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HI401B: SPECIAL SUBJECT: EUROPEAN JEWISH HISTORY AT THE TURN OF THE C20TH (2022-2023)

Last modified: 04 Oct 2022 14:20


Course Overview

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Jewish emancipation was tied to broader movements for social and civil liberties, enabling Jews to participate in wider society – in some places, for the first time. This module asks students to think critically about this period and its impact on modern understandings of Jewishness, antisemitism, colonialism, and Jewish/non-Jewish relations. Exploring Jewish history at the turn of the century can offer a greater understanding not just of modern Europe, but of the social and political world today. 

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 4
Term First Term Credit Points 30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Anne Caldwell

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

  • Any Undergraduate Programme (Studied)
  • Either Programme Level 4 or Programme Level 5
  • History (HI)

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

None.

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

This module asks students to think critically about modern understandings of the Jewish community and Jewish/non-Jewish relations, through European Jewish history at the turn of the twentieth century.

Geographically, we will explore Eastern, Central, and Western Europe, as well as the colonial holdings of Britain and France in the SWANA region (South West Asia/North Africa). Students will explore histories and philosophies that still reverberate in our world today. They will be expected to engage with difficult and often sensitive issues around gender, race, antisemitism, and colonialism.
In order to do that, this special subject will require extensive reading, but also engagement with alternative sources. History is not just analysis of the written word. We will consider “cultural media” in the broadest possible terms – everything from contemporary literature to art and cartoons, religious texts, photography and cartography, exhibitions, sensory landscapes and even food. Students will be expected to do their assigned readings and source analyses, in order to better understand the diversity of the Jewish community of this period. Further, their assignments are expected to incorporate the variety of sources made available to them, as well as ones found through their own research.

Students should come out of this module with a better understanding of the diversity within Modern European Jewish history and culture, as well as with sharpened critical thinking and analytical skills, and the ability to effectively communicate complex ideas both verbally and in writing.


Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 30 August 2024 for 1st term courses and 20 December 2024 for 2nd term courses.

Summative Assessments

Essay

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 30
Assessment Weeks 15 Feedback Weeks 18

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Feedback

Students will produce a 3000-word essay. Relevant support will be provided.

Feedback will be provided through standard feedback form delivered by e-mail and available on MyAberdeen, as well as one-to-one feedback sessions.

Word Count 3000
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseDraw comparisons between a range of European and colonised Jewish experiences.
ConceptualEvaluateUnderstand and evaluate historiography around the complex histories of the European Jewish history.
FactualUnderstandDevelop understanding of European Jewish thought, histories and cultures at the turn of the twentieth century.
ReflectionApplyUse effective writing skills to communicate complex historical and theoretical ideas in a clear and engaging way

Oral Presentation: Individual

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 10
Assessment Weeks 11 Feedback Weeks 13

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Feedback

Students will produce a 12-15 minute gobbet presentation. Relevant support will be provided.

Feedback will be available on MyAberdeen, as well as one-to-one feedback sessions.

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseDraw comparisons between a range of European and colonised Jewish experiences.
ConceptualEvaluateUnderstand and evaluate historiography around the complex histories of the European Jewish history.
FactualUnderstandDevelop understanding of European Jewish thought, histories and cultures at the turn of the twentieth century.
ReflectionApplyUse effective writing skills to communicate complex historical and theoretical ideas in a clear and engaging way

Exam

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 60
Assessment Weeks 19,20 Feedback Weeks

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Feedback

Students will complete a take-home exam comprising of gobbet discussions and essay-style questions drawn from material throughout the course. There will be a fixed period for completion of the exam in line with departmental policy.

Collective feedback will be provided to the class. Individual feedback will be provided on request.

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseDraw comparisons between a range of European and colonised Jewish experiences.
ConceptualEvaluateUnderstand and evaluate historiography around the complex histories of the European Jewish history.
FactualUnderstandDevelop understanding of European Jewish thought, histories and cultures at the turn of the twentieth century.
ReflectionApplyUse effective writing skills to communicate complex historical and theoretical ideas in a clear and engaging way

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ReflectionApplyUse effective writing skills to communicate complex historical and theoretical ideas in a clear and engaging way
ConceptualAnalyseDraw comparisons between a range of European and colonised Jewish experiences.
FactualUnderstandDevelop understanding of European Jewish thought, histories and cultures at the turn of the twentieth century.
ConceptualEvaluateUnderstand and evaluate historiography around the complex histories of the European Jewish history.

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