HASKALAH – THE  JEWISH ENLIGHTENMENT (ONLINE)

HISTORY AND LITERATURE OF THE JEWISH ENLIGHTENMENT (HASKALAH) IN CENTRAL EUROPE (ONLINE)

After an introductory discussion of the question “What is Enlightenment?”, the course will explore the boundaries between Haskalah (the Jewish Enlightenment) and the broader Enlightenment. We will also examine how the Christian discourse on Jews contrasted with new Jewish self-definitions during the eighteenth century.

Focusing on topics such as language, social discipline, education, the press, and gender, the course will analyze how cultural ideas and practices were transferred between Jewish and non-Jewish societies, offering insight into the complex interactions and exchanges of this fascinating period.

The course is given in collaboration with the Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg and Paideia – The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden.

Course structure

Close reading and discussion of source texts (in English translation).
Participants need to calculate for approximately one hour of preparation work at home before each class. 

Prior knowledge

The course is given in English.

No prior knowledge about the subject is needed. A readiness to engage with texts is desirable. 

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. Additional reading may be recommended by the teacher and is if so to be acquired by the participants. The teacher will inform you of this, if you get accepted to the course.

About the teacher

Louise Hecht is a Jewish historian, trained at the University of Vienna and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Her teaching and research focuses on the cultural and legal history of Jews in central Europe since the seventeenth century.

Photo: Lessing and Lavater as guests in the home of Moses Mendelssohn. Painting by Moritz Daniel Oppenheim, 1856.