Holocaust and Genocide Studies
The demand for Holocaust and Genocide Studies has grown over the past thirty years. Five states mandate that the subject be taught in the schools, and multiple states -- including Pennsylvania -- are recommending inclusion in school curricula. Thus, teachers and librarians are seeking more information and instruction. Furthermore, the end of the 20th century saw an explosion of new scholarship and new perspectives on the Holocaust. This scholarship is reinforced by the desire of survivors and those who lived through World War II to educate future generations and to bear witness to the fact that the Holocaust did happen.
Subsequent episodes of genocide in the modern world generate a continuing need for education and a demand for teaching resources. As a public, comprehensive university that has been training teachers for more than a century, West Chester University is able to provide excellent scholarly and pedagogical resources to students, teachers, and the community.
WCU faculty have been pioneers in Holocaust Studies since 1978 when professor Irene Shur first offered an undergraduate course on the Holocaust. The program now includes an 18-hour graduate certificate in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, an undergraduate minor in Holocaust Studies, a regional education center, and a library collection. Students in the graduate certificate program and undergraduate minor take six courses. Graduate students are eligible to apply for a number of merit-based scholarships.
Alumni have gone on to do important work across the United States in the field of Holocaust education and human rights advocacy. Students have also entered doctoral programs at the University College of London, Lehigh University, the University of Tennessee, Wayne State University, Arizona State University, and George Mason University.
Interested students should contact either Dr. Jonathan Friedman (jfriedman@wcupa.edu) or Dr. Brenda Gaydosh (graduate coordinator of the history department, (bgaydosh@wcupa.edu).
Holocaust and Genocide Studies Class and Event Schedule for Spring 2022
Undergraduate Courses for the Holocaust Studies Minor Spring 2023
- GER 322 Austrian Civilization Monday-Wednesday 3:00-4:15 pm Dr. Joseph Moser
- HIS 332 The Holocaust Thursday Online-via Zoom 7:15-10:00 pm Dr. Jonathan Friedman
- HIS 460 Field Studies to Poland Dr. Brenda Gaydosh
- PHI 412 Ethical Theories Tuesday 4:25-7:20 pm TBA
- PSY 254 Social Psychology Tuesday-Thursday 11:00-12:15 pm Dr. Patricia Neary
Graduate Certificate in Holocaust Studies Spring 2023
- CRJ 505 Criminological Theory Tuesday 4:25-7:10 pm Chris Przemieniecki
- HIS 603 State Violence in Latin America Tuesday 5:50-8:35 pm Dr. Tia Malkin-Fontecchio
- HIS 660 Field Studies to Poland Dr. Brenda Gaydosh
- PHI 512 Ethical Theories Tuesday 4:25-7:10 pm