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CS92PROD
Jewish History: From Spanish Expulsion to Jon Stewart

HIST 248
Spring 2015
Section: 01  
Crosslisting: RELI 262
Certificates: Jewish and Israel Studies

This course explores Jewish history on the eve of modernity and during the modern era. Modern Jewish experience has often been characterized as an era of increasing participation of Jews in the civil society, and was juxtaposed to the "premodern" era of the ghettoes. This course will explore these dichotomous stereotypes and introduce students to the complexity of the Jewish experience, their active involvement in the political and cultural processes that were taking place in the "non-Jewish" environment both before and during the modern times. We will see Jews as a part of the social and cultural fabric, rather than an "alienated minority" whose history is separate from that of their surroundings. We will explore the transformations from a traditional society, defined by religious identities, into a modern society, of complex religious, ethnic, political identities. We will look at the acceptance of and resistance to the new ideas brought by the Enlightenment and explore the consequences of secularization of the society, including the rise of modern anti-Semitism, Jewish nationalism, Zionism, the Holocaust, questions of women and gender, migrations, religious fundamentalism, and American, Israeli, and Diaspora Jewish cultures, etc.

This course is a gateway course to the Jewish and Israel studies; it also counts toward several modules for a history major: religion and history; Jewish history, society, and culture; nation and ethnicity; Europe; migration, and others if approved by the majors advisor.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS HIST
Course Format: Lecture / DiscussionGrading Mode: Student Option
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: (HIST-MN)(HIST)(RELI)(STS)
Past Enrollment Probability: 90% or above

Last Updated on MAR-28-2024
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