060004 SE Persecution and Jewish Identity (2024S)

The topic of Jewish identity has many aspects. This class does not want to ask how Jews understand their Jewish identity. Rather, it deals with the question of how Jewish identities are constructed for different reasons by those who persecute Jews. For this purpose, particular reference is made to the concept of the "hermeneutical Jew" developed by Jeremy Cohen. Cohen observed for the Middle Ages that the perception of Judaism among non-Jews was shaped by religious traditions that often had little to do with the realities of Jewish life. The Jewish group identity constructed in light of these traditions, especially by antisemites, was what Cohen called a "hermeneutical Jew." In the discourse Cohen triggered, the concept of the "hermeneutical Jew" is readily restricted to Christian texts. However, the mechanism observed by Cohen, that Jewish identities are constructed in the light of inherited traditions and are not based on Jewish life, is also found outside Christianity and is not limited to the Middle Ages. It is and was, for example, equally prevalent in the world of Islam as well as among the Nazis.

Your bachelor's thesis should trace and describe the construction of a "hermeneutical Judaism" using an example of your choice. You may choose this example from any period and culture from antiquity to the present. The first sessions of this class will help you to identify topics for your BA thesis. Afterwards Students will present the results of their work several times during the term before writing their BA thesis.