Sociology: Sociology of the Holocaust

Examination of the Holocaust using a sociological lens and discussion of its relevance for current social developments and events. Prerequisites: Three hours of Sociology or three hours of Jewish Studies or HST 1715 or HST 2760 or HST 2790.

Prerequisite: 3 hours of Sociology Minimum Sophomore standing PACE students with permission and override

Is the Holocaust still relevant today? If so, how? How is it connected to the present? In this course, we will try to find sociologically informed answers to these questions. While no academic discipline can singularly explain the Holocaust or address its relevance, sociology can offer theories, concepts, and research methods that advance our understanding of it, namely: • We will study what scholars have called politics of exclusion, namely the rise of Nazi ethno-nationalism and its policies in Germany and beyond. • Core to Nazi ideology and politics, we will find, was oppressive othering, much studied in the sociology of deviance: a process by which social agents ascribe deviant characteristics onto others (as inferior or dangerous), oppress them, and justify their oppression as a necessary and appropriate response to deviance. • Eugenics and “racial hygiene,” as we will see, were foundations for such othering, and practices of othering took place in contexts as varied as bureaucratic institutions and mobile killing squads. These contexts provided social organization of exclusion and murder are therefore important and will be studied in this course. • The fact that the victims of Nazism were predominantly Jews gave rise to the term Holocaust, but there have been other types of genocide, to which the Holocaust can be compared and contrasted. • Nazism targeted as inferior and dangerous other groups as well, such as individuals with disabilities or the Sinti and Roma. • Lastly, since Germany is often lauded for the way it has “come to terms” with this part of its history, this course will also address how nations come to terms with their “difficult pasts” – or failed to do so – in collective memory. This course is highly recommended for students who want to go to graduate schools. We will focus on developing analytical, research, and writing skills. The course allows students with their individual connections to the Holocaust to reflect on them. It is one of only a few sociology courses in the United States that deals with the topics listed above.

This is a three-credit course, at the intermediate (2000) level. It involves 150 minutes of class time and 6-9 hours of out-of-class work per week. The reading of about 150 pages per week on average is expected.

Exams, in-class activities, and a research paper.