Extra Credit (or Make up) Reading Response Prompt: The Pianist

Hi folks! As I intimated in class, you may turn in an extra credit reading response (prompt questions outlined below) that will replace your lowest reading response grade for the semester. Alternatively, it is also a chance for those of you who did not complete five reading responses to do so with this response.

All reading responses are due along with your final project/essays in Avery 475 on Thursday 28 April (note the extended due date).


Choose a question from below and respond in a 2-3 page, typed essay:

1. The Pianist is based on the real life autobiography of composer Władysław Szpilman, and directed by Roman Polanski, himself a survivor of the Krakow ghetto (Polanski's mother perished at Auschwitz and his father survived the Mauthausen camp). From what you gathered in viewing this film, is the approach any different than that of Spielberg's in Schindler's List? What differences in perspective do you note between the two films, and how do the films represent the individual experience of the Holocaust differently?

2. The Pianist offers a view of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, but the uprising is not the central focus of the film. What is the purpose of this approach to conveying an individual perspective while foregrounding the historical event of the Uprising?

3. Silence plays a critical role in this film, as it has in other documentaries (Night and Fog, Shoah) we have viewed in this course. What is the role of silence in The Pianist, and how does it differ (or compare) to that of other films we have viewed?

Maus Reading Response Prompt

Final reading responses are due Tuesday 19 April in class or in Avery 475 by 5 PM. Choose one of the following prompts and develop a thesis in an essay of 2-3 pages:

1. Spiegelman's depiction of humans as animals is of central importance to Maus. How does this representation approach depicting the realities of the camps? What benefits and drawbacks are there to be had from depicting animals as humans?

2. Maus is a graphic novel that is both wholly focused on and entirely distant from the events of the Holocaust. What role does the Holocaust play in the text? For Artie? For Vladek?

3. Maus is often considered a work of second generation Holocaust narrative; what evidence do you see that supports this conclusion? How does Art Spiegelman approach representing his own feelings about the Holocaust?

Teaching Resources on the Web for Final Teaching Units

Hi folks,

For those of you who will be completing a teaching unit for the final project, I have compiled a list of resources on the web that offer unit plans, assignments you might model, and other suggestions for how to develop and implement a teaching unit on the Holocaust.


The Florida Center for Instructional Technology's Suggested Resources for Teachers:
http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/resource/resource.htm

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Teaching Resources portal:
http://www.ushmm.org/education/foreducators/

The Holocaust Teaching Resource Center in Virginia:
http://holocaust-trc.org/

Suggested handouts, lessons, and activities, offered by the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center (check out their teaching trucks program, too!):
http://wsherc.org/teaching/handouts.aspx

In-class discussion questions for Tuesday 12 April

1. Now that you have read the full text, how might you classify Maus? Is it fiction? Nonfiction? Memoir? A hybrid of classification? How does the comic book genre factor into your classification?

2. How do you interpret Vladek's racist response when Francoise picks up a hitchhiker?

3. Vladek's memory of his experiences at Auschwitz (both arrival and the duration) is both similar and dissimilar to other texts we have read. What main overlaps or departures do you notice in his narration of events?

4. Spiegelman inserts a somewhat cheeky (but quite astute) question on page 43, the frame in which Art is depicted entering his psychiatrist's office that is "overrun with stray dogs and cats." Spiegelman interjects, "Can I mention this, or does it completely louse up my metaphor?" How do you understand the meaning of this interjection? What hidden meanings or interpretations can you ascertain? How does this differ from Delbo's narrative interjections in Auschwitz and After?

5. The economy of the camps plays a significant role in representing camp life in a couple of texts we have read for the course, namely, Levi's Survival in Auschwitz and Sara Nomberg-Przytyk's Auschwitz: True Tales from a Grotesque Land. In Volume II of Maus, Art Spiegelman illustrates (pg. 64) the trade-off Vladek contemplates for bringing Anja near his barracks. How does this visual depiction differ from the texts we have read?

6. Chapter Three is entitled "And Here My Troubles Began..." Besides Vladek's memories, what does this title suggest? How does it relate to Vladek's racist outburst to Francoise after she picks up an African American hitchhiker?

7. What is the role of the American troops in the frames depicting/narrating liberation? What praise as well as critiques do you interpret in these frames?

8. How do you interpret the closing of the volume? Is anything resolved? Are there questions left unanswered? How might you characterize the sense of "closure" Art sought in gathering/representing his father's experiences?

Everything is Illuminated Reading Response Prompt

Choose one question from the following two questions to answer in an essay, due Tuesday 12 April in class or in Avery 475 by 5 PM.

