BA Philosophy and Religion / Course details

This course will survey a number of theological responses to the Holocaust drawing upon Jewish and Christian writers. It will explore the differing ways that their religious and ethical concepts, beliefs, principles and practice have been affected by the theological challenge of the Holocaust, which has undoubtedly brought about a wide-spread crisis of identity and meaning for many religious thinkers. Among other areas of interest, it will consider the problem of evil, the wider context of Jewish-Christian relations (in particular Christian anti-Judaism), the debate surrounding the phenomenon of Jewish self-definition in terms of the Holocaust, and the future of Holocaust theology itself.

• To explore the extent to which the Holocaust (Shoah) has impacted on Jewish and Christian religious and ethical thought
• To consider the central themes and core issues that characterise post-Holocaust theology
• To recognise a variety of perspectives among Jews and Christians in their responses to the Holocaust and to post-Holocaust theology

• Lectures, online, pre-recorded: detailed exposition of different theological responses with handouts. 
• Seminars, face to face: responses to set readings and discussion of issues raised in the lectures. 

• Be broadly familiar with an array of Jewish and Christian theological and ethical responses to the Holocaust and the challenge it presents to religious faith
• Relate the positions adopted by religious writers to their own socio-historical backgrounds
• Articulate the ways in which religious writers adopt, adapt or reject previous traditions

On successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

• critically analyse a given theologian’s response to the Holocaust
• make explanatory links between the form/content of an argument and the resources it uses to construct it
• recognise different perspectives while assessing critically the evidence for the positions and arguments of different non-believers and believers
• manage your own academic development, including reflecting on progress and taking appropriate action

On successful completion of this course, you will have developed your ability to:

• improve your essay writing skills
• take effective notes during lectures
• plan your time effectively
• use electronic and physical information resources with confidence

On successful completion of this course, you will:

• communicate clearly in written form
• Speak with more confidence about their thoughts and ideas in a group setting
• demonstrate an enhanced aptitude for independent work
• demonstrate an enhanced aptitude for self-motivation

• SEMINAR READER: Dan Cohn-Sherbok, Holocaust Theology: A Reader (Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 2002)
• Carol Rittner, Stephen Smith, Irena Steinfeldt, eds, The Holocaust and the Christian World; Reflections on the Past, Challenges for the Future (London: Kuperard, 2000)
• Dan Cohn Sherbok, God and the Holocaust (Herefordshire: Gracewing, 1996)
• Daniel R. Langton and Jean-Marc Dreyfus, eds. Writing the Holocaust. Writing History Series (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2011)
• Mark Larrimore, ed, The Problem of Evil; a Reader (London: Blackwell, 2001)
• Michael L Morgan, Beyond Auschwitz; Post-Holocaust Thought in America (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001)