Fall 2009

REE 335 • Jews of Eastern Europe-W

Course Description

This course will provide a broad overview of the social, economic, political, religious, and cultural history of Jews in Eastern Europe from the sixteenth to the twentieth century. We will explore individual Jewish experiences, developments within Jewish communities, as well as Jewish interactions with various East European peoples and regimes. The course, organized around both lectures and discussion, will offer a comparative perspective on developments within various East European regions as well as an overview of the historical developments that affected East European Jewry as a whole, such as the rise of Hasidism, the Jewish Enlightenment, antisemitism, the rise of mass politics (nationalism, Zionism, and Socialism), urbanization and immigration, the Holocaust, and the rise and fall of Communist regimes in the region.

Grading Policy

Grades will be based on three short papers, two tests, and your in-class participation. The first assignment, a 4-5 page document analysis is worth 10%, the second assignment, a 5-6 page book response, 15%, and the third assignment, a 7-8 page research paper, is worth 30%. The midterm test counts for 10% of your grade and the final exam for 25%. Last, your attendance and participation in class discussion counts for 10% of your overall grade.

Texts

Sholem Aleichem, Tevye's Daughters: Collected Stories of Sholom Aleichem Henryk Grynberg, The Jewish War and the Victory Heiko Haumann, A History of East European Jews Pauline Wengeroff, Rememberings: The World of a Russian-Jewish Woman in the Nineteenth Century

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