Modern Jewish History

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This course examines the way in which Jews met the religious, social, and cultural challenges posed by the onset of modernity. We will trace the central transformations in Jewish life from the 18th – 20th centuries in Europe, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire. Topics will include the quest for political emancipation, the Jewish Enlightenment, Hasidism, Jewish nationalism, and the Jewish response to new forms of Anti-Semitism.