HIST 440 – History of the Jews in Italy: Renaissance to the Present

Formerly HIST 430 – Italy and the Jews: History and Culture from the Renaissance to the Present

Description
The Jewish community in Italy is the most ancient among the Jewish Diasporas that have remained continuously up until today. This course focuses on the social, economic, and cultural interactions between the Jews and their surrounding milieu in Italy. It examines the shifts between integration and segregation that the Jews experienced, especially starting from the Renaissance until the modern period. The course focuses especially on topics such as Jewish intellectual life during the Renaissance; the Ghettos; emancipation and its particular expressions in Italy; Jews under Fascism and Nazism; Italian Jewry nowadays.
The course is based on lectures, discussions, films, and visits to important Florentine Jewish sites, such as the location of the historical Jewish ghetto, the Synagogue, the Holocaust memorial at the train station, and a field trip to the Ferrara Jewish Museum. In addition, the course includes live encounters with various figures of the Jewish Community of Florence.

Learning Objectives
– To reach a deep understanding of the history and culture of the Jews in Italy, while taking advantage of the physical presence of the students in this area.
– Exposure of the students to various types of documentation, including archival documents, inscriptions on walls, music, paintings, films, and oral testimonies.
– Introduction of methodological questions, which can be applied to Jewish History in general.

Course descriptions may be subject to occasional minor modifications at the discretion of the instructor.

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