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JUS 370b
791
History of the Jews:
The Medieval & Early Modern Periods
Evening/Weekend no additional fees required - register through
Student Link |
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Approved as General Education Tier II - Individuals &
Societies and General Education Diversity Emphasis. |
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Prerequisites: none
but recommended
are two courses from Tier One, Traditions & Cultures (TRAD
101,102,103,104) or JUS 301 Jewish Civilizations. |
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Identical with: HIST 370b &
RELI 370b |
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Instructor:
Deborah Kaye |
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Desire2Learn will be
replacing E-reserves 4Learn
more about D2L |
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4Sample Syllabus (currently enrolled students
go to 4D2L
for up to date syllabus) |
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D2L |
UA Schedule of Classes
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Student Link
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Final Exam Schedule |
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Survey of
major political, socioeconomic, and cultural developments in the history
of Diaspora Jewry: the Jew in the medieval world (to the 17th century). |
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SAMPLE SYLLABUS
Currently enrolled students go to4D2L
for most current syllabus |
JUS370B - The Jew in the Medieval
World
FALL 2007
Required Textbooks
Mark R. Cohen, trans. The Autobiography of a Seventeenth Century Rabbi
Leon Modena's Life of Judah
Jane S. Gerber, The Jews of Spain: A History of the Sephardic Experience
R. Po Chia Hsia, Trent 1475: Stories of a Ritual Murder Trial
Allan Levine, Scattered Among the Peoples: The Jewish Diaspora in Ten
Portraits
Jacob Rader Marcus, The Jew in the Medieval World: A Source Book
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Course Description
This course surveys Jewish life in the Middle Ages. First, we focus on
the history of the Jewish life in Spain from to the invasion of the
Germanic tribes and the rule of the Visigothic monarchs to the Muslim
conquest by 715. We consider ways Muslim theologians viewed Judaism and
Jewish legal status under Muslim rule. From the Muslim conquest,
students explore the Jewish intellectual renaissance in the cities of
Córdoba, Seville, and Granada from from the 11th to the 13th centuries.
We consider the development of economic relations between Jews and
Muslims in the Mediterranean world system and the role of Sephardi Jews
as cultural intermediaries and courtiers. From a critical study of the
so-called cultural “Golden Age,” we move on to study the Reconquista,
the re-Christianization of Spain and the origins of the enigma of 1492.
How a well established community looked upon so favorably by Muslim
rulers (and Christians initially) fell into decline and was destroyed
raises questions about the nature of political persecution in Christian
Europe. We end Unit I by considering impact of Sephardi migrations in
Amsterdam and in the Ottoman Empire. Studying discrimination against
Jews in the Middle Ages would not be complete without an investigation
of ritual murder and blood libel accusations. In Unit II, we read the
fascinating case study of the 1475 Trial of Simon of Trent to understand
the complex relationship between Jews and the Catholic Church. This unit
also introduces students to Ashkenazi Jewish life in the Middle Ages by
exploring Jewish life in Venice. We end by reading the intriguing
autobiography of Leon da Modena, a major intellectual figure of the
early modern Italian and Jewish community.
Note: Although class time does not permit an in-depth study of Jewish
life in every part of Europe or the Mediterranean world, however
students will have the opportunity to explore and compare other
locations in a research essay. Among the main analytical thrusts of the
course, a fundamental understanding of the social, political, economic
and cultural interactions between Jews, Christians and Muslims is our
goal. It is hoped that by the end of the course student will have a
general familiarity with the local, cultural, “international” and
historical contexts of Jewish history in the Middle Ages.
Grading and Assignments
Attendance 10%
Quizzes 20 %
Midterm Exam 25%
Final Exam 25%
Papers 20%
Grading Scales: (all grades will be mathematically weighted per the
percentages listed above)
For Quizzes
A (10) A- (9) B+ (8) B (7) B- (6) C+ (5) C (4) C- (3) D+ (2) D (1) D-
(0) E (absent)
For Exams
100-99-98 = A+ 97-96-95-94 = A 93-92-91 = A-
90-89-88 = B+ 87-86-85-84 = B 83-82-81 = B-
80-79-78 = C+ 77-76-75-74 = C 73-72-71 = C-
70-69-68 = D+ 67-66-65-64 = D 63-62-61 = D-
For Attendance
0-1 absences = A 2-3 absences = B 4-5 absences = C 5-6 absences = D
7 absences = E for the course
Please note that I require regular and punctual attendance. Since our
class sessions meet only once a week attendance is critical to passing
the class. Furthermore, lateness simply cannot be tolerated because of
the disruption to students. Also, note that the teacher reserves the
right to drop or to award a course grade of E to any student with
excessive absences. See above for the grading scale in the attendance
part of the course.
Quizzes
You must be prepared for a quiz at the start of each class period
although I may not always give one. Most of the time, I construct
quizzes from identifications (key figures, terms and events) and
multiple choice questions, but I may on occasion require longer
responses based on primary source readings. Quiz material will be based
on both lecture and reading assignments. NOTE: There are no make-ups for
quizzes. The lowest quiz (or missed quiz) will be dropped prior to the
calculation of final grades. Quizzes will be given at the start of
class. Once quizzes are collected those arriving late may not take them.
Midterm and Final
The format of midterm and final exams includes short answer and essay
questions. Before each exam I will give out a study guide. Remember to
bring a bluebook to class on the day of the exam. Exams are always based
on both readings and lecture. I encourage you to keep a Cornell style
notebook while studying for the class. This is an excellent study skill
to develop, one that will allow you to organize your note-taking
effectively and efficiently for exams.
