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Academic Year 2005/2006

Soph. Seminar: East European Jewish Experience
HIST 156 SP

Our concept of the life of east European Jews has been dominated by the Hollywood and Broadway blockbuster "Fiddler on the Roof." The "Shtetl" has been the paradigm of east European Jewish experience. But the powerful imagery of the "shtetl" is largely a creation of 19th-century writers. This is a course will take us beyond the "shtetl" and will look at the history the Jews in eastern Europe from the initial settlement of the Jews there until the eve of modernity. We will examine how historians and writers have shaped our understanding of Jewish history in that region, and the context in which the persisting imagery of eastern European Jews was created. Why were certain stories told? What can different historical sources show us about Jewish life in Eastern Europe? We will discuss how Jewish history in eastern Europe was studied by historians, and couple the narratives created by scholars with historical sources: privilege charters, crime records, rabbinic response, anti-Jewish literature, and others. We will try to probe the relation between history, historical sources, and historical writings.

MAJOR READINGS

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

COURSE FORMAT: Seminar

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS HIST    Grading Mode: Graded   

Prerequisites: NONE

SECTION 01

Instructor(s): Teter,Magda    

Times: ..T.... 07:00PM-09:50PM;     Location: PAC422;

Reserved Seats:    (Total Limit: 16)

SR. major: X   Jr. major: 0

SR. non-major: X   Jr. non-major: X   SO: 16   FR: 0

Special Attributes:

Curricular Renewal:    Speaking, Writing, Focused Inquiry Course

Last Updated on MAR-30-2006

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