RJ 225 - Jews Across the Americas (4 Cr.)

(AMS 225) (GCR-RPP)

This course examines the diversity of the American Jewish experiences in South America, North America and the Caribbean. Beginning in the early colonial era to the present, we will examine Jewish life through a variety of cultural genres, including visual, art, literature, and public memory. The course explores Jewish identities in the contexts of European colonialisms in the Americas, twentieth century nationalisms, and the post-WWII political movements from civil rights to American Zionism. It highlights how multi-group histories of Western empire, including expulsion, colonialism, enslavement, and the enlightenment, have shaped Jewish identity and culture. The course invites students to understand Jewish histories from a hemispheric perspective and identify when and where “Jewishness” operates as a marker of power and/or marginalization. Spring semester.