Tag: Literature

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+ germany, Gregor von Rezzori, holocaust, Literature, Memoirs of an Anti-Semite, world war ii

Looking at Ourselves in Gregor von Rezzori’s “Memoirs of an Anti-Semite”

by Unknown's avatar

When I initially picked up Gregor von Rezzori’s Memoirs of an Anti-Semite, I wanted to incorporate it into a course alongside Anna Seghers’ Transit, Magda Szabó’s Katalin Street, and other novels focusing on texts by European writers written during or following the Holocaust. However, as I read the five stories collected in Rezzori’s text, I discovered that it may be a difficult text, for … Read More Looking at Ourselves in Gregor von Rezzori’s “Memoirs of an Anti-Semite”

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+ holocaust, hungary, katalin street, magda Szabó, world war ii

“What will I do to ensure life, liberty, and freedom for those being attacked?”

by Unknown's avatar

I constantly think about the transmission of racist and hateful thought, specifically the ways that this thought gets passed down from generation to generation. Along with this, I think about the ways that everyday people, who in their hearts know what they see happening around them is wrong, end up becoming part and parcel of the oppression enacted upon others. These two topics have … Read More “What will I do to ensure life, liberty, and freedom for those being attacked?”

+ france, history, holocaust, Literature, world war ii

World War II Literature Syllabus

by Unknown's avatar

A couple of years ago, I started doing something I never really thought I’d do: I began to read and research more about the Holocaust and World War II. I grew up with media depicting the Untied States’ perspective during World War II, specifically the heroic acts of United States service members in the fight against fascism. All of this, of course, positioned the … Read More World War II Literature Syllabus

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+ african american art, african american literature, algeria, the stone face, william gardner smith

“We’re not racist!”: France in William Gardner Smith’s “The Stone Face”

by Unknown's avatar

Recently, I’ve been looking at “whiteness” in William Gardner Smith’s The Stone Face. Today, I want to continue that discussion by looking further at Simeon’s interactions with Ahmed and Hossein, specifically on going to Hossein’s apartment in Paris. While Simeon, earlier in the novel, recognizes, through his “double perspective,” the atrocities that the French enact upon the Algerians, the movement through the, as Simeon … Read More “We’re not racist!”: France in William Gardner Smith’s “The Stone Face”

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+ african american art, african american literature, african americans, france, race, william gardner smith

“Come die with me!”: Whiteness in William Gardner Smith’s “The Stone Face”

by Unknown's avatar

Last post, I started looking at William Gardner Smith’s The Stone Face, a novel that, as Adam Shatz points out, presents whiteness not as a racial trait but as “a synonym for situational privilege.” Today, I want to continue that discussion by looking at Simeon’s dream sequence after he speaks with the Algerians at the cafe who call him “white.” This sequence takes place … Read More “Come die with me!”: Whiteness in William Gardner Smith’s “The Stone Face”

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