Religious Studies 268: Modern Judaism
and
Religious Studies 285: Roman Catholicism's Encounter with Other Religions
cross-listed as Catholic Studies 271
Spring, 2001
T-TH 11:50-1:20, SAC 254
DePaul University
Instructors: Prof. Roy S. Furman
Prof. Jeffrey Carlson
Office: SAC 564 (773.325.1186)
990 W. Fullerton Suite 4200 (773.325.7927)
Office Hours: T-TH 9:00-10:00
T-TH 9:00-10:00
Course web site: http://www.depaul.edu/~jcarlson/extra/holocausttheology.html. Consult this site for an electronic copy of the syllabus, which will make it easier to view and print readings simply by clicking on the links as they appear the last section of the syllabus. Discussion questions and other materials relevant to the course will also be posted at this location.
A. Description and Goals
This course seeks to engage students in a critical consideration of the moral, religious and theological implications of Nazi Germany’s "war against the Jews," the intentional and calculated destruction of some 6 million European Jews (accompanied by the enormous suffering and losses experienced by other "undesirable" groups) which is referred to as the Shoah, or Holocaust. In order to do this, students will consider those events and perceptions that allowed the Holocaust to come about, particularly the development of racial anti-Semitism and religious anti-Judaism, which trace part of its lineage back to the Catholic and Christian theological perspectives, values and actions of the early and medieval church. The behavior and teachings of the church, its leaders, and lay adherents during the holocaust will be explored, as will the religious motivations for the extraordinary courage displayed by those Christians who risked their lives to save Jews. The course will also focus on traditional and contemporary theologies of Judaism and Christianity, and explore how various thinkers have chosen to respond to the Holocaust’s challenge to Jewish and Christian traditions, values, and theological positions.
This course has some specific learning goals, and if you complete the course successfully you will achieve the following:
1. You will be able to define, describe and explain some of the key facts about the important themes, figures, texts and other materials we consider in our course.
2. You will be able to analyze complex ideas to show an understanding of their structure and meaning.
3. You will be able to make plausible and insightful comparisons of different concepts and thinkers.
4. You will formulate evaluations of the relative merits of some of the ideas under consideration, and articulate your own ideas as well, drawing upon knowledge and insight you have gained in this class or elsewhere in order to make a solid, plausible and potentially convincing case for your own position.
5. You will develop your capacity for clear and effective writing.
6. You will develop your capacity for clear and effective verbal communication.
This course counts for Traditions in Context credit in the Religious Dimensions liberal studies learning domain.
B. Student Requirements
1. Preparation of readings and assignments. Please come to each class session having done any assigned readings, taken thorough notes, and having tried your best to find out the meanings of terms and concepts in the readings that are unfamiliar to you. If you do this carefully and consistently you will be well prepared for our discussions and quizzes and you will have a strong foundation from which to write your papers. This course has been designed with the expectation and requirement that you will spend at least six hours per week outside of class preparing readings and assignments. Being in college is hard work, but hopefully it is work you enjoy doing, and take pride in doing well. You owe it to yourself, to others in the class, and to the integrity of the learning process to approach your academic work with sufficient seriousness. Missing class or coming to class late will result in a lower grade in this area.
2. Discussion in class. Asking questions, raising concerns and offering your own ideas during class discussions are crucial components of the learning process. The overall degree of intellectual engagement you demonstrate in the course will be assessed, focusing on the extent to which you are an active, informed, stimulating participant in class discussions.
3. Quizzes. These will allow you to demonstrate your ability to define, describe and explain some of the key facts about the important themes, figures, texts and other materials we consider in our course. Dates for quizzes will not be announced in advance. Missed quizzes cannot be made up. A missed quiz will be scored as zero. However your lowest quiz score will be dropped in calculating your final grade.
