Coexistence and Violence in Europe: Jews, Muslims, Roma and their Neighbors

Catalog description

From 1800 to 1950, the territories of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe were transformed from imperial peripheries with religiously and ethnically diverse populations to homogeneous nation-states. This transformation was achieved not only through assimilation and migration, but also through extreme intercommunal violence, including forced population exchange, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. Today, these borderlands are a place of contested memory, where present-day homogeneity is projected backward in time by some, while others feel nostalgia for a lost era of coexistence. Students will consider examples of both peaceful coexistence and violent conflict among populations as well as the impact of the modern state, its institutions, and ideologies such as nationalism, liberalism, and socialism on these regions. Throughout the course students will focus especially on the history of the Jewish, Muslim, and Romani minorities in light of course themes.