060017 VO Beyond "Pious and Rebellious": Jewish Women in the Middle Ages (2026S)

Content:
This course introduces the history of Jewish women in medieval Europe and examines the realities of their lives beyond one-dimensional attributions of ‘pious and rebellious’ in diverse roles.
Based on the observation that women in patriarchal societies have only limited formal power, the course focuses on the spheres of action of Jewish women in the Middle Ages, ranging from the private to the religious to the legal and economic. It shows how Jewish women developed authority within normative guidelines, how everyday practices interacted with textual norms, and how the realities of life differed in different contexts (such as Christian Europe or Islamic-influenced areas).
Methodologically, the course combines women's and gender history perspectives with textual and cultural-historical text analysis (including Midrash, Christian exemplary literature, legal sources, and everyday testimonies). Guest lectures by experts broaden the scope to include current international research debates, and a planned excursion anchors central themes in their historical context.

Aims:
Students will be able to describe key areas of Jewish women's lives in medieval Europe (family, economy, religion, law and urban life) in a differentiated manner and contextualise them historically. They will apply theoretical approaches to women's and gender history, in particular the concepts of (spheres of) action, agency, authority and the relationship between norm and reality, to specific examples. Different types of sources can be classified in their contexts of origin and critically analysed. Students can describe forms of formal and informal religious and social authority of women and explain their negotiation within patriarchal structures. In doing so, they highlight regional and cultural differences between Christian-influenced European areas and other medieval contexts.

Methods:
Lecture with PPT presentation, including discussion in German. Guest lectures in English. Joint and independent reading of primary and secondary literature. PPT slides and a literature list will be provided.