UCJAJNP027 The Jews of Central and Eastern Europe: Politics and Culture

Faculty of Philosophy and Science in Opava
Summer 2025
Extent and Intensity
0/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Marie Crhová, Ph.D., MA (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Marie Crhová, Ph.D., MA
Institute of Foreign Languages – Faculty of Philosophy and Science in Opava
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
This course provides an advanced introduction to some of the major social and political issues in the modern history of the Jews in Central and Eastern Europe. It covers the period from the late eighteenth century, when debates over Jewish emancipation first began to acquire currency, through the restructuralization of organized Jewish life following the collapse of communism in the end of the twentieth century. The course provides an overview of the Jewish experience as a minority group, introducing main themes of modern Jewish history such as emancipation, Jewish politics, religious reform, antisemitism, Hebrew and Yiddish literature. Geographical framework of the course includes present day Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, occasional references will be made to Israel and the USA. Students will gain an appreciation of basic themes, events and ideas in modern Jewish history. The weekly class will be divided into three sections: lectures, students' presentations and discussions. Students are encouraged to use primary documents in their presentations (from The Jew in the Modern World: A Documentary History) to illustrate their arguments.
Learning outcomes
The students will be able to discuss major social and political issues in the modern history of the Jews in Central and Eastern Europe. They will understand the Jewish experience as a minority group, introducing main themes of modern Jewish history such as emancipation, Jewish politics, religious reform, antisemitism, Hebrew and Yiddish literature.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction to Jewish History and Culture 2. From Pre-Modern to Modern Jewry 3. Emancipation and Jewish Responses to Modernity in Central and Western Europe 4. The Tsarist Russia 5. Modern Religious Movements in Judaism 6. Antisemitism 7. Politics and Ideologies 8. Modern Hebrew and Yiddish Literature 9. World War One and the Interwar Years 10. Jews in the Soviet Union 11. The Holocaust 12. Zionism and the State of Israel 13. Jews in the Communist Regimes: Case of Czechoslovakia
Literature
    required literature
  • Pierre Birnbaum, Ira Katznelson, eds. (2014). Paths of Emancipation: Jews, States and Citizenship, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Paul Mendes-Flohr, Jehuda Reinharz (2010). The Jew in the Modern World: A Documentary History, New York: Oxford Uni
    recommended literature
  • Michael L. Miller (2011). Rabbis and Revolution: The Jews of Moravia in the Age of Emancipation, Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Teaching methods
lectures, students' presentations and discussions
Assessment methods
written test
Language of instruction
English
Teacher's information
Regular attendance and participation: 50%
One in-class presentation / One term paper (5-10 pages): 50%
The course is also listed under the following terms Winter 2021, Winter 2022, Summer 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Summer 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.slu.cz/course/fpf/summer2025/UCJAJNP027