War and Memory from WWII to the Algerian War: Archive, Fiction, Theory

Graduate / Professional

This seminar is divided into two units, the first focusing on the French memory of WWII and the Nazi occupation (1940–1945), and the second focusing on French and the Algerian memories of the Algerian War for Independence (1945/1954–1962). We read the now canonical works on war and memory generated by each event (Rousso, The Vichy Syndrome , Benjamin Stora, La gangrène et l'oubli ), measuring their arguments against works of fiction and film that take on the problem of war and memory through characters, setting, and narrative structure. By the end of the seminar, students are familiar with “a history of memory” that is distinct from social, political or even cultural history. Throughout the seminar we ask who is remembering and who is forgetting? Who are the memory keepers? We look for moments when gaps in national memory have been filled—or widened. Along the way, we study “memory sites” connected to the two events and we read/watch some of the most important authors and filmmakers who have shaped the memory of WWII and the Algerian War. By the end of the seminar, students have a working knowledge of: (1) the debates and methods generated by critical memory studies and (2) novels and films that have played a fundamental role in shaping memory. Conducted in English. HTBA