Research Seminar (395-0-24)
Topic
Jews and Muslims: Intertwined Worlds
Instructors
Jonathan Brack
Meeting Info
Harris Hall L04: Tues, Thurs 3:30PM - 4:50PM
Overview of class
For centuries, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) witnessed a rich tapestry of Jewish-Muslim cultural interactions, religious exchanges, and shared social realities, beginning with the spread of Islam in the seventh century. This course will explore the vibrant lives and everyday experiences of Jewish communities in the region, spanning from the 11th to the 20th centuries. Drawing on specific case studies and recent research, the course will offer a nuanced understanding of the complex dynamics that shaped the relationships of Jews to their predominantly Muslim environment in premodern MENA.
Instead of a simplistic narrative of either harmonious coexistence or constant conflict and discrimination, we will explore the intricate layers of the history of Jews in the Islamic world to reveal their intertwined world. The course does not aim to provide a comprehensive historical overview but rather seeks to illuminate critical aspects of Jewish cultural and social embeddedness in MENA through recent scholarship on key themes. These include competing and overlapping legal systems, commercial life and material culture, gender, religious polemics and intellectual exchanges, shared devotional spaces and practices, and more. The students in the course will concentrate on individual research papers based on secondary scholarship but also translated primary sources.
Learning Objectives
The course's key objective is to develop a nuanced understanding of the history of Jewish communities and Jewish-Muslim interactions and relationships in MENA. Students will become acquainted with central aspects of Jewish experiences and key scholarly debates in the field. Students will develop skills of historical analysis using secondary and primary sources including texts, images, objects, maps, and more. This includes the ability to evaluate accounts in their historical context and assess current scholarly discussions. Another primary goal of the course is to write an original research paper.
Evaluation Method
Participation, weekly responses, 1 short paper, project presentation, research paper
Class Notes
Concentration: Asia/Middle East, Africa/Middle East
Class Attributes
Advanced Expression
Historical Studies Foundational Discipline
Historical Studies Distro Area
Enrollment Requirements
Enrollment Requirements: Freshmen may not register for this course.