Workshop for Educators - "Curating Memories: Teaching the Holocaust Through and at Museums"
This half-day workshop explores museums as carefully constructed memorial environments that are at once commemorative spaces and pedagogic tools. Focusing on exhibitions at sites of atrocity as well as institutions at a geographical distance, including examples from Melbourne and Los Angeles, the workshop examines how curatorial choices shape public understanding of the Holocaust. Building on these themes, a practical session will model a lesson titled “Teaching the Holocaust Through Digital Museum Spaces.” Participants will engage with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s online collections through a structured, multi-part activity designed for classroom use.
Educators will leave with concrete strategies and adaptable materials to help students critically and ethically read both physical and digital museum spaces, deepening their historical understanding while fostering reflective, responsible engagement with Holocaust memory. This workshop will be facilitated by Dr. Steven Cooke (the 2026 Holocaust Memorial Lecturer) and Dr. Sandra Grudić (Coordinator of Educational Outreach).
Learning Outcomes:
Educators who successfully complete this workshop will be able to:
- Analyze how Holocaust museums function not only as sites of historical preservation, but also as memorial spaces that shape public memory and emotional engagement.
- Examine how exhibition design—including spatial arrangement, objects, photographs, sound, and silence—can influence visitors’ understanding of trauma, absence, and loss.
- Reflect on the ethical and pedagogical challenges involved in representing the Holocaust in museums and classrooms.
Additional Information:
This workshop will take place fully in-person on campus at Keene State. Breakfast and workshop materials are provided to participants at no cost. Workshop attendees will receive a certificate of completion listing the number of professional development hours completed. Please note that this workshop is open to all active educators (middle school, high school, and post-secondary). Please direct any questions to coheninstitute.education@keene.edu.
Registration:
There is no cost to attend this workshop; however, space is limited and advanced registration is required. The hard deadline to register for this workshop (if spaces still remain) is 5:00 pm ET on Monday, September 14, 2026.
This event is part of the Cohen Institute calendar.
To request accommodations for a disability, please contact the coordinator at least two weeks prior to the event.
