THE MODERN FAMILY IN TRANSNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE (ONLINE)
This course explores the transformative impact of modernity on Jewish marriage and family institutions from the late 18th century to the present, adopting a transnational perspective. In addition to examining the private lives of Jewish men and women, the course highlights the public significance of the Jewish family in broader communal and national debates. These debates include questions of Jewish citizenship in non-Jewish states, concerns of both lay leaders and rabbis about the future of the Jewish people and religion, and the role of the family in the formation of a Jewish state in Israel.
The interdisciplinary nature of the course—drawing from women’s and Jewish history, legal studies, ethnography, and sociology—will introduce participants to the various models of Jewish marriage and family life that have developed over the past two and a half centuries.
Major themes include:
- the evolving transformation of the status of women and gender roles
- changing attitudes toward love and sexuality
- intercommunal conflicts over conversion and intermarriage
- Jewish family life and nation-building (both in the diaspora and in Israel)
- international mobility
- the continued influence of religious law on Jewish families.
The course is given in collaboration with Paideia – The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden.
Course structure
The course contains a mixture of lectures and group discussions. The course will involve critical reading of primary historical sources during each session.
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 French-born modern Jewish historian researching Jewish migrations, family life and legal pluralism. She holds an MA in History from Yale University, and a PhD in History from Brandeis University. Dr. Gudefin has received numerous fellowships, including from the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture; the Posen Foundation; and the Center for Jewish History. Her work has been published in American Jewish History and Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women’s Studies & Gender Issues, among other publications.
Dr. Gudefin’s previous research explored various aspects of Jewish immigrant family life, especially the complex encounters between civil and rabbinical marriage laws in France and the United States. Shifting the focus to Southeast Asia, where she is now based, she is currently at work on a new project titled “The Penhas case: Interethnic Marriage and Legal Pluralism in Late Colonial Singapore”.
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Course information
Times
Thursdays 12:00-14:00 CET
Course start
Thursday 11 September
14 sessions
Teacher
Geraldine Gudefin
Application deadline
Thursday 31 July