1. What role does collection play in the film? Both Jonathan and Lista collect ephemera that many of us might consider to be useless material. Why do they collect, what purpose does ephemera serve, and how do you interpret the coincidence that both Jonathan and Lista are collectors?

2. Since everything in the film is eventually "illuminated," how do you interpret the grandfather's role? Why does he pretend to be blind, and why does he eventually commit suicide? What is illuminated, both physically and metaphorically, about the grandfather?

Maus Discussion Questions

In light of the schedule change, I'm posting discussion questions for our discussion of the first volume of Spiegelman's Maus, Volume I.

1. Maus assigns different animals to nationalities and "races." How do you interpret the use of animals as stand-ins for ethnic and national identity? What are the metaphorical/symbolic interpretations of each animal representation? How might the graphic novel be different if Spiegelman had used human characters?

2. At one point, early on in Volume I, Vladek asks Artie not to write about the personal details of his courtship and marriage of Anna--why do you suppose we are provided with the anecdotes that Vladek wishes to keep private? How do you interpret Spiegelman's betrayal of his father's wishes?

3. In class, we discussed some of the characteristics of second generation Holocaust narration; which of the factors we discussed do you see as important to understanding Maus?

4. How is the graphic novel genre different from other Holocaust novels and cinematic representations we have studied? What advantages and limitations do you note that influence your comprehension of the text?

5. Spiegelman has described comics as “a vital and expressive language that talks with its hands.” How does this quote call attention to "handwriting" as a theme in Maus?

6. How do you interpret the difference in tone/coloring of the meta-narrative, "Prisoner of Hell Planet," the short "case history" of Art's mother's suicide? How do you interpret the case history's meaning in relation to the rest of the text? To Art's relationship with Vladek?

Important Schedule Change Announcement

My apologies for springing a change to the schedule on you, but it looks like I will be out of town on 14 March, when we were to have discussed the second book of Spiegelman's Maus. Therefore, I am moving up the reading by one class period, so on Thursday of next week, 7 April, we will cover the first book of Spiegelman's Maus, followed by the second book of Maus on Tuesday 12 April. We will NOT hold class on Thursday 14 April.


I will be posting discussion points for Spiegelman's Maus tomorrow afternoon on the course blog to help get you started. Again, my apologies for the change in schedule.

The Iron Tracks Reading Response Prompt

Choose one of the following questions to answer. Reading responses for The Iron Tracks are due Tuesday 5 April, in class or in Avery 475 by 5 PM.

Headings for reading responses should adhere to the following format:

Stu Dent
Humanities 450
Reading Response #1
5 April 2011

Please note: the reading response number should correspond to the number of assignments you've turned in, so up to 5.


Reading Response Prompt Questions:

1. Psychic trauma is defined as "an experience that produces psychological injury or pain." Is Erwin suffering from psychic trauma? What evidence from the text suggests that Erwin is dealing with psychic trauma, and how does he cope with his traumatic past?

2. Why does Erwin make a living "circulating" antique Jewish religious regalia and books? What deeper meaning do these items have for him?

3. The acquaintances that Erwin meets and interacts with along the course of journeys are important clues as to the state of popular opinion of the Holocaust (and the Jews). What do these clues offer as the state of popular opinion after the war?

Link to Otto Frank Interview

To view the YouTube clip from Thursday's class, in which Otto Frank talks about Anne's diary, follow this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWRBinP7ans

Auschwitz and After Reading Response Prompt

1. In Auschwitz and After, community plays a significant role in both Delbo's memories and in the well-being of the women in the camp. What are both the benefits and the drawbacks to writing a text that stresses the collective as opposed to individual experience?

2. The ambiguity of language in Auschwitz and After is striking in that from the very first page ("Arrivals and Departures") Delbo calls attention to words that would never be the same in a post-1945 world. What example or examples best illustrate the ambiguity of language?

3. Extremely graphic, incredibly visceral descriptions are a central feature of Auschwitz and After. How do these descriptions affect your reading experience? Do they help you to visualize and comprehend the experience, or does the graphic nature of the descriptions make it more difficult for you to imagine?

Auschwitz and After Discussion Questions

As you begin the first book of Charlotte Delbo's Auschwitz and After, work through the following questions that we will discuss during class on Thursday:

1. How is your reading experience different while reading Charlotte Delbo's Auschwitz and After from that you experienced while reading Primo Levi's Survival in Auschwitz or Sara Nomberg-Przytyk's Auschwitz: True Tales from a Grotesque Land? What narrative strategies does she use?


