Antisemitism and Assimilation: Images of Jews in the Modern World
| Module title | Antisemitism and Assimilation: Images of Jews in the Modern World |
|---|---|
| Module code | HIH1143 |
| Academic year | 2025/6 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Professor James Mark (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 10 weeks in Term 1 or in Term 2 | 10 weeks in Term 1 or in Term 2 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 20 |
|---|
Module description
Antisemitic stereotypes have been central to the demonisation, exclusion and persecution of Jewish communities. At the same time, images of Jews were also crafted to support arguments for assimilation, rights, or statehood. In this module we will explore a range of sources (such as propaganda, photography, film, psychoanalysis, race science, activism, and state records) to explore how changing representations of Jewish people were mobilised in support of various political and cultural projects since the late nineteenth century. We will explore these struggles over representation from a wide geographical range, including material from Europe, the Americas and Israel, assessing the wide variety of historical issues historians can address through such sources.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module aims to:
- Introduce you to the range of political, cultural, social and scientific sources that can be used to understand modern Jewish history;
- Provide you with the tools that historians of antisemitism and race use to approach and analyse source material in complex ways;
- Help you understand the importance of struggles over representation in national and international history in the modern era;
- Introduce you to the wide variety of lenses through which such sources can be analysed, including race, gender and sexuality.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Understand and assess the nature of modern Jewish history, and its relationship to struggles over representation since the late nineteenth century
- 2. Work critically with a range of written and visual sources for modern Jewish history
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 3. Identify the problems of using historical sources, e.g. utility, limitations, etc., and compare the validity of different types of source
- 4. Present historical arguments and answer questions orally
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. Conduct independent study and group work, including the presentation of material for group discussion, developed through the mode of learning
- 6. Digest, select and organise material to produce, to a deadline, a coherent and cogent argument, developed through the mode of assessment
- 7. Write to a tight word-limit
Syllabus plan
Whilst the exact content of the module may vary year on year, it is envisaged that topics and sources may include some or all of the following:
- Propaganda
- Film
- Race Science
- International Politics
- Activism
- Psychoanalysis
- Theatre
- State Records
- Photography
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | 130 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching activities | 2 | Workshop |
| Scheduled learning and teaching activities | 18 | 9 x 2-hour Seminars |
| Guided independent study | 80 | Reading and preparation for workshops and seminars |
| Guided independent study | 50 | Reading and preparation for seminars and assessments |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group presentation (3-4 students) | 5 minutes per student | 1-6 | Oral |
| Source commentary | 850 words | 1-7 | Oral |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Source commentary 1 | 33 | 850 words | 1-3, 5-7 | Written |
| Source commentary 2 | 33 | 850 words | 1-3, 5-7 | Written |
| Source commentary 3 | 34 | 850 words | 1-3, 5-7 | Written |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source commentary 1 (850 words) | Source commentary 1 (850 words) | 1-3, 5-7 | Referral / Deferral period |
| Source commentary 2 (850 words) | Source commentary 2 (850 words) | 1-3, 5-7 | Referral / Deferral period |
| Source commentary 3 (850 words) | Source commentary 3 (850 words) | 1-3, 5-7 | Referral/ Deferral period |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
- Paula E. Hyman, Gender and Assimilation in Modern Jewish History. The Roles and Representation of Women, 2016.
- Daniel Boyarin, Unheroic conduct: The rise of heterosexuality and the invention of the Jewish man, 1997.
- Jonathan Boyarin and Daniel Boyarin, Jews and Other Differences: The New Jewish Cultural Studies, 2008.
- Amy Kaplan, Our American Israel: The Story of an Entangled Alliance, 2018.
- Guy Miron and Scott Ury (eds.), Antisemitism and the Politics of History, 2023.
- James Renton and Ben Gidley (eds.), Antisemitism and Islamophobia in Europe: A Shared Story?, 2017.
- Mark Weitzman, Robert J. Williams and James Wald (eds.), The Routledge History of Antisemitism, 2023.
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 4 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 16/05/2025 |
| Last revision date | 17/09/2025 |
