Interdisciplinary Courses

Interdisciplinary

Second-Semester Course

The Holocaust: An Interdisciplinary Inquiry
INDS 231 (1/2 unit)
Mikhail Lyubansky, assistant professor of psychology; Mary Suydam, visiting assistant professor of religious studies

This course presents an interdisciplinary inquiry into the destruction of European Jewry during the Second World War. How was it that in our own century, in the midst of civilized Europe, a policy of genocide was formulated and systematically implemented?

We will examine the Holocaust within the contexts of modern European history, Nazi ideology and practice, the Jewish experience in Europe, the history of anti-Semitism, and the psychology of human behavior. Data for our work will be drawn from film, literature, art, memoirs, theology, and historical investigations. An ongoing concern of the course will be the significance of the Holocaust in contemporary political discourse and in our own thinking as individuals. The course may be counted as credit toward the major by students of history or religious studies. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or higher. Enrollment limited.