
draft your essays before the examination.
Your close reading essays and your mid-term examination essays will be returned in individual
conferences with rubrics that identify the strengths and weaknesses of your performance.
Therefore, your total written pages will be a minimum of 12-16 for the close reading assignments
and 12 for the examinations, not including your drafts—a minimum of approximately 25 pages. This
number does not include in-class essays or identification items, etc. on quizzes.
You must complete all assignments to earn a grade in the course. All makeup quizzes will be given at
the discretion of the instructors and scheduled for ONE DAY ONLY at the end of the semester.
Bonus quizzes, however, cannot be made up. No late work will be accepted. If you fail to submit an
assignment (a close reading, for instance) you will receive a grade of zero for that assignment. Your
semester’s grade is determined by the percentage of points you earn in relation to the number of
points possible. Here are the breakdowns for each letter grade: 94-100% = A; 90-93% = A-;
87-89% = B+; 84-86 = B; 80-83 = B-; 7-79 = C+; 74-76 = C; 70-73 = C-.
Type all out-of-class assignments and prepare them according to the MLA style sheet. You should
keep a record of all assignments submitted, their dates and points earned, for your protection. You
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should save everything related to this course until the course ends Do not destroy drafts,
assignments, or records related to this course until the course is past and you receive your grade.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
All members of the university community have the responsibility to maintain and foster an
atmosphere of academic integrity. Specifically, this requires that all classroom, laboratory, and
written work for which a person claims credit is in fact that person’s own work. The annual
university Student Handbook publication has detailed information on academic integrity. You assume
responsibility for the content and integrity of the academic work you submit. You violate the
academic honesty code if you incorporate into your written or oral texts any unacknowledged
published or unpublished or oral material from the work of another (plagiarism) or if you use,
request, or give unauthorized assistance in any academic work (cheating). I will not tolerate
plagiarism or cheating. Incidents of either will result in at minimum a failing grade for the
assignment in question. If you have any questions about what constitutes plagiarism, ask me.
ACCOMMODATIONS
If you are a student with a disability and wish to request accommodations, notify me in writing or
by e-mail by the second week of class. I encourage you to contact the Office of Services for
Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 777-2868. The SSD office makes formal recommendations
regarding necessary and appropriate accommodations based on your specifically diagnosed
disability, which will be kept confidential.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Throughout the semester I will also distribute other photocopied reading materials for the class
and there will be a guest speaker. I may change this schedule if the needs of the class so warrant.
You will be notified in class and via Blackboard regarding any changes.
Wednesday, 1 September 2010
“Into the Whirlwind”: The Literature of Witness and Holocaust Fiction—Introduction to course
Wednesday, 8 September 2010: No class (Labor Day and Rosh Hashanah)
Wednesday, 15 September 2010: To Bear Witness—Representing the Shoah
Readings: All readings are in Langer, Art from the Ashes
• Jean Améry, “Torture,” 119-138
• Primo Levi, “Shame,” 108-115
• Elie Wiesel, “Plea for the Dead,” in Langer, 137-152
Wednesday, 22 September 2010: Holocaust Remembrance—The Shapes of Memory
Readings: All readings are in Langer, Art from the Ashes
• Josef Zelkowicz, “Days of Nightmare,” 197-214
• Jankiel Wiernik, “One Year in Treblinka,” 17-51
•Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl, excerpt to be distributed in class.
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Wednesday, 29 September: “Do history and fiction collide or collude in the representation of the
Shoah?”
Readings: All readings are from Lawrence Langer’s Art from the Ashes (unless otherwise indicated)
• Lawrence Langer, Art from the Ashes (35-39)
• Tadeusz Borowski, “This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen” (Langer, 343-356) and the
“World of Stone” from This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen (handout)
• Ida Fink, “The Key Game” (241-43)
• Ida Fink, “A Spring Morning” (244-48)
W ednesday, 6 October 2010
Readings: All readings are from Lawrence Langer’s Art from the Ashes (unless otherwise indicated)
• Ida Fink “A Scrap of Time” (handout)
• Arnošt Lustig, “Infinity” (Langer, 358)
• Aharon Appelfeld, “Bertha” (handout)
> Guide to First Close Reading paper (Topic TBA)
W ednesday, 13 October
Readings:
• Aharon Appelfeld, “Tzili,” (Langer, 273-341)
Writing Assignment:
> First Close Reading Due
> Guide to Second Close Reading paper (Topic TBA)
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
Readings:
• Kosinski, The Painted Bird
W ednesday, 27 October 2010
Readings:
• Henryk Grynberg, “Without A Trace” from Drohobycz, Drohobycz and Other Stories (handout)
• Bernard Gotfryd, “Last Morning,” (Langer, 258-262)
Writing Assignment:
> Due: Second Close Reading paper (TBA)
> Distribute guide to Midterm examination (and study sheet)
W ednesday, 3 November 2010 Midterm Exam
>Midterm Exam / HOUR EXAMINATION
Readings:
• Sara Nomberg Przytyk, “The Verdict,” (Langer, 264- 67)
• Sara Nomberg Przytyk, “Friendly Meetings,” (Langer 268-70)
W ednesday, 10 November 2010
Readings:
• Wiesel, The Gates of the Forest
> Distributed: Guide to Third Close Reading paper (TBA)
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TUESDAY, 16 NOVEMBER 2010: PUBLIC READING
Francine Prose, “Anne Frank, The Book, The Life, the Afterlife” at 7:30 PM, PLACE TBA. Reception
and book signing to follow.
Wednesday, 17 November 2010
Readings:
• Hans Keilson, The Death of the Adversary
Writing Assignment:
> Due: Third Close Reading paper (TBA)
> Guide to Fourth Close Reading paper distributed
W ednesday, 24 November 2010—Thanksgiving Recess
Readings:
W ednesday, 1 December 2010
• Piotr Rawicz, Blood from the Sky
> Guide to Fourth Close Reading paper distributed
> Due: Fourth Close Reading paper (TBA)
W ednesday, 8 December 2010
Readings:
• Cynthia Ozick, The Shawl
> Guide to Final Examination (with study sheet distributed)
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
Final Examination
4:30 PM to 6:30 PM
SW 325
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