Topics in Latin American, Latina & Latino, and Iberian Literatures and Cultures (Taught in English) (397-0-1)
Topic
The Formation of Sephardic Diaspora and Culture, 1
Instructors
Shai Zamir
Meeting Info
Kresge Cent. Hall 2-380 Kaplan: Tues, Thurs 12:30PM - 1:50PM
Overview of class
The Formation of Sephardic Diaspora and Culture, 1400-1800
This historical survey will follow the Jews of Spain as they were expelled from the Iberian Peninsula at the end of the fifteenth century and became members of a global diasporic group and Sephardic Jews. We will focus on the 1492 Expulsion and the political and religious processes that led to it; on immigration to various new locales in the Mediterranean and Western Europe; on the creation of new religious and racial identities of "New Christians"; on the formation of a Sephardic canon, and on many other central topics in the history of the Sephardic diaspora and its culture. We will use this opportunity to explore questions essential to historical thinking: the nature of historical change and the challenges of studying continuity rather than rupture; processes of identity and community making and their archival traces; and the differences between history, historiography, memory work and nostalgia. We will pay special attention to the diversity of the Jewish experience by comparing and contrasting various perspectives on Sephardic history and applying new methods from the history of gender and race.
Registration Requirements
There are no prerequisites for this course, and all readings and class meetings will be in English.
Learning Objectives
• The students will acquire knowledge of early modern Jewish and Spanish history, the development of the Sephardi diaspora, and become familiar with relevant primary and secondary sources.
• The students will learn how to read a scholarly article or chapter and how to make a historical argument based on the evidence found in primary sources.
• The students will be able to appreciate the impact of historical developments such as immigration, the marginalization or racialization of social groups, and the formation of ethnic and religious communities.
• The students will learn how to evaluate the experience of individuals while taking into consideration broader social context and structures, and specifically in the context of immigration and religious change.
• The students will reflect on the creation of a collective and diasporic memory through the writing of history and historiography.
Evaluation Method
Attendance/Class participation: 20%
Written Assignments: 70%
Readings: 10%
Class Materials (Required)
Materials will be provided by instructor.
Class Attributes
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area