This course focuses on the connections between concepts of gender and the
process of nation formation in the German Third Reich. We explore Nazi
German ideologies through the images of idealized genders and sexualities
they produced. We also explore the presence of these concepts in
contemporary culture. The first of the three sections sets up the historical and
cultural framework for the analysis of definitions of gender and sexuality that
served as the foundation for the German nation-state. We then discuss the
distinctions between ordinary men and women and individual cases that were
nationally broadcast as both exemplary and exceptional. The second section
considers that which is omitted or rejected from the line of German Nazi
thought. A third section discusses the reflection of Nazi history and culture in
current cinematic and literary production, paying special attention to new
visions of fascist gender roles therein.