Jews and Representations of Race

3 Credits

Attention to the evolution of Western concepts of "race" from late medieval to modern times requires addressing the meaning of the term "race." How did constructions of Jewish "racial" identities fit into this broader discussion? As Christian Europe's primary minority for centuries, "the Jews" provide evidence for constructions of race as a means of grouping populations culturally and materially. How did Jews interact with the racial discourse of diverse time periods, and how did they negotiate their political realities by both adopting and challenging aspects of the rhetoric of antisemitism as well as the rhetoric of "whiteness" versus "blackness"?