SLAV 6060 Holocaust Literature: History, Memory, Legacy
An overview of the history and legacy of the Shoah (Holocaust) followed by an examination of the variety of literary responses by literary witnesses and survivors, as well as by writers removed from the wartime horrors by distance, time, country, and language. Questions of metaphysics, ideology, ethics, aesthetics, memory, and cultural theory as formulated and debated in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and discursive writings. The readings include works originally written in Russian, Yiddish, Polish, German, Italian, French, and English by Ilya Selvinsky, Vasily Grossman, Ilya Ehrenburg, Avrom Sutzkever, Tadeusz Borowski, Paul Celan, Primo Levi, Theodor Adorno, Elie Wiesel, Vladimir Nabokov, Hannah Arendt, Arthur Miller, W. G. Sebald and others. All the required readings will be in English translation.
Course overview
- Department
- Slavic Studies
- School
- MCAS
- Credits
- 3
- Level
- Both
- Offered
- Periodically in the Spring
Catalog details
- Satisfies core
- Cultural Diversity,Literature
Requirements fulfilled
- Russian: Russian literature and culture, third course of the 9-credit literature and culture block (one course, 3 credits) (Current University Catalog; students should confirm their catalog year)
- Russian: Russian literature, culture, advanced grammar and stylistics, linguistics, history, or politics (three courses, 9 credits) (Current University Catalog; students should confirm their catalog year)
- Slavic Studies: Slavic or East European literature, second course of the 6-credit literature block (one course, 3 credits) (Current University Catalog; students should confirm their catalog year)
- University Core: Cultural Diversity (All undergraduates)
- University Core: Literature (All undergraduates)
Course evaluations
- Course rating
- 4.13 / 5 · Very Good
- Instructor rating
- 4.57 / 5 · Excellent
- Terms evaluated
- 3
| Term | Instructor | Course overall | Instructor overall | Well organized | Clear learning objectives | Intellectually challenging | Helpful assignments | Applicable beyond course | Attendance necessary | Weekly effort | Responses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2025 | Maxim Shrayer | 4.7 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4–6 hrs/week | 6 of 10 |
| Fall 2023 | Maxim Shrayer | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 10 of 10 |
| Fall 2021 | Maxim Shrayer | 4.4 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.9 | — | 7 of 12 |