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Montclair State University
Fall Semester 2012, MR 11:30-12:45, Dickson Hall 436
The Archeology of Anti-Semitism
Instructor: György Csepeli (csepeli.gyorgy@gmail.com)
Aim of the course Anti-Semitism is one of the most intriguing problems in human society. The basic aim of this course is to provide students with insights into this complex web of issues by analysis of the psychological, sociological, economic, political and last but not least historical facets separately. Special emphasize will be given to the social history of Central Europe which is the geographical place from where the unprecedented events of the Holocaust were originated. Fiction and documentary films as sources will be demonstrated.
Requirements There will
be a mid-term and final exam. Students are expected to
attend the lectures
and participate in the discussions. A double spaced term paper,
not exceeding 15 pages but not less than 10 pages,
will have to
Readings Students should consult with websites found as a result of Google search (wikipedia, anti-semitism research resources, reports on global anti-Semitism, etc.).
The Text Used for This Course is: Goldstein, P. 2012. A Convenient Hatred: The History of Antisemitism. Facing History and Ourselves. The above-listed test is available in paperback. It is strongly recommended that students equip themselves with own copies. Copies are available in the bookstore or Amazon.com. at a discount. The texts of the assigned readings are available in electronic form.
Topics and Reading Assignments: In addition to the assigned readings, the student is required to writer a five to six page (double spaced, 10-12 pitch font size) review on a problem related to the subject of the course (30 % of the final grade). Titles of the essays must be submitted by October 25 to the instructor for approval. (Use a 3X5 index card.) Due date for the essay: December 13. There will be two exams for the course (30 % each). The exam questions will be based on the assigned readings illuminated by class discussions and video presentations. The questions will require multiple-choice, and short essay-type answers. Date of the Mid-Term Exam: October 18, 2012 Date of the final exam: December 13, 2012 Date of the Make-Up Exam: December 17, 2012, 1:00-3:00 pm. Ten percent of the final grade will be given for class participation. Office Hours by appointment. Office Location: DI 421 (Professor Pastor’s Office)
Assignments September 6. Introduction: The Longest Hatred Showing Part I. of the documentary film The Longest Hatred. VT 3045.
September 10, 13 The interdisciplinary matrix of understanding the symptoms of Anti-Semitism. History, sociology, political science, social psychology, literary criticism. Reading: Arendt. H. 1968. Antisemitism. San Diego, New York, London. A Harvest/HBJ Book. Presentation: Archeology of Anti-Semitism
September 17, 20 Ethnocentrism The nature of human groups. Basic processes of group formation. Relations between large groups. Clashing group realities. Majorities and minorities. Reading: Wistrich, R.S. 1994.Antisemitism. The Longest Hatred. New York: Shocken Books. 3-13 Presentation: Ethnocentrism
September 24, 27 Competing Narratives of Jewish Historiography The Portable God: The Jewish innovations (divine invisibility, written creed, sin). Reading: Dimont, M.I. 1962. Jews, God and History. New York: Signet Book. 13-73 Presentation: Competing Narratives of Jewish Historiography
October 1, 4 Pagan Responses to Jewish Presence Decline of Greek antiquity and the rise of the Roman Empire. Ethnocentric misunderstanding. List of accusations against Jews. Apion and Tacitus. Reading: Gruen, E.S. 2002. Diaspora. Jews amidst Greeks and Romans. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 15-83. Presentations:
October 8, 11 Christian anti-Judaism Novelty of anti-Jewish perception: the metaphysical dimension. Psychological techniques of widening the divide between Jews and Christians. The role of medieval social structure in the formation of religious anti-Jewish prejudice. Reading: Nicholls, W. 1998. Christian Antisemitism. Northavale. London. Pp.189-260. Presentation: Christian anti-Judaism
Ocober 15, 18 Emergence of Modern Political Anti-Semitism Transition from feudalism to capitalism. Rationalization, secularization and individualization. Resistance to social entropy. Modernization niches and Jewish skills. Emancipation and ressentiment. Video: Der Ewige Jude VT 938 (68 mins.) Reading: Elon, A. 2002. The Pity of It All. A History of Jews in Germany 1743-1933. New York: Metropolitan Books. 185-295. Presentation: Emergence of Modern Political Anti-Semitism
October 22, 25 The Stock of Knowledge of Modern Anti-Semitism History of the term “Anti-Semitism.” Ideology and Weltanschauung. Nation state by default on German soil. Racism. The “Jewish question”. Perverse utopia. Reading: Sokel, W.H. “Dualistic Thinking and the Rise of Ontological Antisemitism in Nineteenth-Centrury Germany. From Schiller’s Franz Moor to Wilhelm Raabe’s Moses Freudenstein.” Ed. Gilman, S.L., Katz, S.T. 1991. Anti-Semitism in Crisis. New York: New York University Press. 154-172.
