2012-2013 Academic Catalog

Apr 28, 2024

2012-2013 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

HIST 355 - History of Jews In Eastern Europe

Type of Course: Lecture/Discussion

Modern Jewish culture got its start in Eastern Europe. During the 19th century, Eastern European Jewry comprised the largest Jewish population in the world. Living in towns, villages, and large metropolitan centers throughout the area that today includes the countries of Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Belorussia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, Eastern European Jews played a vital role in local economic and social life and in the life of immigrant communities throughout Western Europe and the Americas. Many were deeply traditional and just as many rebelled against Jewish faith and practice and created new forms of spiritual and intellectual community, including the modern Jewish state in Palestine. Against the background of dramatic events, including two world wars and a revolution, as well as the rhythm of ordinary life, we will examine the historical experience of modern Eastern European Jews from the era of the Polish Partitions at the end of the 18th century to the break-up of the Soviet Union at the end of the twentieth.