Universität Wien

070128 UE Guided Reading Austrian History 1 - Jewish history of pre-modern Austria (2026S)

A Fragile Normality - Jewish-Christian Interaction in Pre-modern Austria

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 7 - Geschichte
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle
Tu 12.05. 08:00-09:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: German

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Tuesday 03.03. 08:00 - 09:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Tuesday 10.03. 08:00 - 09:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Tuesday 17.03. 08:00 - 09:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Tuesday 24.03. 08:00 - 09:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Tuesday 14.04. 08:00 - 09:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Tuesday 28.04. 08:00 - 09:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Tuesday 05.05. 08:00 - 09:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Tuesday 19.05. 08:00 - 09:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Tuesday 26.05. 08:00 - 09:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Tuesday 02.06. 08:00 - 09:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Tuesday 09.06. 08:00 - 09:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Tuesday 16.06. 08:00 - 09:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Tuesday 23.06. 08:00 - 09:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Tuesday 30.06. 08:00 - 09:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

The history of the Jewish population is still often regarded as a “special chapter” in the history of a region. Within the framework of this guided reading, students will therefore be introduced to an understanding of Jewish history as an integral part of pre-modern Austrian history, which, depending on the period, will also include territories outside the present-day federal territory.

In the Guided Reading, students will learn about the various sources on the living conditions of the Jewish population in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period and, with the help of current research literature, will be guided in their independent interpretation and critical analysis. In addition, sources on the effects of official decisions on the Jewish population will be focused on, as will the strategies used by Jews to influence these decisions or cope with their consequences. Sources on everyday Christian-Jewish interaction and cultural transfer will be contrasted with evidence of anti-Judaism and anti-Jewish violence and analyzed in the context of Christian rule over the Jews – which ranged from active protection to open persecution – using the latest literature.

The overarching theme will be addressed on the basis of five epoch-spanning thematic blocks:
• The legal situation of the Jewish population
• Jewish settlement, community organization, and everyday life
• Jewish economic activity
• Jewish-Christian interaction and cultural transfer
• Anti-Judaism, persecution, and expulsions

Each thematic block consists of classroom reading and interpretation of sources, written analysis of a selected title from the research literature provided, and joint classroom discussion of the results.

Assessment and permitted materials

Participation is required from participants in this course. Therefore, personal attendance is compulsory; no more than two excused absences are permitted. Performance assessment will be based on participation in the discussion of the previously provided source texts. For the written assignments, five papers of 5000-6000 characters each on articles provided on Moodle are to be prepared and submitted via Moodle. The final grade will be based on class participation and on the written assignments; both written and oral performance must be positive in order to achieve a positive overall grade.

The use of generative AI is not permitted for the written assignments.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Evaluation of the written assignments: 50% content, 30% structure and text organization (structure, presentation), 20% form and language (citation rules, grammatical and spelling mistakes). Late submission leads to a deduction of points.

Scale of point values for the course (max. 100 points total): 50% participation in the discussion, 50% written assignments. To achieve a positive overall grade, more than half of the possible points must be achieved for each of the two parts.

Grades: 100-93 points: Very good, 92-83 points: Good, 82-68 points: Satisfactory, 67-51 points: Sufficient, 50 points and less: Not sufficient.

Examination topics

Course with continuous assessment of student performance: regular attendance, preparation of the source texts provided, five written assignments of 5000-6000 characters, participation in classroom discussions.

Reading list

Eveline Brugger, Martha Keil, Albert Lichtblau, Christoph Lind, Barbara Staudinger: Geschichte der Juden in Österreich (Ergänzungsband zur Österreichischen Geschichte, hg. von Herwig Wolfram; Wien, 2. Aufl. 2013).

Stefan Haas (Hg.): Handbuch Methoden der Geschichtswissenschaft (Wiesbaden 2022).

Stefan Jordan: Theorien und Methoden der Geschichtswissenschaft (= utb 3104; Paderborn, 5. aktual. Aufl. 2021).

Association in the course directory

EAR: Österreichische Geschichte 1.
BA Geschichte (Version 2019): PM5 Vertiefung, UE Guided Reading (5 ECTS).
BEd UF GP (Version 2014): UF GP 03 Aspekte und Räume 1, Guided Reading zu einem Fach (4 ECTS).
EC Historische EAR im Überblick (Version 2021): APM M1b Aspekte und Räume, UE Guided Reading zu einem Aspekt/Raum (5 ECTS).

Last modified: Th 26.02.2026 21:26