General provisions

The Hugo Valentin Centre, Uppsala University, is responsible for the course.

Entry requirements

A Bachelor's degree, equivalent to a Swedish Kandidatexamen, from an internationally recognised university

Learning outcomes

Teaching about genocide and other instances of large-scale mass murder presents teachers at all levels with pedagogic challenges quite different from most other subjects. The aim for this course is to equip students with the pedagogical tools necessary to meet challenges, but also to take advantage of important opportunities. By providing the students with knowledge about different methods for teaching the Holocaust, the course will also aim to provide students with the skills necessary to understand when the history and memory of the Holocaust and other genocides are being misused for political and other (potentially) nationalistic purposes. One goal will be to teach the students how to efficiently use a variety of pedagogical tools in their teaching, including texts and primary source documents, as well as film, art, fiction, poetry, etc.

Learning outcomes

After the completed course the student will be able to:

• Account for basic types of pedagogy that characterises the contemporary teaching of the Holocaust and other episodes of genocide and/or mass murder
• Analyse and critically discuss instances when pedagogical content and materials are being misused for political or other subjective gains
• Describe and critically analyse the different types of empirical evidence and theoretical perspectives in Holocaust pedagogy and how to apply them effectively in the classroom
• Independently discuss a variety of pedagogic methods and tools, and how to apply those most effective for the age-group/class level where teaching is occurring

Content

The student will acquire knowledge about the complexity in teaching about the Holocaust and other genocides, as well as about different useful pedagogical methods. The student will also learn how to critically reflect about issues relating to history and memory connected to the Holocaust and other genocides, and how these can be used and exploited for political purposes.

Instruction

Instructions will include lectures, seminars and group assignments.

Assessment

Assessment will be based upon written and oral assignments. Students that have missed a small number of mandatory assignments may complete them by the end of the term at the latest. If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator.