Crusade, Disputation, and Coexistence: Jews in Christian Europe

JEWISH, ISLAMIC AND MIDDLE EAST STUDIES 5334

This course will investigate some of the major themes in the history of the Jews in Europe, from the Middle Ages to the eve of the French Revolution. Jews constituted a classic, nearly continuous minority in the premodern Christian world-a world that was not known for tolerating dissent. Or was it? One of the main purposes of the course is to investigate the phenomenon of majority/minority relations, to examine the ways in which the Jewish community interacted with and experienced European societies, cultures, and politics. We will look at the dynamics of boundary formation and cultural distinctiveness; the limits of religious and social tolerance; the periodic eruption of persecution in its social, political, and religious contexts; and the prospects for Jewish integration into various European societies during the course of the Enlightenment era.
Course Attributes: EN H; BU Hum; BU Eth; BU IS; AS HUM; AS LCD; AS SD I; AS SC

Section 01

Crusade, Disputation, and Coexistence: Jews in Christian Europe
INSTRUCTOR: Cassen
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