060050 VO Antisemitism Through the Centuries: Histories of Hatred and Persecution (2026S)

Content:
The lecture examines antisemitism through a dual lens: as a history of hatred and as a history of persecution. The first approach centres on the question of how antisemitism operates: which images, interpretive patterns, and argumentative figures structure antisemitic thought? How do motifs of Jewish ‘otherness’ emerge, how are they transmitted, updated, and translated into new contexts? The second approach traces how antisemitism takes effect: which social, political, and institutional mechanisms turn interpretive frameworks into concrete practices of exclusion, disenfranchisement, and violence?

The lecture combines the reconstruction of intellectual history with the analysis of historical constellations and works with paradigmatic case studies through which key patterns become tangible. The blood libel, for instance, is examined as a particularly consequential example of how a narrative acquires traction over centuries, intensifies local conflicts, and legitimises persecution. Further examples demonstrate how antisemitic semantics could be condensed, popularised, and institutionalised across different epochs, from Greco-Roman antiquity through the Middle Ages and the early modern period to modernity.

The continuing transformation of antisemitic enemy images and the associated dynamics of escalation become especially apparent in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in the context of the Enlightenment, nationalism, and racial theories. In addition, the lecture incorporates regional configurations and contemporary manifestations in order to identify analytically both continuities and ruptures. The aim is to provide a comprehensive historical and analytical perspective that elucidates antisemitism as a persistent yet mutable interpretive and conflictual pattern, and locates its present-day relevance with precision.

This lecture is designed for students of Jewish Studies, History and Contemporary History, Political Science, Sociology, and related disciplines who seek to develop an in-depth understanding of the historical roots and current dynamics of antisemitism.

Aims:
Students will understand the historical origins and processes of transformation of antisemitism. They will identify continuities and ruptures in the history of this form of hatred. They will be able to recognise antisemitic discourses in historical and contemporary sources and reflect upon them critically. They will recognise connections between antisemitism and other forms of discrimination (such as Islamophobia or sexism) and will be able to contextualise these accordingly.

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