History of Medieval Sephardic Jewry

Catalog description

The Jewish experience in Muslim and Christian Iberia – in Hebrew, Sefarad – constitutes what is arguably the most storied and studied period in medieval Jewish history from the rise of modern Jewish studies until today. This course examines the complex and fascinating history of the Jews of Sefarad from their communal origins on the peninsula, first attested in Late Antiquity, through its tragic end with the expulsion of the Jews in 1492. It will pay close attention to the formative periods of the Jews of Sefarad under Muslim and Christian rule, modes of official toleration and periodic breakdowns of tolerance, the emergence of a self-aware and self-confidant Jewish community of Sefarad, its socio-economic trends, major developments in its religious, intellectual, and literary expression, frameworks of intercommunal coexistence and tension, interfaith polemics and exchange, forced conversions and crypto-Jewish identity, efforts to rebuild Jewish life and institutions, and finally inquisition and expulsion. In addition to reading a wide array of scholarship, this seminar will delve deeply into the primary documents and literary sources of the Jews of medieval Sefarad as well as its material history, from manuscripts and book illuminations to synagogue architecture. Much of the original documents and literature will be studied in Hebrew, while other material will be read in English translation, including some written in Judeo-Arabic, Aramaic, Latin, and Spanish. For this reason, Hebrew reading ability is essential for this course.