Sephardic Reactions to Persecution: The Phoenix and The Fire

Catalog description

This course examines seminal turning points in the late medieval and early modern history of Iberian Jewry and the varied ways Iberian Jewry responded to these events. From the traumatic events of 1391 to the expulsion of 1492 and 1497 from Spain and Portugal respectively, Sephardic Jews moved on to new geographic frontiers and responded to these upheavals by founding new communities and developing new ways of thinking about their past and present. In this course we will study both the social and political history of the Sephardic communities and the rich literature these exiles crafted as the forged their new identities and refashioned their new communities into vibrant intellectual and socio-economic centers.