Exile & Homeland: Jewish Culture, Thought & Politics in Modern Europe & Mandatory Palestine
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| HIST2067 | History | 2 | 20 | Autumn UK |
- Code
- HIST2067
- School
- History
- Level
- 2
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Autumn UK
Summary
The module introduces students to the topic of modern Jewish history with a focus on religious culture and thought. The module shows how modern Jewish history intersected with the religious culture and thought of Judaism in the late nineteenth and early to mid-twentieth centuries. It focuses primarily on examples from Central and Western Europe as well as the territory which would later form the state of Israel. The module provides a rudimentary history of Jewish culture and thought during the modern period from 1890 to 1950. It instils an understanding of how historical context influence interpretations of sacred texts and informs the students as to how Jewish history fits into the broader tapestry of modern global history.
The module uses cultural, social and intellectual history as its main branches of historiography. The structure of the module is chronological: beginning in the late nineteenth-century with the Dreyfus Affair in France and the early Zionist Movement in Vienna and it concludes in 1950, examining the aftermath of the Holocaust and the establishment of the state of Israel.
Target Students
Available to Year 2 students studying Single Honours and Joint Honours programmes in the Department of History and the Department of Theology and Religious Studies. Available to Liberal Arts students. Available to subsidiary students in the School of Humanities.
Assessment
- 80% Coursework 1: Essay
- 20% Coursework 2: Reflective report
Assessed by end of autumn semester
Educational Aims
The module aims to give a history of European and Near East Jewry in the modern period from the late nineteenth to the mid twentieth century. It analyses Jewish intellectual, social and cultural life through the lens of religious culture. It seeks to provide valuable insight into Jewish history and culture for both students in history and theology and religious studies.Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and understanding.
- By the end of the module students should be able to:
- Grasp the foundational elements of modern Jewish history, such as Zionism as a political movement and ideology, as well as the culture of diaspora and the character of modern anti-Semitism.
- Understand the evolution of Jewish culture and thought in Europe and the near East from 1890 to 1950 with a particular emphasis on theological and secular interpretations of the Hebrew Bible.
- Understand how the broader historical contexts of the nineteenth and early twentieth-century shaped the history of Jewish peoples in Europe and the near East.
- Reflect on the nature of Jewish history as a scientific discipline.
Intellectual skills.
- By the end of the module students should be able to:
- Think critically and imaginatively about the subject matter;
- Identify and address key problems relevant to it;
- Assess and evaluate competing historical interpretations put forward in the secondary literature;
- Use core terminology related to the topic in a confident and appropriate manner;
- Construct coherent and independent historical arguments of their own.
Professional/practical skills.
- The module will develop students’ ability to:
- Select, sift and synthesise information from a range of secondary sources;
- Form an argument based on appropriate research;
- To identify and compare key arguments in those materials;
- To demonstrate appropriate footnoting and bibliographical skills;
- To verbally summarise and discuss present research findings;
- To engage with heritage institutions such as the National Holocaust Centre & Museum
- To use the University intranet to access the library catalogue.
Transferable skills.
- The module will also develop students’ ability to:
- To manage a large and varied body of information;
- To develop good oral and written communication skills
- To work and learn actively with others;
- To manage and take responsibility for their own learning;
- To respect the views, beliefs and protected characteristics of others;
- To use IT for research and presentation purposes.