Papers
You will be required to write two 3-5 page papers dealing with some
aspect of medieval/and or early modern Jewish culture discussed in
class. The main goal of these papers is to develop analytical writing
skills which include 1) identifying the thesis argument in essays from
the readings for class and discuss the author’s stance on our topic 2)
be able to articulate the ways in which the author of the essay goes
about proving her thesis and 3) to incorporate quotes both directly and
indirectly into the essay in a logical manner.
Papers must have a title and be typed, double-spaced, with one-inch
margins, using a standard font (12 point) for easy legibility. Grading
of papers will be on both form (spelling, error-free grammar, clarity,
accuracy of expression and organization) and content (logic, analytical
insights, persuasiveness, incorporation of quotes as evidence and above
all, the ability to place the paper’s subject into the overall study of
our course
Statement of Academic Honesty
Pursuit of truth is a prime activity in a university community. As a
member of this class, each one of you pledges to maintain standards of
honesty and integrity in all academic work. The guiding principle of
academic integrity is that a student’s submitted work must be the
student’s own. If you engage in plagiarism, in other words you fail
adhere to the above standards, it will result in a grade of E for the
course.
Disruptive Behaviour
Students need to be considerate to others and to avoid the negative
impact on the learning environment of disruptive behaviour, even if
minimal, including being late for class or leaving early, the ringing of
beepers and cell phones.
Schedule of Classes and Readings (provisional)
8/24 Course Introduction
8/31 The Early History of Jewish Life in Spain
Gerber, Introduction and Chapter I; Jacob Rader Marcus Sourcebook (from
now on referred to as JRM), Section I Documents #3 Islam and the Jews
600-1772; #4 The Jews of Spain and the Visigothic Code 654-681; JRM
Section III D#72 Bodo and the Jews, 838-847
9/7 From Muslim Conquest to the Caliphate of Córdoba
Gerber, Chapter 2; JRM Section Section III B #46 The Medieval Jewish
Kingdom of the Chazars (Khazars) 740-1259;
9/14 The Golden Era: The Emergence of Sephardic Civilization
Gerber, Chapter 3 JRM Section III C, #59 Samuel Ha-Nagid, Vizier of
Granada, 993-d. after 1056; #62 Maimonides, 1135-1204; Check out Shlomo
Pines translation of Maimonides discussion of circumcision from The
Guide for the Perplexed. Follow this link: www.cirp.org/library/cultural/maimonides/
; JRM Document #39 The Ban of Solomon Ben Adret, 1305
9/21 No Classes Yom Kippur
9/28 The Reconquista: Jewish Life in Christian Spain
Gerber, Chapter 4: JRM Section I #7 Medieval Spanish Law and the Jews
Las siete partidas, 1265; #9 The Black Death and the Jews, 1348-1349;
Section II #27
Innocent and the Jews. 1215
10/5 The Decline and Destruction of Spanish Jewry
Gerber, Chapter 5; Levine, Chapter I; JRM Section I#11 The Expulsion
from Spain, 1492; #12 The Massacre of the New Christians of Lisbon,
1506; Section II#35 The Spanish Inquisition at Work; Look up Abrabanel's
response to the Alhambra Decree, in the 1988 novel The Alhambra Decree
by David Raphael.
10/12 The Sephardic Diaspora in Muslim Lands
Gerber, Chapter 6; Levine, Chapter 4 The Portuguese Nação, Amsterdam
1700; JRM Section III #51 David Reubeni and Solomon Molcho, 1524-1532,
#52 Isaac Luria, the Cabalist, 1534-1572; #65 Joseph Nasi Rebuilds
Tiberias, 1564; #83 Turkish Jewry, 1553-1555
10/19 Jewish Life in the Ottoman Empire
Levine, Chapter 3 “Physicians, Poets and a False Messiah”
10/26 Ashkenazi Jews: Persecution and Peril
R. Po-Chia Hsia, Trent 1475: Stories of a Ritual Murder Trial
JRM Section II Documents #24 The Accusation of the Ritual Murder of St.
William of Norwich; #31 The Passau Host Desecration; #32 Reuchlin’s
Appeal to Bonetto de Lattes, October-November, 1513
11/2 Jews in Italy: The Ghetto of Venice
Levine, Chapter 2; (MC) Benjamin Ravid, Excursus I: The Venetian Ghetto
in Historical Perspective; JRM Section II #34 The Burning of the Talmud
in Italy; #82 Jewish Books and Printers, 1531-1719
11/9 The Autobiography of a Seventeenth Century Rabbi: Leon Modena’s
Hayyei Yehudah (Life of Judah)
Read pp. 75-122 of the autobiography; Mark R. Cohen and Theodore K. Rabb,
“The Significance of Leon Modena’s Autobiography for Early Modern Jewish
and General European History”
11/16 The Autobiography of a Seventeenth Century Rabbi: Leon Modena’s
Hayyei Yehudah (Life of Judah)
Read pp. 122-180; Howard Edelman, “Leon Modena, The Autobiography and
the Man”
11/23 No Classes Thanksgiving Break
11/30 Jewish Autobiography: A Spiritual Legacy
Natalie Zemon Davis, Fame and Secrecy: Leon Modena’s Life as an Early
Modern Autobiography; JRM Section III #63 Ethical Wills, Twelfth and
Fourteenth Centuries; #68 The Memoirs of Gluckel of Hameln, 1646-1719
12/7 FINAL EXAM TBA
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