The goal of the course is to study aspects of the position of Jewish minorities and modern antisemitism, namely beliefs and behaviors hostile to Jews because they are “Jews” (as defined by the antisemites) in Western Europe between 1789 and 1945.
The course shall convey knowledge of perceptions of and behavior towards Jewish minorities in the modern West and compare it to several other political environments.
Content: The course studies the historical context of attitudes towards and the position of Jews in modern Europe between 1789 and 1945. The course will focus in particular on French history between 1789 and 1848 and German history from 1879 to 1945. By way of individual assignments, it will explore also other Western European national contexts. It also offers two comparative contexts, namely that of premodern Western Europe and of 19th and 20th century Eastern Europe (as yet to be defined specific cases).
https://www4.uib.no/en/studies/courses/relv360
The student shall by the end of the course have gained the following learning outcome defined in knowledge, skills, and general competence:
Knowledge:
The student:
– has basic historical knowledge of attitudes and behavior towards Jewish religious minorities in modern Europe between 1789 and 1945.
– has basic historical knowledge of the various impacts of the rise of the modern nation state and of the consequent development of modern Western political history on attitudes towards and treatment of Jews.
is familiar with scholarly, ideological, and political debates about modern antisemitism
Skills:
The student
– can critically identify modern forms of antisemitism and their specific historical contexts
– can critically identify the main historical forces behind modern antisemitism and tolerant attitudes towards Jews.
– can make connections between these larger historical forces and specific instances of or attitudes toward antisemitism.
General competence:
The student
– can utilize historical knowledge of modern variants of antisemitism, knowledge of their historical contexts, familiarity with debates on the nature of modern antisemitism, as well as the developed skills to make connections between these, to form and articulate a nuanced understanding of the nature(s) of antisemitism in the modern West.
None
Beller, Steven. Antisemitism [electronic resource] : a very short introduction Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. (147 p.).
Reinharz, Jehuda; Mendes-Flohr, Paul, The Jew in the modern world : a documentary history2nd ed., New York, Oxford University Press, 1995, pp. 114-141 for this section. For the section on Germany we need: Wilhelm Marr: “The Victory of Judaism over Germandom (1879)”, in: The Jew in the Modern World: A Documentary History, ed by Paul Mendes Flohr and Jehuda Reinharz (New York/Oxford: Oxford UP, 1995), pp. 331-333 – Heinrich von Treitschke: „A Word About Our Jewry“(1880), in: The Jew in the Modern World, pp. 343-346 – Adolf Hitler: “A Letter on the Jewish Question”, and “Mein Kampf”, in The Jew in the Modern World, pp. 636-639 – Adolf Hitler: “A Prophecy of Jewry’s Annihilation (January 30, 1939), in The Jew in the Modern World, pp. 656-658; Wilhelm Marr: “The Victory of Judaism over Germandom (1879)”, pp. 331-333: 3 pp.) – Heinrich von Treitschke: „A Word About Our Jewry“(1880), pp. 343-346: 4 pp. – Adolf Hitler: “A Letter on the Jewish Question”, and “Mein Kampf”, pp. 636-639: 4 pp. – Adolf Hitler: “A Prophecy of Jewry’s Annihilation (January 30, 1939), pp. 656-658: 4 pp.
Hyman, Paula. The Jews of modern France. Berkeley, Calif., University of California Press, c1998, Chapters 1-3 (pp. 1-52)
Volkov, Shulamit. Germans, Jews, and Antisemites: Trials in EmancipationCambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2006.
pp. 67-81; 91-118.
Leo Baeck Institute. 2014. “Transnational Press Discourses on German Antisemitism during the Weimar Republic: The Riots in Berlin’s Scheunenviertel, 1923”. The Leo Baeck Institute Year Book 59 (1): 91–120.
Lindemann, Albert S, og Richard S Levy. 2010. Antisemitism: A History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Incorporated.
More is listed on our canvas website.
Teaching and learning methods
The teaching and student activities in this course will entirely take place online.
short introductory videos.
Readings
following each video/reading there will be a short quiz, that tests the students basic understanding of the video/reading
individual feedback on discussion postings and essays from the instructor
participation in online discussions
Transcript of records