Program Overview

Program Overview

The MEDIEVAL/AFRICAN/JEWISH/RELIGST462 MUSLIMS AND JEWS program is a 3-credit course that explores the historical relationship between Muslims and Jews in various contexts from the seventh century to the present.

Course Description

This course surveys literary and cultural exchanges against the background of shifting political and social conditions across the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. It considers the parallel legacies of anti-Semitism, Orientalism, and Islamophobia, and introduces readings in English translation of medieval and modern texts originally written in languages such as Hebrew and Arabic.

Major Themes

• Comparative religion
• Secularization
• Migration
• Colonialism
• The politics of history and cultural memory

Course Details

• Credits: 3
• Requisites: Sophomore standing
• Course Designation: Breadth - Humanities Level - Intermediate L&S; Credit - Counts as Liberal Arts and Science credit in L&S
• Repeatable: No
• Last Taught: Spring 2025

Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate contextual knowledge of major historical events, figures, social conditions, religious communities, and geographies of Muslim Iberia (al-Andalus) from the eighth to sixteenth centuries
• Situate al-Andalus in relation to wider developments in politics, culture, and religion of the Middle East and North Africa, from the eighth century to the present
• Understand the terms and conditions that have shaped Muslim-Jewish relations from the seventh century until the present, including frameworks of theology, lived religious experience, and Orientalist representation
• Integrate relevant theoretical frameworks, debates, and conversations regarding the distinction between historical writing and cultural memory
• Discern divergent and contradictory representations of the history of al-Andalus in contemporary memory culture
• Cultivate skills in textual analysis and evaluate a range of formal and structural elements in written and visual materials across genres (philosophy, literature, religion, film) as well as in primary and secondary historical sources
• Generate original ideas and texts, through coherent writing and compelling argumentation, by experimenting and taking risks, solving problems, and answering questions in a range of media

Target Audience

• Undergraduate students