2. How is the book set up? How might you characterize her narrative strategy as a whole?


3. In the epigraph to the book, Delbo notes that "Today, I am not sure that what I wrote is true. I am certain it is truthful." How does this impact your reading of the text (or does it impact your reading at all)? Why would she choose to include such an inscription? How does her admission of truth compare to other admissions of truth we have discussed, whether in film or text?


4. There are a number of extremely graphic, visceral scenes in None of Us Will Return. Which scene sticks out in your memory, and why?



5. Camp life in None of Us Will Return, the first book of Auschwitz and After, is both different from and similar to the camp life Levi outlines in Survival in Auschwitz. How specifically is her account similar to/different from the previous texts we have read?


6. Brett Ashley Kaplan has described the reader's response to Delbo's work as one that registers "unwanted beauty." What do you suppose she means, and where do you see evidence of such a response in your reading of the text?

Schindler's List Reading Response Prompt

For those of you whom would like to start thinking about your reading response while you are watching the film and taking notes, I'm posting the reading response prompt questions early.

Reading responses for Schindler's List are due Thursday 3 March in class or by 5 PM. Please be sure to review the assignment handout before completing the assignment, with particular attention paid to the labeling system outlined, as it ensures your work is graded and recorded without difficulty.

For this reading response, you should reference specific examples from the film, and if you mention specific characters, you should include their names. Choose one of the following prompts to respond to in an essay of 2-3 double-spaced pages:

1. In other representations of the Holocaust we have read for the course, the loss of identity plays an important role in the process of dehumanization. How does Schindler's List address the function of identity and the loss and/or reclaiming of identity? What role does identity play in the film?

2. Oskar Schindler's transformation on-screen from a cold, callous businessman into a caring defender is a slow process. What specific events does the film link to his transformation?

3. Some have argued that Itzhak Stern's role in the film is vital to Schindler's realization. Examining the role of Itzhak Stern (played by Ben Kingsley) in the film, what makes him a vital character to the unfolding of events in the film? Would Schindler have taken on the task of rescuing his workers without Stern's early prodding?

4. Read through this account of Oskar Schindler, excerpted from "The Real Oskar Schindler." How does this depiction of him differ from his depiction on film? How does this change your view of the film's representation of events?

Auschwitz: True Tales from a Grotesque Land Reading Response Prompt

All reading responses are due Tuesday 15 February in class or by 5 PM in Avery 475. Choose one of the following questions to answer in an essay of 2-3 pages:

1. What is the role of maternal relationships in the text? What do maternal relationships reveal about the nature of life in Auschwitz? What are the metaphorical implications of the maternal in Auschwitz: True Tales from a Grotesque Land?


2. What is the role of language in Auschwitz? How does Nomberg-Przytyk approach the ambiguity of language noted by Holocaust scholars and other writer-survivors?


3. What is the structure of camp hierarchy as represented in the text? How does Nomberg-Przytyk approach camp hierarchy in relation to her experiences?

Optional Anne Frank Reading Response Prompt

For those of you who will be attending a performance of The Diary of Anne Frank, please answer the following prompt question. You should also include proof of your attendance along with your extra credit reading response submission. The extra credit response is an opportunity to replace the lowest score of your five reading responses this semester, and is subject to the same directions noted in the reading response directions handout. An identifiable thesis statement that directly answers the prompt question should be present in the essay.

All extra credit responses are due Tuesday 22 February, following the final performance. For more information about play dates, directions, ticket prices, etc., see the website for the Regional Theatre of the Palouse: http://rtoptheatre.org/?q=season

The heading should be in the following format to distinguish it from the others:

Stu Dent
Hum 450
Extra Credit
11 February 2011

Prompt Question

1. How does live performance differ from the documentary and fictional films we have viewed for the class? What benefits and disadvantages are there to live performance of an experience of the Holocaust?

Discussion for Thursday

Hi folks,
I neglected to mention that for Thursday's class, we will continue to discuss the questions I posted for Tuesday's class, so I am not posting any new discussion questions. However, do keep in mind that we will also discuss the Editor's Afterword, following the narrative.

See you all Thursday,
EMC

In-class discussion questions for Tuesday 8 February

1. As we begin our discussion on Tuesday with where we left off (the chapter titled "Old Words, New Meanings"), note a word or words that you notice are evidence of the changed landscape of language after the Holocaust. In other words, what ordinary terms does Nomberg-Przytyk use that have a changed meaning in the context of her narrative?

