From June 3-June 24, 2020, participants have the opportunity to study with Professor Brian Schiff and Professor Charles Talcott first in Paris and then embarking on a practical exploration of the ideas explored in their courses on a 5-day trip to Poland. In Paris, students will take Professor Schiff’s course Shoah and Social Theory and/or Professor Talcott’s The Museum as Medium, and also enjoy special events and talks from invited speakers during the evening. After two weeks in the classroom and visiting memorial sites in Paris, participants will spend time in Warsaw and Krakow, and the trip will include visits to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, Muzeum Treblinka, and the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews among other sites of memorialization.

Learn more about the courses:

·         Shoah and Social Theory: More than 70 years after the annihilation of European Jewry, the Shoah remains a focal point of research and reflection on the problem of genocide. Although this course investigates the history of the Shoah, we concentrate on the social dynamics (ideological, structural, and situational) that made the Shoah possible. Participants will grapple with classic and contemporary theories of violent action and their application to the historical circumstances of the genocide of European Jewry. How can we better understand the development of genocidal violence? What can the social sciences contribute to this understanding?

·         The Museum as Medium: This course will investigate the construction and communication of national, cultural, and community identities and diverse definitions of heritage through the medium of the contemporary museum, where material culture is exhibited and organized to express verbal and visual narratives that evoke particular interpretations of history and values. Lectures and discussions will alternate with museum visits in which museum display and techniques of exhibition will be identified and analyzed. Issues of visitor participation, the museum experience, digital tools, websites and virtual visits will be considered.

In this inaugural year of this program, we are proud to have generous support from The George and Irina Schaeffer Center for the Study of Genocide, Human Rights, and Conflict Prevention, which promotes innovative research, curricula, and pedagogies, in the hopes of reaching a deeper understanding of the causes and consequences of genocide and mass violence. The Center is also the first site in France to house the USC Shoah Foundation’s complete Visual History Archive.

The deadline to apply for The American University of Paris’ Summer Genocide and Memory Studies Institute is May 1, 2020. For more information, about how to apply, housing, and tuition and fees, please visit our summer website or email achristmas@aup.edu

AUP Summer School 2020 – Genocide and Memory Studies Insitute