UA PROFESSOR SHOWS TEACHERS HOW TO "GET AT THE WHY" IN LESSON ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - In the recently released Holocaust Education: Issues and Approaches, Samuel Totten, professor in the UA College of Education and Health Professions, presents critical essays on various aspects of teaching about the Holocaust. The book is the third in a series of texts on Holocaust education developed by Allyn and Bacon Publishers.

Totten co-edited, with Stephen Feinberg, the first volume in the series, Teaching and Studying the Holocaust, and edited the second volume, Teaching Holocaust Literature.

Holocaust Education: Issues and Approaches addresses issues not developed in the previous two books. For example, in his most recent book, Totten suggests various ways to initiate and conclude lessons on the Holocaust in a thought-provoking manner.

He raises critical issues central to teaching about history in a historically accurate manner using sound teaching methods. In his introduction to the book, Totten emphasizes the importance of helping students to "’get at’ the why(s) behind the whats, wheres, whens, and hows of the Holocaust."

Currently, Totten is completing two new books, Remembering the Past, Educating for the Future: Educators Encounter the Holocaust and Pioneers of Genocide Studies.

In his introduction to Holocaust Education: Issues and Approaches, Totten credits "a host of sterling scholars and educators" and "an impressive group of survivors" with inspiring him to continue to "probe into the darkness of the Holocaust." Among those to whom he dedicates the book is Elie Wiesel, a survivor of Auschwitz and a recipient of the Nobel Prize for Peace.

Writing of the scholars and survivors, Totten says, "Their passion has continued to fuel my passion."

Before entering academia, Totten taught English and social studies at the secondary level in Australia, Israel, California, and Washington, D.C. He also served as a K-8 principal in northern California. As an educational consultant to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, he co-authored, with William S. Parsons, Guidelines for Teaching about the Holocaust.