Rosemary Bell, Professor
History 101 Honors - The Holocaust
Meeting time: TU/TH 9:35am - 10:50am, room 1-1219B
Phone: 650 738-4213,
E-mail: bellro@smccd.edu
Office: Building 1, Room 102
Office hrs: MW 9:00am-9:30am, TU/TH 12:30-1:15 pm
Website:http://www.smccd.edu/accounts/bellro/

History 101 Honors - The Holocaust

 Recommended: Eligibility for English 100 or 105, or equivalent

This section designed primarily for students in the Honors Transfer Program. All students in this section will be required to do Honors-level work. Transfer: UC, CSU (2), CAN hist 4. History 100 + History 101 = CAN HIST SEQ A.

The Course

 "Where is God Now?" - Elie Wiesel, Night

 "At the time I did not think about the problem of killing Soviet prisoners of war. It was an order and I had to execute it. However, I will say frankly that killing that group of people by gas relieved my anxieties. It would soon be necessary to start the mass extermination of the Jews, and until that moment neither I nor Adolf Eichmann had known how to conduct a mass killing. A sort of gas was to be used, but it was not known what kind of gas was meant and how to use it. Now we had both the gas and the way of using it. I had always been concerned at the thought of mass shootings, particularly of women and children. I was already sick of all the executions. Now my mind was at ease." -SS Captain Rudolph Hoss, Commandant of Auschwitz

This course will attempt to put the Holocaust into historical perspective and reflect on its meaning and impact on contemporary society. We will study such topics as Western anti-semitism and its impact on Nazi Germany, the extermination of not only the Jews, but other "subhumans", the bureaucracy that was created to carry out the "Final Solution", the victims, bystanders, perpetrators, heroes and heroines, efforts for survival and resistance, war crimes, and the moral, ethical and philosophical implications.

Book

Mitchell, Joseph R., Mitchell, Helen Buss, The Holocaust, Readings and Interpretations, McGraw-Hill Dushkin,

Student Responsibilities:
This class will be interactive in nature; i.e. students are expected to participate extensively in discussion of the material covered in each class session. As a result, regular class participation is considered an essential part of the student's educational experience, as well as a requirement for an adequate evaluation of student academic progress.   Try to discard the notion that you already know all that is to be known about the Holocaust and search for new truths and ideas.

Assignments:
There will be a series of short answer essays based on the questions in the reader or on handouts that I may give you. There will be a group project, and term projects which includes an oral presentation. There will be no midterm or final exam in this class.

Grading - You can earn a total of 400 pts. for this class
Essay writing assignments -2 @ 25 pts. each = 50 pts.
Group project and presentation/Writing assessment- 100 pts.
Term Project - 200 pts.-TBA
Class participation - 50 pts. *

The best kind of learning is "hands on" learning. Participation means coming to class prepared, doing the assigned readings, and taking the initiative in class discussions. It does not mean keeping the seat hot during the semester. Please do not think you will earn points just by showing up.

Grading Breakdown
400-365 =A
365-330 =B
330-295 =C
295-260 =D
below 260 =F

The required book for the course is The Holocaust: Readings and Interpretations, by Joseph R. Mitchell and Helen Buss Mitchell, McGraw-Hill Dushkin, 2001. This book was chosen because it covers a wide range of special topics on the Holocaust. I will suggest other books as we go along or give you handouts.

Expectations*
Students taking Honors level courses should expect to be challenged. In a Honors course:
* there is an increase reliance on primary resources
* the course will be conceptually rigorous
* the material will be covered at greater depth and/or breadth
* students will be expected to prepare written and oral presentations of their work
* the instructor acts as the facilitator; the student takes more responsibility for their learning
* the course will make use of multi-perspective, multi-cultural, and multi-discipline approaches
 
Attendance
It is important that you come to class. You will be allowed four absences, any over this number and I will deduct five points for each additional absence from your final grade. Chronic lateness will also be penalized by a deduction in points at the end of the semester. I do have the option of dropping you from the class for poor attendance or classwork.

Please
1. No pagers
2. No cellphones
3. If you are going to be absent for more than one consecutive class, please call me. This is for your protection as well as mine.
4. If you need to leave early please let me know before class begins.
5. Please do not give me elaborate excuses as to why you weren't in class or why you did not do the assignments. I'll respect you more if you tell me the truth.

Students With Disabilities
If you have a disability and require accommodations, please advise me during the first week of class. To be provided with the appropriate accommodations, you will need to obtain a signed form from the Disabled Students Programs and Services (650-738-4280).

Basic Information
1. Assignments are due at the BEGINNING of class. For each weekday an assignment is late I will deduct 10 pts.
2. If you simply stop attending class and do not withdraw through Admissions and Records you will receive an F grade.
3. Attendance will be taken daily.
4. Please turn off all pagers and cell phones before class begins. In case of emergency - and only in these cases - the cell phone may be placed in silent mode.  At no times are cell phones to be answered or used in class for any purposes.
5. All submitted work must be typed (double-spaced) and stapled with your G# on it.  I will not accept papers with social security numbers or names on them.

Integrity
I can not emphasize strongly enough the importance of maintaining and respecting academic integrity. What we're talking about is cheating and plagiarism. Cheating is the act of obtaining academic work through the use of dishonest, deceptive, or fraudulent acts. Plagiarism is taking someone else's work and passing it off as your own. I have "zero tolerance" for cheating and plagiarism. If I catch you plagiarizing (and believe me I will!) you will receive an F for the course. The information will also be on file in the Dean of Disciplinary Services Office. If you want to discuss this further please see me or check out page 24 in the Skyline College catalog.

My door is always open if you have questions or any other problems.  Thank you.