CITIZENSHIP AND JEWISH MODERN IDENTITY (ONLINE)

BECOMING MODERN, STAYING JEWISH: CITIZENSHIP AND IDENTITY SINCE THE ENLIGHTENMENT (ONLINE)

Spanning Western Europe to Israel via the Middle East and North Africa, this course will explore modern Jewish history through the lens of rights, citizenship, and belonging. Based on in-depth analysis of, and conversations about, primary sources—textual and visual—we will discuss the multiple visions that individual Jews have articulated about the relationship between individual and collective rights over the past three centuries. 

We will explore how the various and often conflicting expressions of Jewish belonging were not confined to a single region but were transnational in scope, particularly as Jewish communities grew increasingly interconnected in the 19th century. This was facilitated by European colonial expansion, the growing power of print media, and increased cross-border mobility.

Understanding how Jewish rights and citizenship have been shaped, granted, denied, and contested across time and space raises broader questions that resonate far beyond the Jewish case. In an era marked by global migration and rising ethno-nationalism, questions of how to manage diversity, safeguard religious minorities, protect noncitizens, and balance individual and collective rights remain as urgent as ever. Jewish history ultimately reveals that citizenship is not a clear before-and-after condition, but a contingent, contested, and non-linear process: rights can be expanded—but also curtailed—at any given time.

The course is given in collaboration with Paideia – the European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden.

Course structure

This course is intended for participants who are committed to exploring and reflecting on the primary sources before each session, in preparation for in-class discussions. Reading for at least one hour prior to each class is an integral part of the course.

The teacher will provide lectures as part of the course structure to offer historical context for the sources. However, the overall goal is to make the sessions as interactive as possible.

Prior knowledge

The course is given in English.

No prior knowledge about the subject is needed.

To apply for this course, you need basic computer skills and knowledge of how to use the digital platform Zoom. The school offers Zoom manuals and a training opportunity before the start of the course.

Course material

Course material is included in the cost for this course.

About the teacher

Geraldine Gudefin is a modern Jewish historian researching Jewish migrations, family life, and legal pluralism. She is currently a Visiting Scholar at the Centre for Asian Legal Studies at the National University of Singapore, and is completing a book titled An Impossible Divorce? East European Jews and the Limits of Legal Pluralism in France, 1900-1939.

Photo: Canva.