We're pleased to announce two of our popular English-language courses will be offered this Autumn 2016. The courses are cross-listed with a variety of different departments, including Comparative Literature, Classics, Jewish Studies, and Philosophy.
GERMAN 390A: Sympathy for the Devil
Instructor: Professor Ellwood Wiggins
Is compassion the foundation of human morality or a dangerously unreliable emotion? This course examines the strategies and motivations in different media of fostering empathy for commonly held enemies or discriminated groups. We examine the ways that casting minorities as objects of pity can strategically forward—but structurally undermine—the project of creating a more open and tolerant society. Read more.
GERMAN 195A: Popular Film and the Holocaust
Instructor: Professor Richard Block
Have we learned nothing? Recent events around the globe and here at home have revived frightful memories of the Holocaust and the devastating possibility that history could repeat itself. Already, we have heard talk of arm bands, national registries of people of a specific faith, and even internment camps. The devaluation of Jewish and Roma life, in particular, that led to the slaughter of 11 million people, is repeating itself with respect to immigrants and Muslims in particular. Read more.