Faculty First Year Seminars 191JD1 - Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia

This seminar, taught by the Chair of the Judaic and Near Eastern Studies Department, introduces students to the complex historical and contemporary context for anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim sentiment in the US and world today. These two very timely problems will be considered in their own terms, followed by a comparative perspective with one another, and, to a lesser extent, with other forms of cultural bias. The course will look at the following questions. How have anti-Semitism and Islamophobia developed historically? Why have they re-emerged in such strong forms in the past several decades in the US? How specifically do global politics fuel these challenges? How are the two related to/similar with one another? What are the best strategies to counter these major challenges?

Freshmen Only