Dreams of Nationhood: Jewish National Movements in Modern Times

Date: Mar 27, 2019 - May 15, 2019

Time: 7:00 p.m. - 9:15 p.m.

Location: JTS

Dreams of Nationhood: Jewish National Movements in Modern Times

Dr. Elissa Bemporad, JTS Fellow and Jerry and William Ungar Associate Professor of East European Jewish History and the Holocaust at Queens College

Wednesdays, 7:00–9:15 p.m.: March 27, April 3, 10, 17, May 1, 15, 2019

The idea that Jews are a people with the same rights and responsibilities as other nations gave birth to Zionism in the 19th century, but that is only one part of a larger history of Jewish thinking about how Jews might live a national life. Together we will explore the history of Jewish nationalish and its multifaceted expressions. We will consider the emergence of Diaspora nationalism, Yiddishism, Jewish autonomism, as well as the different manifestations of Zionism, including religious nationalism. 

  • What kind of state and society did Zionist leaders envision?
  • Is it possible for a nation to survive outside the boundaries of a sovereign state?
  • What imact did these movements have on Jewish life at the time, and what is their legacy in Israel and in the diaspora?

Learn More and Register>>

Tuition: $185 / six sessions

Registration deadline: March 20, 2019

This course is designed for graduates of Context and Me’ah but open to all students of Jewish history.

JTS Community Courses offer immersive opportunities for studying Jewish texts with JTS’s outstanding faculty—join this vibrant learning community.

About Professor Bemporad

Elissa Bemporad’s research and teaching focuses on Jewish life in Russia and the Soviet Union, gender studies, and Holocaust and genocide studies. She is the author of Becoming Soviet Jews: The Bolshevik Experiment in Minsk, coeditor, with Joyce Warren, of the anthology Women and Genocide, and is currently working on a manuscript titled Legacy of Blood: Jews, Pogroms, and Ritual Murder in the Lands of the Soviets.

For more information, contact:
Lynn Feinman
(212) 678-8821
lyfeinman@jtsa.edu