FYSEMR 49G  – The Holocaust in History, Literature, and Film

FYSEMR 49G  – The Holocaust in History, Literature, and Film

Semester: Spring
Offered: 2026
Instructor: Kevin Madigan
Meeting Time: M 3:45-5:45pm

This seminar will approach the Nazi persecution of European Jewry from several disciplinary perspectives.  Initially the seminar will explore the topic historically.  In these weeks, the seminar will use a variety of historical materials dealing with the history of European anti-semitism, German history from Bismarck to the accession of Hitler, the evolution of anti-Jewish persecution in the Third Reich, and the history of the Holocaust itself.  Sources to be used will include primary sources produced by the German government 1933-1945, by Jewish victims-to-be or survivors, documentary films, and secondary interpretations.  The aims of this part of the seminar will be to understand the basic background to and narrative of the Holocaust, to introduce first-year students to the use of primary historical sources, and to familiarize them with some of the major historiographical debates.  Then the members of the seminar will ponder religious and theological reactions to the Holocaust.  Here the seminar will use literary and cinematic resources as well as discursive theological ones.  The seminar will also consider the historical question of the role played by the Protestant and Catholic churches and theologies in the Holocaust.  The seminar will conclude with an assessment of the role played by the Holocaust in today’s world, specifically in the United States.  Throughout the seminar, participants will use various literary and cinematographic sources and test their limits in helping to understand and to represent the Holocaust.

Class Notes: First-Year Seminars are available only to first-year students. You may apply to both Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 First-Year Seminars via the FYS lottery between July 7 and August 7, 2025 at 11:59PM-midnight.

You may apply to as many seminars each term as you would like, but we recommend you apply to at least six in fall and three in spring.

As part of your application, you must provide a brief statement on why you are interested in each seminar. You will be notified of lottery results for both fall and spring seminars at 5 pm on Mon, August 11. If you are unsuccessful in the lottery, you may still join any seminar with open seats. A list of open seminars and instructions on next steps will be available on the First-Year Seminar Program website August 11 at 12 Noon.

For more details please visit the Harvard Course Catalog.