Spain, germany, and the holocaust: Uniting global learning and student philanthropy through transdisciplinarity

Abstract

While the atrocities of the Holocaust have been well documented, this catastrophic event has been commonly studied through the lens of a single discipline. In a course co-taught by German and Spanish professors in conjunction with the 70th anniversary of the liberation of WWII concentration camps, advanced students of German and Spanish at Northern Kentucky University engaged with this topic by analyzing, comparing, and contrasting the German-Dutch (Anne Frank) and Spanish-French (Jorge Semprún) experience. To deepen students’ cross-collaboration, the two classes engaged in a philanthropy project called the Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project. The class received a $2,000 grant, researched and advocated for local nonprofits that addressed topics related to the Holocaust, and collectively decided on the final grant recipient. This article discusses the course structure, objectives, and outcomes of a transdisciplinary approach to literature, along with student feedback about the experience.