HIST 385GJews and Muslims

Catalog

HIST 385G - Jews and Muslims Professor Dina Danon Fall 2026 Course Description: This course offers a survey of Jewish-Muslim relations from the emergence of Islam through the modern period. Beginning with the medieval period, topics covered include the relationship between Islam and peoples of the Book, Jewish communal life and self-government, participation in Mediterranean trade, the world of the Cairo Geniza, and intellectual and cultural achievements of the "Golden Age of Spain." Moving to the early modern and modern periods, topics covered will include Jewish life in the Ottoman lands, the rise of European imperialism, the dissolution of empire and the emergence of nationalism. Through a rich array of primary sources, such as diplomatic documents, personal correspondence, memoirs, as well as films and photographs, we will aim to identify the many ways in which these Jewish communities renegotiated their cultural identities and political affiliations through the middle of the twentieth century. We will also examine how the changes of the modern period impacted relations between the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities of these regions.