Module overview
Most of current crises and conflicts have their roots in the history of empires – from the invasion of Ukraine by Russia to the wars in the Middle East. This module will introduce you to the ways in which empires shape our understanding of the ‘Other,’ through the example of the modern Jewish experience. It will enable you to understand the evolving political, socio-economic and legal position of Jews in the British and French colonial empires from the late 18th century to today.
This module will provoke you to think about questions such as: How has otherness been constructed in Western Europe from the late 18th century to today? How did race and religion intersect in modern Western European empires? What was the interplay between antisemitism and colonialism? What role did Jews play as both agents and subjects of empire? How did colonisation and decolonisation impact past and present migration patterns?
We will examine the construction of the imperial Other and Jewish responses to othering, including migration and Zionism. The module will also decentre narratives of the Holocaust and look at its non-western European context. We will analyse the complex relations between Jews, the imperial state and local populations, enabling you to gain a critical understanding of how contemporary debates on Muslim-Jewish relations in Europe emerged.
By engaging with a wide variety of textual and visual sources – legal documents and press but also travelogues, films, petitions, caricatures, and art – we will unpack the relationship between Jews and empires and get acquainted with key concepts in the study of empires.