2. What examples of compassion does Nomberg-Przytyk relate? What examples of inhumanity does she relate? How does she attempt to relate the fine line between humanity and inhumanity?

3. How does reading Nomberg-Przytyk's narrative (as well as that of Primo Levi) differ from the documentary film testimony we viewed in Shoah? How does the memoir/narrative mode differ from the archive footage combined with narrative we viewed in Night and Fog and Memory of the Camps? What differences in expectations and approach do you notice when encountering film versus literature?

Shoah Reading Response Prompt

2-3 page reading responses to Shoah will be due Tuesday 8 February in class or in Avery 475 by 5 PM. For all responses, you must use specific examples from the film in your essays, although exact names of interviewed subjects are not required.

1. How does Lanzmann utilize silence in Shoah, and what role does it play in representing the experiences of the interviewed subjects featured in the film? How does silence affect your viewing of the film?


2. Lanzmann adamantly denied that Shoah is a documentary, and rather claimed the film is a "fiction of the real." How do you view the film's relationship to documentary as well as to art? How do you interpret Lanzmann's claim that the film is a fiction based in reality?

In-class discussion questions for Thursday 3 February

As you read through the first section of Sara Nomberg-Przytyk's Auschwitz: True Tales from a Grotesque Land, here are some discussion questions to guide you through page 78.

1. Nomberg-Przytyk's narrative voice is considerably different from that of Primo Levi. How does she engage you as the audience? What motives or purposes can you deduce from her tone and approach to representation?

2. On page 39, Nomberg-Przytyk claims, "unless you sloughed off that skin you could not survive in Auschwitz." To what is she referring? Why do you suppose she refers to skin, the largest organ of the body?

3. What is the order of the camp, according to Nomberg-Przytyk? What rules are followed, and what habits do the inmates have?

4. In "Old Words--New Meanings," Nomberg-Przytyk offers insight into how language changed once the inmate entered l'univers concentrationnaire. How does she explain the changing landscape of language?

Diary of Anne Frank Extra Credit Opportunity

Here is a link to the Regional Theatre of the Palouse's information page, including an announcement for the Diary of Anne Frank rendition that will be performed 10-19 February: http://rtoptheatre.org/

If you decide to attend the event, you must save ticket evidence of your attendance to include with the written response you turn in, which will be outlined on this blog at a later date. Should you have any questions in the meantime, please don't hesitate to let me know.

Have a great weekend, all!

Shoah Film Discussion Questions

As you view Lanzmann's Shoah, the following questions should serve as a guide for interpreting the documentary and as precursors for our in-class discussion of the film.

1. There are two very different kinds of silence that dominate Shoah. The silence of the landscape and the silence of interviewed subjects permeate much of the film; how are these two types of silences different? What role do they play and what effects does silence have on your interpretation of the scenes in which silence plays a role?

2. Lanzmann's use of landscape seems to be fundamentally at odds with Resnais' use of landscape in Night and Fog. What important similarities and differences do you see in the depiction of landscape as it relates to the content and/or purposes of the films?

3. Lanzmann does not narrate the action of the film, and instead relies on the interviews to punctuate the action of the film. He has in the past gone so far as to completely reject the use of archived photographs and/or stock footage, noting that if he "had stumbled on a real SS film...that showed how 3,000 Jewish men, women, and children were in gassed...not only would I not have shown it but I would have destroyed it." Alternatively, Resnais' Night and Fog relies almost exclusively on stock footage, photographs and the spoken narration written by Jean Cayrol. What makes these films different in their intent, cinematographic mode, and ultimately, the films' messages?

4. What particular scenes/interviews were particularly striking to you? What was the experience like for you as a viewer, and how did your experience viewing the film differ from other films we have watched this semester?

First Reading Response Prompt: Primo Levi's Survival in Auschwitz

All reading responses are due in class on Tuesday 1 February, or by 5 PM in Avery 475.

Directions: choose one of the following questions and answer in a typed, double-spaced response of 2-3 pages. You must include a direct, identifiable thesis in your response.

1. Survival in Auschwitz employs a number of themes to paint a vivid portrait of camp life. Some of those themes include the difficulty of communicating, loss of identity and loss of humanity. Choose one theme from the text that see as the most important (and effective) in relating to you the horrors of life in Auschwitz. Why does this particular theme stand out, and what examples of events, scenes or characters explore your chosen theme?



2. How is life in Auschwitz different from the world outside the concentration camps? What specific events and characteristics of the camp illustrate your view?



