To introduce students to approaches to memory and to a body of textual, visual, material representation of terror that has become a key focus for critical analysis in recent cultural studies;

To provide a context in which students can engage in systematic comparisons between European, Latin American and East Asian experiences and representations of social and political trauma;

To provoke students to reflect systematically on the political and ethical implications of literary, material and cinematic representation of traumatic histories.

(LO1) A basic knowledge of the circumstances and character of the Holocaust in Europe, the experiences of dictatorship and civil war in Latin America, and, where relevant, the Japanese occupation of China and the Chinese Cultural Revolution.

(LO2) A detailed understanding of the ways in which traumatic experiences of state terror and civil conflict have been represented in Latin American, European or Chinese cultural discourse.

(LO3) Familiarity with the terms and methods used in the critical analysis of literary, visual and heritage practice and in particular with the terms of critical debate about the ethics and aesthetics of representing political violence and genocide

(LO4) The ability to apply comparative analysis to the understanding of local and individual events, texts and artefacts

(LO5) For students of a modern foreign language: enhanced ability to use their skills for reading and analysing a range of complex texts in the target language.

(S1) Communication (oral, written and visual) - presentation skills – oral and poster design

(S2) Critical thinking and problem solving - critical analysis

(S3) Research skills - all information skills

(S4) Communication (oral, written and visual) - academic writing (including referencing skills)

(S5) Global citizenship - cultural awareness

(S6) Personal attributes and qualities - independence

The majority of teaching will be delivered face-to-face on campus. Online delivery will be used to complement the on-campus delivery and where technology affords a better learning experience.

Lecture:
Lectures introduce students to the historical background, key theoretical terms and interpretative issues, and existing critical approaches to each individual case study.

Seminar:
Seminars provide the opportunity for students to deepen their knowledge and develop their own critical positions in direct engagement with the specific examples of memory practice.

The module begins with an introduction to the most important scholarly approaches to trauma and memory. We then explore in depth specific cases of memory practice across different linguistic and cultural contexts that exemplify different approaches to the traumatic pasts in different media and in different linguistic and national contexts.