Module manager: Dr Helen Finch
Email: h.c.finch@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
This module is approved as a discovery module
This module addresses the questions: Are there taboos in representing the Holocaust in contemporary culture? How have norms on the representation of the Holocaust developed? How have artists responded to the challenge of representing the Holocaust? The module takes an interdisciplinary approach to novels, visual culture, debates, memorials and films that deal with the subject of the Holocaust, tracing the development of national memory cultures and exploring the current transnational trends in Holocaust representation. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
The aim of this module is to equip learners to understand the debates surrounding the representation of the genocide of European Jewry, Roma and Sinti. In particular, it is interested in how artworks negotiate taboos on representation. It does this by applying close reading and interpretational skills to an interdisciplinary body of texts and debates dealing with the genocide of European Jewry, Roma and Sinti. It also engages critically with the history of theoretical literature on Holocaust representation, in particular identifying and evaluating the various taboos, norms, canons and transgressions created. You will be supported to achieve these objectives through student-led seminars engaging with a wide and transnational sample of aesthetic responses to the Holocaust. The module assessment is designed to support you to communicate the texts and debates studied to wider audiences.
On successful completion of the module you will be able to:
1. Appraise an interdisciplinary selection of cultural texts on the Holocaust.
2. Critically evaluate theoretical debates on norms of Holocaust representation
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
3. Communicate clearly and effectively complex ideas and information and engage with different audiences through designing a creative output
4. Develop a well-structured, critically informed, and self-reflective argument drawing on evidence
5. Analyse and critically reflect on group work, evaluating how collaboration shaped their thinking and approach
On completion of this module students should have developed advanced level skills of literary analysis through challenging secondary reading, close textual study, debate and writing practice
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seminar | 10 | 2 | 20 |
| Private study hours | 180 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Students will read primary texts in preparation for seminars, view a number of films, and study contextual (i.e. background) articles, and secondary literature.
Students will prepare presentations for the seminars, taking a position on a text studied.
Students will devise their own titles for their essay, in close collaboration with the course tutor, and have a half-hour tutorial with the class tutor to help guide them in this.
Oral formative feedback will be provided on an ongoing basis on the in-class student presentations to prepare students for the creative group public engagement project. Written formative feedback on a formative essay and formative reflective task will prepare students for the summative academic rationale assessment. Students will also get formative feedback on the formative project proposal
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Group Project | 50 |
| Coursework | Assignment | 50 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Resits will take the format of an individual group project and/or an individual academic rationale, as necessary.
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
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