3. Levi describes the process of dehumanization that occurs almost immediately upon arrival to the camp. Of all the factors that are meant to dehumanize the inmates, which one(s) is/are the most striking to you? Incorporating appropriate evidence, why are these factors effectively dehumanizing?

In-class discussion questions for Tuesday 25 January

You should plan to finish Survival in Auschwitz by Tuesday's class, during which we will discuss themes and literary devices the novel employs to illustrate the experience of camp life. You should continue noting passages that you find particularly striking, but also be able to articulate why you find the particular passages thought-provoking.

Reading Questions:

1. What personal appeals does the author make to the reader? How would you characterize Levi's narration? For example, is your impression of narration style one of personal appeal/emotion, logic, detachment, etc.?

2. Why does the selection process invoke thoughts about God for Levi in Chapter 13? Is there a logic system to selections?

3. What is the function of lying? Is there a moral standard or lesson to be derived from the case of Klaus in Chapter 14?

4. What is different about the "last man" whose execution the prisoners are forced to watch in Chapter 16?

5. In the final chapter, how are the inmates' outlooks on life different from when they first arrived, particularly that of Levi? What has been lost from Levi and his comrades' humanity? What remains?

In-class discussion questions for Thursday 20 January

For Thursday's class, be sure to have read through the 11th section (through "The Canto of Ulysses") in Primo Levi's Survival in Auschwitz. To guide your reading, keep these questions in mind:

1. How does Levi attempt to demonstrate humanity in its totality? What appeals to the good and evil of humanity does he make? Come prepared to discuss specific examples.


2. What direct appeals does Levi make to the reader, and what effect do they have on your experience of the narrative?


3. What does the dream of Tantalus mean?


4. Referring to chapter 7, how has Auschwitz changed the prisoners' values?


5. With careful attention to chapter 8, what is the economic system of the camp?


6. What events do you find particularly striking? Come prepared to discuss at least one passage or event you found striking.

Links from today's class

Just a few links and visuals here to help fill in information provided in class today. If you would like to view the discussion questions we will cover during Tuesday's class covering Primo Levi's Survival in Auschwitz, see the post below.

First off, if you missed any portion of the documentary, Nuit et brouillard (Night and Fog), you should plan on viewing it its entirety before Tuesday's class, where we will discuss the juxtaposition of beautiful landscape and violent terror. Begin thinking about how Alain Resnais (the director of Night and Fog) narrated the film, and what meaning(s) you can parse from the film. Keep in mind that it is one of the first documentary explorations of the atrocities committed, and it was explosively challenged at its release. Here is a link to the full video version through Google: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4784910586890911682#

I also mentioned briefly the burden that preconceptions of crucifixion posed for Jews, and we looked to Marc Chagall to help demonstrate that anxiety. Here are the artistic renderings that I showed, along with one extra that will help you visualize:






For those of you who might be interested in the following topics, either for personal research or for the final research essay:

The role of journalism during the Holocaust: http://www.amazon.com/Why-Didnt-Press-Shout-International/dp/0881257753

Propaganda posters from Nazi Germany: http://www.ushmm.org/

In-class discussion questions for Tuesday 18 January

As you read through the first three chapters of Primo Levi's Survival in Auschwitz, as well as the biographical information at http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/primo.htm, here are a list of questions to keep in mind for Tuesday's upcoming class:

1. Survival in Auschwitz was originally titled If This is a Man. How does this knowledge change your expectations as you begin the work? Does the poem at the beginning of the biographical information offer any insight into what Levi had intended when he wrote the text?

2. In the very first chapter, Levi recalls that a German officer asked during roll call, "Wieviel Stück?" (or, "how many pieces?"). How does Levi heighten this sense of dehumanization in the opening chapters through anecdotes, examples, and dialogue?

3. How would you characterize the initial experience of deportation and arrival at the camps, according to Levi's account? What confusion (if any) did they encounter?

4. What rules do the inmates face? How is the camp system run? How does propaganda operate?

Welcome to Humanities 450: Representations of the Holocaust

This blog will serve more than one purpose, the most important being that it will be the conduit for discussion questions we will cover each class period. I will also upload reading response assignment questions to this site, as per directions on the syllabus. To that end, please check this site regularly to keep abreast of the materials we will cover and for important announcements regarding internet links to topics we covered in class, discussion questions, reading response questions, and other announcements.

Should you lose the hard copy of the syllabus at any time, please contact me via email at erin_mae wsu.edu

Welcome to Humanities 450, and I look forward to an intensive, enlightening semester with you all.

~Dr. Clark