History of Antisemitism

3.00 credits · Undergraduate

A survey of antisemitism from the first several centuries of the common era to the present. The demonization of Judaism and Jews because of early Christian thought and political realities. Medieval legal restrictions on Jewish habitation and economy, accusations of "blood libel" etc., and Jewish migrations and deportations. The struggle for emancipation in Western Europe and North America, and the development of secular antisemitic mythology and conspiracy theories about Jews in the 19th and 20th centuries. Systemic antisemitism and the development of modern Jewish communities and denominations. The history of Nazi racial policies and genocide. Post-Holocaust Jewish thought, and foundations of the State of Israel. Holocaust denial, white supremacy, and the development of human rights protections, hate speech laws, war crimes trials with many examples drawn from Canadian contexts.