HIST121

Description

The course will proceed chronologically from 1492 (the expulsion of Sephardic Jews from Spain) to the present day. As we move through the history, we will ask: how have the processes of modernity shaped the Jewish experience and, in turn, how have Jews shaped modernity? What has made a Jew a Jew across time and space? What have been the cultural, ethnic, political, religious, and social ties that have defined Jewish identity and belonging? How has internal diversity among Jews changed and mattered over the course of early modern and modern history? How have Jews' relations with their non-Jewish neighbors shaped Jewish identity? How have the experiences of Jewish women and men differed and how has gender affected Jewish lives? How have Jews defined and envisioned Jewish "groupness"? What are the objects, ritual practices, and physical spaces that have been important in Jewish life? What are the stories that are central to Jewish identity? How have these narratives been constructed and preserved and how has their meaning changed over time? This course stresses the close analysis of primary sources (both textual and visual), and also incorporates film and literature.