ANTHR 7471 - Jewish Diasporas

(crosslisted) JWST 7471, NES 7471

Fall. 4 credits. Student option grading.

Co-meets with ANTHR 4471/JWST 4471/NES 4471.

J. Boyarin.

Jewish communities have thrived in diaspora since long before the destruction of the Second Temple. What binds and divides those communities? Diaspora may be the product of exile, but can also be a sign of group energy and creativity. And while a liturgical focus on Jerusalem and the Holy Land remains the lodestar for most diaspora Jewish communities, in the course of that long history many other places have served as homelands gained and lost. The interaction of ancient and modern Jewish diasporas with their contemporary empires provides insight into the comparison of empires old and new. Today debates rage about the desirability of sustaining Jewish life in diaspora versus the ingathering of Jews into the Jewish state. We will explore these issues and more.