October 29, November 1 Resurfacing of the past: Modern Blood Libel From the mid-fifteenth century to the early seventeenth century Jews were persecuted and tried for the alleged murders of Christian boys and girls. The idea of child sacrifice and blood symbolism played resurfaced in the ritual murder trial against the Jews in Hungary in 1882. Video: Judit Elek’s Rafters Reading: Pro-Chia Hsia, R. 1988. The Myth of the Ritual Murder. Jews and Magic in Reformation Germany. New Haven, London: Yale University Press pp. 1—13 Presentation: Resurfacing of the past: Modern Blood Libel
November 5, 8 The culture of paradox The position of the stranger. The Jewish intellectual in Eastern and Central Europe. Traps of assimilation. Conflicting intergroup experiences. Reading: Gilman, S. 1986. Jewish Self-Hatred. Anti-Semitism and the Hidden Language of the Jews. Baltimore, London: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 139-208. Presentation: The Culture of Paradox
November 12, 15 Structure and Content of the Anti-Semitic Mind. Adolf Eichmann’s presentation about the “Judenfrage” in Berlin, in 1937. Reading: Cesarani, D. 2006. Becoming Eichmann. Rethinking the Life, Crimes, and Trial of a “Desk Murderer.” Da Capo Press. pp. 61-90; Adorno, T.W. “Types and Syndroms,” in Adorno, T.W., Frenkel-Brunswik, E., Levinson, D.J., Sanford, N.R. 1950. The Authoritarian Personality. New York: W.W. Norton. Pp. 446-385. Presentation: Eichmann's lecture
November 19, Anti-Semitism in Hungary The offer of assimilation: achievements and illusion. Defeat in World War I. Institutionalization of anti-Semitism. Reading: Kádár, G., Vági, Z. 2001.Self-Financing Genocide. The Gold Train, The Becher Case and the Wealth of Hungarian Jews. Budapest, New York: CEU Press. Pp. 3-171. Presentation: Jews in modern Hungary
November 26, 29 The road to Holocaust The trauma of modernity. Categorization, classification, exclusion, depersonalization, ghettos, transportation, selection, annihilation. Reading: Roth, J.K. Berenbaum, M. (eds.)1989. Holocaust. Religious and Philosophical Implications. New York: Paragon House. pp. 99-258. Presentation: The road to Holocaust
December 3, 6 The cast The cast: Perpetrators, victims, spectators, Rescuers. Escape. Script analysis based on the database of DEGOB set in 1946 among survivors. Video: Interview with Agnes Heller about her exeperiences of escape in 1944 from the ghetto of Budapest. Presentation: The cast Presentation: Eichmann
December 10, 13 Coping with the Past. Repression and recreation of memory. The problem of naming. Anti-Semitism without Jews. Israel and the new anti-Semitism. Reading: Wistrich, R.S. 1994.Antisemitism. The Longest Hatred. New York: Shocken Books. Pp. 195-268 Presentation: Aftermath of the Holocaust
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