Nazi Perpetrators in Holocaust Cinema

Instructor:  Jaimey Fisher, Department of German and Russian, College of Letters & Science

Description: This seminar introduces students to film analysis, theories, and writing by focusing on an important topic within a well-known genre, that is, the representation of the perpetrators in recent films about the Holocaust.  Many critics have analyzed the depiction of victims and bystanders in Holocaust cinema, but not nearly as much attention has been paid to how the (primarily Nazi) perpetrators are portrayed, which is surprising given the tenacious persistence of the question “Why did the Nazis do it?” The goals for student learning are basically two-fold:  first, in terms of the course’s content, to address one of the most fundamental and recurring questions in our field, namely, why did the Nazis do it?  This course will investigate how authors and filmmakers have engaged this question and address how one can most productively understand and depict the most nefarious criminals in history. Second, we aim to develop critical-viewing skills, particularly as they relate to moving images.

Format: The materials of the course will similarly be two-fold: content relating to Holocaust cinema as well as to critical writing.   Over the ten weeks of the course, we shall cover a short novel (Bernhard Schlink’s celebrated The Reader) as well as four films, all of which have vivid and nuanced portraits of perpetrators.  Although the course would focus on cinema, I thought it wise to include a literary text, just to given students contact with a well-written text.  In terms of the films, we shall begin with the hegemonic Holocaust film, Schindler’s List, but much of the rest of the course will be directed at critiquing its representation of an unstable, monster-like Nazi perpetrator.   Other films will include The Pianist, Amen (Der Stellverteter), and The Ninth Day. Students are required to deliver, at some point during the semester, a presentation on one of the readings.  The presentation should be a minimum of 15 minutes long, with a suggested duration of 20-30 minutes. At the end of the presentation, the student should also pose questions that lead to more general discussion (discussion, it should be noted, that does not count toward the 15 minute minimum).  I encourage you to show clips, which may be counted toward the 15 minute minimum, but should not constitute more than 30% of your presentation’s total time.  If students have a reading they would like to suggest, they can meet with the instructor separately to discuss its incorporation into the class (in this case, earlier is better). Grading: Since the class is to be a seminar, participation, both offering comments and listening carefully to others, will comprise a large part of the final grade (30%).  Participation will also entail in-class writing and peer-editing assignments.  Also important in seminars are oral presentations, one of which each student will offer during the course of the semester (30%).  Finally, in addition to in-class exercises, two short papers (each 2-3 pages) will be required and constitute the remainder of the final grade (40%).

About the Instructor: Prof. Fisher has been teaching at UC Davis, in the Departments of German and Russian as well as in Film Studies, since July 2004.  He has considerable experience teaching writing, as he has taught over eight such seminars in his time at Cornell and Tulane Universities.  His research and teaching interests include film studies, especially German cinema, literature, and intellectual history.  His current project concerns contemporary German cinema within a European and global context.  He has published articles on German and Italian cinema, German literature, and philosophy and has co-edited the book Critical Theory: Current State and Future Prospects.