Holocaust Heritage

Aims of the course

1. To introduce participants to the heritage of the Holocaust in the 21st Century
2. To encourage participants to think critically and creatively about heritage problems
3. To enable participants to work collaboratively with their peers to suggest solutions to problems

Target audience

• Heritage professionals
• Those who work within the Holocaust education sector
• Archaeologists
• Interested members of the public

Course content overview

Holocaust heritage can be found across Europe today, and comprises the original sites of concentration and labour camps, ghettos, mass graves, killing sites and the routes of forced marches. And yet, in the 21st century, such sites are at risk of being forgotten. What has happened to these places? What can we still see? What are the threats that they face? What can we do to help safeguard them? These questions form the backbone of this course, and Dr Gilly Carr, winner of the European Heritage Prize 2020, will guide students through the problems and, hopefully, the answers. This course will rely upon peer-to-peer interaction and discussion to work out good practice when faced with the challenges present at many Holocaust sites today.

Week 0 - Preparing to study this course

Purpose/Learning outcomes

By studying this week the students should have:

• Become familiar with navigating around the VLE and from VLE to links and back
• Tested their ability to access files and the web conferencing software and sorted out any problems with the help of the eLearning Helpdesk
•  Learnt how to look for, assess and reference internet resources
•  Used forums to introduce themselves to other students
•  Contributed to a discussion forum to introduce themselves to other students and discuss why they are interested in the course, what they hope to get out their studies and also to respond to News item sent out on behalf of tutor

Teaching Week 1: Holocaust heritage, the pandemic and digital communication

This week, the course addresses the key problems caused by the pandemic: a lack of visitors to Holocaust heritage sites, the loss of income, and good practice demonstrated by Holocaust memorials in dealing with this issue.

Learning outcomes

By studying this week the students should have:

• An understanding of what constitutes good practice in digital Holocaust heritage and why.

Teaching Week 2: The problem of multiple narratives at Holocaust sites

This week, participants will discuss the problems caused by multiple narratives at Holocaust sites caused by multiple 'victim groups' at a site, the issue of a 'hierarchy of victims', and the competition that this causes.

Learning outcomes

By studying this week the students should have:

•A better understanding of how to present equitably the memory of different victims and survivors.

Teaching Week 3: Holocaust heritage and the issue of empty landscapes

This week will consider the particular challenge posed by Holocaust sites where there is little to nothing left to see. How is this difficult heritage best presented?

Learning outcomes

By studying this week the students should have:

•A suite of strategies for presenting Holocaust heritage in situations where there is little left to see.

Teaching Week 4: Holocaust heritage and a reluctant local audience

This week will look at how to institute Holocaust heritage when the people who live nearby are reluctant to engage.

Learning outcomes

By studying this week the students should have:

•A better understanding of ways to engage local audiences who have Holocaust heritage in their neighbourhood.

Teaching Week 5: Holocaust heritage and inappropriate reuse of sites

This week will consider why it is a problem for sites of Holocaust heritage to be reused for other purposes many decades after the war.

Learning outcomes

By studying this week the students should have:

•Informed views about what constitutes appropriate and inappropriate reuse of Holocaust sites, and how to counter inappropriate reuse.

Week 6 - What Next?

Purpose

•Assessment of student learning

•Assessment of student satisfaction

•Encouragement of further study

Schedule (this course is completed entirely online)

Orientation Week: 21-27 February 2022

Teaching Weeks: 28 February-3 April 2022

Feedback Week: 4-10 April 2022

Each week of an online course is roughly equivalent to 2-3 hours of classroom time. On top of this, participants should expect to spend roughly 2-3 hours reading material, etc., although this will vary from person to person.

While they have a specific start and end date and will follow a weekly schedule (for example, week 1 will cover topic A, week 2 will cover topic B), our tutor-led online courses are designed to be flexible and as such would normally not require participants to be online for a specific day of the week or time of the day (although some tutors may try to schedule times where participants can be online together for web seminars, which will be recorded so that those who are unable to be online at certain times are able to access material).

Virtual Learning Environment

Unless otherwise stated, all course material will be posted on the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) so that they can be accessed at any time throughout the duration of the course and interaction with your tutor and fellow participants will take place through a variety of different ways which will allow for both synchronous and asynchronous learning (discussion boards etc).

Certificate of participation

A Certificate of Participation will be awarded to participants who contribute constructively to weekly discussions and exercises/assignments for the duration of the course.

What our students say: 

'It's clear that this is a well-thought and researched course. The additional materials are helpful and the interviews have all been excellent. I've really enjoyed getting to know others on the course too - their insights into the topics each week are replied to quickly and thoughtfully. Thank you Gilly!'

'The inclusion of interviews with other experts was inspired. Gilly is always very sympathetic towards her students and gives good feedback and additional points to think about.'

'This was my first online course ever and I was impressed, it was very interesting!'

Entry requirements

This course is open to everyone, and you don’t need any previous knowledge or experience of the subject to attend.

Our short courses are designed especially for adult learners who want to advance their personal or professional development. They are taught by tutors who are expert in both their subjects and in teaching students of all ages and experiences.

Please note that all teaching is in English. You should have near-native command of the English language in order to get the maximum benefit from the course.