The Jews in Modern Europe

In this course we will map the emergence of Jewish minority culture into the modern Western political, economic, and social mainstream. Our course begins with the Jewish Haskalah (with a few short introductions to Jewish medieval and early modern history) and ends with Israel's founding in the early decades of its history. We will trace the following historical trends: the history of Jewish emancipation; assimilation; intellectual movements; Zionism; Jewish marginalization; race and gender as historical categories in Jewish history; urban and diasporic cultures; war and violence; and international politics in post-Holocaust Europe and the world. 3 hrs. lect./disc.