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