GERM 321 Memory, Trauma, and Victim Culture

This course is concerned with the cultural politics of memory and trauma after 1945. We will start with basic questions such as: whose memories are sought, believed, and commemorated in the public sphere? What problems do traumatic events present for those attempting to represent them? Is trauma a useful cultural concept? What are the differences between individual and collective memory? We will then identify the recent fascination, especially in European and American culture, with the phenomenon of trauma, suffering, and victimhood, and focus on the impact on Jewish identity (in various countries), as well as the collective memory of Germans, after 1945.