HI6036 - Holocaust Testimony and Cultural Memory

What will I learn on this module?

Dori Laub and Shoshana Felman have claimed that the twentieth century was an ‘era of testimony’. This module addresses the ways survivors have attempted to bear witness to the Holocaust, the catastrophe at that century’s centre, and the cultural responses to that witness. We will consider how the tools and concepts of cultural analysis both speak to and are challenged by testimony, and how culture continues to work on the problem of representing the Holocaust. The course aims to enable students to consider the continuing impact of the Holocaust on the lives of its surviving witnesses and their children and how literature and films bear witness to it. To this end, the module draws on a variety of sources: video testimony, courtroom testimony, memoirs, diaries, different literary genres (novels, short stories, poems and graphic novels) and films.

How will I learn on this module?

The primary method of teaching for this module is through seminars. In these sessions, we will have a variety of presentations and group and whole-class discussions. The module uses a blended learning strategy that will make extensive use of Blackboard. Pre-seminar tasks and links will be posted each week: these will include readings, quizzes and mini-research projects. Lectures for some weeks will also be made available as screencasts. You will post weekly journals of responses to the material studied, which will form the basis for your subsequent essay assignment.

How will I be supported academically on this module?

Your academic development will be supported through your module tutor, engagement with your peers, and through the programme leader. The module tutor will be accessible within publicised Feedback and Consultation hours and via email. Your peers will provide you with a collaborative learning environment, and your programme leader will guide you through the requirements and expectations of your degree programme, of which this module is part. You will also be supported through individual engagement with the academic literature, lectures, and resources available on the eLP. Formative feedback will be on-going through seminar activities and assessment tasks.

What will I be expected to read on this module?

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.

What will I be expected to achieve?

Knowledge & Understanding:
1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of an interdisciplinary selection of cultural artefacts and texts on the Holocaust
2. Apply key ideas such as trauma, testimony, cultural memory and representation to the analysis of testimony and cultural texts and artefacts

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
3. Establish your own considered position on debates on testifying to, representing and memorializing the Holocaust
4. Display an ability to analyse different kind of sources

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
5. Show sustained reflection on your own experience of engaging with representations of the Holocaust

How will I be assessed?

1 x 3,000-word essay (weighted 50%).
This essay will be written in response to one question chosen from a list provided by the module tutor.
(MLOs 1-5)

1 x two-hour seen exam paper (weighted 50%).
In the exam, you will discuss short extracts from sources that will have been looked at closely in the seminars.
(MLOs 1-4)

Through weekly journal responses, you will undertake work that is formative for your subsequent assignment. Formative feedback for each assessment will be provided in seminars, including practice gobbet answers. Verbal and written feedback will be given on all summative assessed work. Feedback on initial summative assessments will enable you to improve on later ones.

Pre-requisite(s)

N/A

Co-requisite(s)

N/A

Module abstract

This module traces ways in which survivors have attempted to bear witness to the Holocaust. Students will consider the continuing impact of the Holocaust on the lives of its surviving witnesses and their children as well as the challenges of representing the Holocaust. To this end, students will encounter different forms of Holocaust testimony: from recorded interviews and courtroom proceedings to memoirs and diaries, and from different kinds of literary texts.

Course info

UCAS Code QV31

Credits 20

Level of Study Undergraduate

Mode of Study 3 years Full Time or 4 years with a placement (sandwich)/study abroad

School Humanities and Social Sciences

Location City Campus, Northumbria University

City Newcastle

Start September 2026

Fee Information

Module Information

English Literature and History BA (Hons)

Tutor Profiles

All information is accurate at the time of sharing.

Full time Courses are primarily delivered via on-campus face to face learning but could include elements of online learning. Most courses run as planned and as promoted on our website and via our marketing materials, but if there are any substantial changes (as determined by the Competition and Markets Authority) to a course or there is the potential that course may be withdrawn, we will notify all affected applicants as soon as possible with advice and guidance regarding their options. It is also important to be aware that optional modules listed on course pages may be subject to change depending on uptake numbers each year.

Contact time is subject to increase or decrease in line with possible restrictions imposed by the government or the University in the interest of maintaining the health and safety and wellbeing of students, staff, and visitors if this is deemed necessary in future.

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All information is accurate at the time of sharing.

Full time Courses are primarily delivered via on-campus face to face learning but could include elements of online learning. Most courses run as planned and as promoted on our website and via our marketing materials, but if there are any substantial changes (as determined by the Competition and Markets Authority) to a course or there is the potential that course may be withdrawn, we will notify all affected applicants as soon as possible with advice and guidance regarding their options. It is also important to be aware that optional modules listed on course pages may be subject to change depending on uptake numbers each year.

Contact time is subject to increase or decrease in line with possible restrictions imposed by the government or the University in the interest of maintaining the health and safety and wellbeing of students, staff, and visitors if this is deemed necessary in future.

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