Alexander Weinreb

Course description

Why have Jews been hated and mistrusted for so long? How, if at all, does judeophobia differ from other types of xenophobia or racism?  In which societies have we historically seen intense hatred or mistrust of Jews? Where do we see it today? And where do we see the opposite phenomenon: philosemitism?

In this upper-level undergraduate course, we tackle these and related questions. We identify distinct types of judeophobia/antisemitism over 2,500 years, identifying continuity and change in antisemitic discourse.

Although our primary focus is on antisemitism in contemporary and historical Christian and Muslim societies, we begin in the antisemitic bedrock—Ancient Greece and Rome. We also look at antisemitism in peripheral societies which have had few Jews, if any (e.g., Japan). Finally, we consider judeophobia among Jews themselves—that is, the enduring phenomenon in which some Jews have not only internalized anti-Semitic discourse but have become “self-hating.”

Throughout the course, we use antisemitism to explore more general ideas in social theory, including globalization, and the nature of conflict related to race, ethnicity, class, and ideology. Perhaps most surprising and disturbing—this being a university—we look at the repeated role of intellectual elites in generating and justifying new forms of judeophobia, and in so doing, perpetuating this ancient hatred.

Why have Jews been hated and mistrusted for so long? How, if at all, does judeophobia differ from other types of xenophobia or racism?  In which societies have we historically seen intense hatred or mistrust of Jews? Where do we see it today? And where do we see the opposite phenomenon: philosemitism?

In this upper-level undergraduate course, we tackle these and related questions. We identify distinct types of judeophobia/antisemitism over 2,500 years, identifying when and where new and discrete layers of antisemitic ideas developed and flourished. Although our primary focus is on antisemitism in contemporary and historical Christian and Muslim societies, we begin in the antisemitic bedrock—Ancient Greece and Rome. We also look at antisemitism in peripheral societies which have had few Jews, if any (e.g., Japan). Finally, we consider judeophobia among Jews themselves—that is, the enduring phenomenon in which some Jews have not only internalized antisemitic discourse but have become “self-hating.”

Throughout the course, we use antisemitism to explore more general ideas in social theory, including habitus, globalization, and the nature of conflict related to race, ethnicity, class, and ideology. Perhaps most surprising and disturbing—this being a university—we look at the repeated role of intellectual elites in generating and justifying new forms of judeophobia, and in so doing, perpetuating this ancient hatred.

Grading

To be provided by instructor. 

Description:

Why have Jews been hated and mistrusted for so long? Is Judeophobia like any other type of xenophobia or racism?  Where do we see hatred and mistrust of Jews today? And where do we see the opposite phenomenon: philosemitism?

In this upper-level undergraduate course, we tackle these and related questions. We survey trends in Judeophobia/anti-Semitism over 2,500 years, identifying continuity and change in anti-Semitic discourse. Although our primary focus is on anti-Semitism in contemporary and historical Christian and Muslim societies, we also explore the ancient anti-Semitic bedrock—Ancient Greece and Rome—as well as anti-Semitism in peripheral societies which had few Jews, if any (e.g., pre-modern Japan, contemporary Africa). Finally, we consider Judeophobia among Jews themselves—that is, the enduring phenomenon in which some Jews have not only internalized anti-Semitic discourse but have become “self-hating.”

Throughout the course, we use anti-Semitism to explore more general ideas in social theory about boundary-making, models of racial, ethnic and cultural conflict, and perhaps most surprising and disturbing—this being a university—the repeated role of intellectual elites in generating and justifying new forms of judeophobia, and in so doing, perpetuating this ancient hatred.

Texts/readings:

Excerpts from:

-        Peter Schafer’s Judeophobia: Attitudes toward the Jews in the Ancient World

-        Robert Wistrich’s A Lethal Obsession: Anti-Semitism from Antiquity to the Global Jihad

-        Gavin Langmuir‘s Towards a Definition of Anti-Semitism

-        Jean Paul Sartre’s Anti-Semite and Jew

-        David Goodman’s Jews in the Japanese Mind: The History and Uses of a Cultural Stereotype

-        Stephen Norwood’s The Third Reich in the Ivory Tower: Complicity and Conflict on American Campuses

-        Donald Horowitz’s Ethnic Groups in Conflict

Grading/Assignments:

50% on exams and tests

40% on a group project (focusing on one aspect of anti-Semitism, historical or contemporary)

10% on class participation

Special notes:

In an effort to create a positive learning environment that is focused on lectures and exchanges in the classroom, the in-class use of laptops will be prohibited.