New Course in European History

HIEU 3559 (2)

New Course in European History

"Nation and Empire in Eastern Europe: Jews, Poles, and Russians in Historical Perspective"

James Loeffler

This new course surveys the historical relations between Jews, Poles, and Russians from the early modern Polish-Lithuanian Republic through the modern era of war, genocide, and Communism in Eastern Europe. Course themes include the divergent experiences of Jews and Poles under Tsarist and Soviet imperial rule, the development of modern national identities in the region, political conflicts over historical memory, and Slavic-Jewish cultural encounters. Special attention will be devoted to the topics of comparative antisemitism, the nexus between religion and nationhood in Eastern Europe, and the role of music and literature in reflecting and shaping ethnic identities and interactions.

This course is a combination of lecture and discussion, in which students will be expected to engage significantly in class-time discussion with both scholarly writings and primary sources. Readings will likely include Snyder, Bloodlands; Slezkine, The Jewish Century, Gross, Neighbors, Roskies, The Jewish Search for a Usable Past, Grossman, Life and Fate, Babel, Odessa Stories; and Safran Foer, Everything is Illuminated. Requirements include active in-class participation, including an oral presentation; a digital media curatorial assignment; and a 12-15 page paper.