4. Extra Credit. There will be two opportunities to complete optional assignments for extra credit.
C. Grading
Grades will be based on a point system as follows:
Discussion in class worth
150 points
Quizzes combined worth
210 points
First paper
worth 200 points Assigned Apr. 19
Due May 1
Second paper
worth 220 points Assigned May 10
Due May 22
Third paper
worth 220 points Assigned May 31
Due June 12 by 11:00 AM
The final course grade will be determined according to the following chart:
Total points accumulated Final course grade
Please read the Academic Integrity Policy in the current Student Handbook. It describes violations of academic integrity, including plagiarism and cheating, noting that students who commit such violations are subject to sanctions such as (but not limited to) lowering a grade or failing the course. The policy states that students "must abstain from any violations of academic integrity and set examples for each other by assuming full responsibility for their academic and personal development…"
E. Required Texts
1. The Book of Job, Translated and with an Introduction by Stephen
Mitchell. HarperPerennial, 1992.
2. A Holocaust Reader: Responses to the Nazi Extermination,
Edited by Michael L. Morgan. Oxford University Press, 2000.
3. Rosemary Radford Ruether, Faith and Fratricide: The Theological
Roots of Anti-Semitism. Wipf & Stock, 1996.
These texts are available for purchase at DePaul's Lincoln Park Campus Bookstore. Also, they may be checked out for two hours at a time from the Richardson Library Reserve Desk.
F. Schedule
Tuesday April 3
Introduction and Syllabus. Film: Night and Fog.
Jewish and Christian Religious/Theological Traditions
Thursday April 5 (print and bring these texts to class) Note: The easiest way to get these materials is to visit the course web site at http://www.depaul.edu/~jcarlson/extra/holocausttheology.html and simply click on these links in the on-line syllabus.
Tuesday April 17
The Book of Job, Mitchell translation, pages 57-97.
Thursday April 19
Tuesday April 24
Ruether, Faith and Fratricide pages 117-182: Chapter 3, "The
Negation of the Jews in the Church Fathers."
Thursday April 26
Ruether pages 183-225: Chapter 4, "The Social Incorporation of the
Negative Myth of the Jews in Christendom."
Tuesday May 1
PAPER 1 DUE. Film: The Cross and the Star.
Narratives From Inside the Holocaust
Thursday May 3
Thursday May 10
Morgan pages 47-63 and 67-77: Hannah Arendt, "The Concentration Camps"
and Elie Wiesel, "A Plea for the Dead."
PAPER 2 ASSIGNED.
Tuesday May 15
Morgan pages 90-115: Richard Rubenstein, "The Making of a Rabbi" and
"Symposium on Jewish Belief," Eliezer Berkovits, "Faith after the Holocaust"
and Irving Greenberg, "Cloud of Smoke, Pillar of Fire: Judaism, Christianity,
and Modernity after the Holocaust."
Thursday May 17
Morgan pages 115-157: Emil L. Fackenheim, "Jewish Faith and the Holocaust:
A Fragment," "Holocaust," and "The Holocaust and the State of Israel: Their
Relation," and A. Roy Eckardt, "Christians and Jews: Along a Theological
Frontier."
Tuesday May 22
PAPER 2 DUE. Films: Shoah and Weapons of the Spirit
(excerpts).
Thursday May 24
Morgan pages 164-196: Michael Wyschogrod, "Faith and the Holocaust,"
Amos Funkenstein, "Theological Interpretations of the Holocaust: A Balance,"
and Arthur A. Cohen, "Thinking the Tremendum: Some Theological Implications
of the Death Camps."
Tuesday May 29
Tuesday June 5
Morgan pages 196-237: Franklin Sherman, "Speaking of God after Auschwitz,"
Robert E. Willis, "Auschwitz and the Nurturing of Conscience," and David
Tracy, "Religious Values after the Holocaust: A Catholic View."
Thursday June 7
Morgan pages 290-337: Omer Bartov, "Intellectuals on Auschwitz: Memory,
History, and Truth," Kenneth Seeskin, "What Philosophy Can and Cannot Say
about Evil," and "Coming to Terms with Failure: A Philosophical Dilemma."
TUESDAY JUNE 12: PAPER 3 DUE BY 11:00 AM.