This unit will challenge students to explore the various ways that Jews have viewed and written their pasts. Through analysing traditional and modern historical sources, major ideological and scholarly movements as well as literary and liturgical texts, students will explore the various media available with which to write the Jewish past and the challenges involved in so doing.

In this unit the students will examine the history and transformation of Judaism and Jewish identity in the 'New World', the countries that would receive significant Jewish migrations from often longstanding European communities. Students will trace in detail the major patterns of migration, assimilation, acculturation and nationalism that have marked the modern Jewish experience and in particular communities that moved from periphery to centre as a result of the seismic shifts generated by the Holocaust and the creation of the modern State of Israel.

This unit will engage with and analyse the history of Australian Jewry through its depiction in various museums run by the Jewish community, local communities in country areas and national museums. It will analyse government policies toward Jewish refugees before and after the Holocaust, and other key issues. It will also discuss how ethnic museums can contribute to Australia's broader multicultural history.

Holocaust and genocide museums and memorials continue to grow in number and appeal. This unit tracks their evolution as a 'genre', the theoretical and political debates that have accompanied their development and their increasingly influential public and political roles. We examine both purpose-built institutions and those developed at former sites of mass murder, reflecting on how these 'sites of trauma' both shape our understanding of past events and contribute to contemporary debates concerned with genocide prevention and other related issues.

In this unit you begin a substantial, independent research project. Regular meetings with a supervisor approved by the Jewish civilisation and Culture Honours Coordinator will guide your progress. You will develop a plan for researching and writing the thesis, submit an ethics application if appropriate, familiarize yourself with disciplinary conventions and standards, engage with relevant literature, theories and methodologies, and submit drafts at agreed times.

In this unit you complete and submit your substantial, independent research project. Regular meetings with a supervisor approved by the Jewish Civilisation and Cultures Honours Coordinator will guide your progress. You will continue to submit drafts at agreed times, and develop your expertise in relevant research methods and analytical skills as well as in the subject matter of your specialist topic.