LIT 499-01 Postmemory and the Holocaust
Meeting Times: Tuesday 3:30-6:20pm
Professor: Ellen Friedman
In this capstone, we will examine post-Holocaust representations, from genres such as novels, memoirs, photography, film, monuments and art–although literary representations will dominate our concern. We will investigate how the traumatic experiences and history of the Holocaust are transmitted to subsequent generations and how, as Marianne Hirsch writes, they “constitute memories in their own right.” We will think about how representations of postmemorial writing relates to longstanding issues about Holocaust representation, such as determination of the authenticity of a Holocaust text and the question of limits to Holocaust representations. We will also explore how these postmemories transmit trauma and how they transform the Holocaust and convey it to future generations. In addition to looking at visual and print representations, we will be looking at theoretical writing about memory, traumatic transmission, authenticity and postmemory.