Alternative Histories: Jewish Greeks and the Modern Nation

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

The course focuses on the experiences of Jews living in Greece during the 19th and 20th centuries. It is structured around a core issue, namely the encounter between two forms of belonging: on the one hand, a pre-national, imperial one where religious and ethnic diversity was the norm; and on the other, a 'modern' at the time, national one where sameness became a prerequisite. The course will examine these issues focusing primarily on two aspects: (a) on the policies that the Greek state adopted in order to 'manage' the Jewish populations that were gradually added in its territory; and (b) on the reactions of the Jews living in the Greek territory vis-a-vis the new exigencies of the new nation-state; reactions that covered the whole spectrum from assimilation to migration. Understanding how Jews and more broadly people of different creed and origin invented alternative versions of "Greekness," which undermined the intimate connection between religious and national identity, is more than relevant today that the asserted homogeneity of nation-states is seriously challenged by the waves of global migration. Studying the history of Greek Jews thus invites us to reflect more broadly on forms and definitions of belonging.