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| You are here: 2000 / Workshops, Panels and Seminars / Workshops on Research / Workshop 1 on Research, Teaching About the Holocaust in the University Sector / Presentation by Dr. Marcia Sachs Littell | |||||||||
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Participants Countries and organizations Conference documentation Conference programme 
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Report from Workshop 1 on Research: "Teaching About the Holocaust in the University Sector" Presentation by Mrs. Janice L. Darsa Presentation by Dr. Debórah Dwork Presentation by Professor Norbert Frei Presentation by Dr. Beate Kosmala Presentation by Dr. Marcia Sachs Littell Presentation by Professor Dan Michman Presentation by Dr. Marcia Sachs Littell Sachs Littell, Marcia Presentation by Dr. Marcia Sachs Littell [The Stockholm International Forum is charged with examining what we can learn from the Holocaust; how its study can alert society to the toxic effect of racism, antisemitism, ethnic conflict and other expressions of hatred and discrimination. ] Will it become possible to predict and prevent the conditions that lead to genocide? Important questions regarding educational program implementation are being asked of educators around the world. Should the Holocaust be taught because of a legal mandate? How does one teach the Holocaust to students not in History or another Humanistic discipline? Do all students of the Holocaust need a background in modern European history? Should every university have an endowed chair in Holocaust Studies? If so, placed in the corner of "Jewish Studies?" The answers to these vital questions are complex. Certain elements are necessary before a sound program of study can be developed in an institution of higher learning. In New Jersey an exemplary commitment to Holocaust education began at the state level with the governor. The commitment has been supported with funding for a state commission and for professional development programs for teachers. In a college or university setting such a program must have top level administrative support to succeed. The president, the chief academic officer and the department deans must understand the importance of teaching about the Holocaust - within the total curricular setting. There must also be qualified faculty in several disciplines before any program is launched. Establishing endowed chairs of Holocaust Studies is desirable - provided these chairs are interfaith and not isolated within Jewish Studies Departments. For many reasons - both academic and political - we need to move away from featuring Jews as victims. We need to understand more of the culture, of the world that was lost in both Eastern and Western Europe - and also of the new, vibrant centers of Jewish life in Israel, America, and elsewhere in the world. At the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey we have established America's first Master of Arts Program in Holocaust and Genocide Studies. We reach out to the school teachers. Reaching the classroom teachers assures contact with the soul and minds of the young, their parents and eventually the community. The majority enrolled in the Stockton program are teachers - individuals who are daily "in the trenches," both educationally and socially. In the United States there is great emphasis on diversity, tolerance, and prejudice reduction in the school program. The classroom teachers are expected to find ways to resolve the epidemic social and ethnic conflicts of the nation. The Stockton graduate students gain knowledge and confidence through their work in Holocaust and Genocide Studies which helps them fulfil this expectation. We have also enrolled some business executives, policemen and lawyers who understand that the study of the Holocaust and other genocides strengthens them professionally in the sector where they are working. The principles set forth at our first Scholars' Conference in 1970 mandated that all work on the Holocaust be interfaith, interdisciplinary and international. These principles have helped to shape subsequent work in the field. Also, the Shoah - the Nazi assault on European Jewry - has become the litmus test by which to study and measure all other acts of 20th century genocide. As we gather in Sweden at the dawn of a new century, we carry with us the baggage of an unprecedented century of genocide. How do we assure that the Holocaust education programs which the representatives at this Forum shall recommend will have meaning, value, sustainability - and not succumb to parochial interests? The big questions remain unresolved and they are vital in the mind and spirit of every undergraduate student - whatever his or her "major." For some time to come, the Holocaust will evoke the vigorous attention of minds and consciences for whom history is not the dead past, but rather part of our present awareness, and a theme for renewed effort to bring us into a future without genocide. >> Back to top |
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Introduction Opening Session: Messages and speeches Plenary Sessions: Messages and speeches Workshops, Panels and Seminars
Other Activities |
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| For information about this production and the Stockholm International Forum Conference Series please go to www.humanrights.gov.se or contact Information Rosenbad, SE-103 33 Stockholm, Sweden | |||||||||