HBRJD-UA 162 Topics in Judaic Studies: Introduction to "Antisemitism" and Jewish History

NEW FOR SPRING 2025

Offered by NYU Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies

Undergraduate; 1 credit; Pass/Fail; 7 week course

Asynchronous with once a week in person recitations

Course content is available through pre-recorded lectures and readings that are released weekly. Students can view the modules at their own pace, but complete weekly discussion board posts and meet for a once weekly in-person recitation. Course is open to all NYU undergraduates. Students should register for HBRJD-UA 162 001 and an in-person recitation. Students at Global sites should register for the virtual recitation HBRJD-UA 162 005

This course will first and foremost introduce students to the diverse nature of Jewish identity, before examining manifestations of Jewish hatred throughout history, and the ways in which Jews have attempted to respond to multiple forms of discrimination and persecution.

Antisemitism has often been described as the “oldest hatred.” Yet the term “antisemitism” is a modern formulation, coined in Germany in the 1870s as a badge of pride by German nationalists who feared Jews posed a danger to “true German culture.” Why should the so-called “anti-semites” define who or what Jews and Judaism are? Just as the broad range of Jewish experiences around the globe over thousands of years defies easy categorization, hatred of Jews has taken so many forms from antiquity to the present that it also resists simple categorization or definition. Why have the Jewish people been such convenient targets for any number of agendas and ideologies? What accounts for the persistence of numerous anti-Jewish tropes that run the gamut from “Christ-killer” to socialist, capitalist, parasite, and purveyor of global power? What has been the impact of such forms of hate on Jewish identity? And which strategies, if any, have proven effective in responding to anti-Jewish hate?