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Syllabus Herzlian Zionism between Assimilation and Nationalism - 13921
עברית
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Last update 19-09-2016
HU Credits: 2

Degree/Cycle: 2nd degree (Master)

Responsible Department: history of jewish people & contemporary jewry

Semester: 1st Semester

Teaching Languages: Hebrew

Campus: Mt. Scopus

Course/Module Coordinator: Dr. Dimitry Shumsky

Coordinator Email: dimitry.shumsky@mail.huji.ac.il

Coordinator Office Hours: by appointment

Teaching Staff:
Dr. Dimitry Shumsky

Course/Module description:
The course will trace the socio-cultural and political roots, contents and goals of Theodore Herzl's Zionism. A particular emphasis will be placed on the dialectics of assimialtion and Jewish collective self-assertion, which was essentially inherent to earlier political Zionism. Likewise, we will address national perceptions and socio-cultural profile of Herzl's followers.

Course/Module aims:
The seminar is meant to introduce students to the socio-cultural roots and ideological contents of Theodore Herzl's political Zionism, in the context of multiethnic fin-de-siecle Central Europe and the German-Jewish acculturation and identity patterns. It is also meant to provide students with the tools to independently deal with the scholarly topics of their choice.

Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
critically analyze the ideologically biased "Assimilation / Nationalism" dichotomy in the history of modern Zionism in general, and in the case of Herzl's political Zionism in particular; master new scholarship on the founder of modern Zionism; conduct comparative studies of Herzl's Zionism vis-a-vis case studies of non-dominant nationalities national movements in the Habsburg Central Europe; assess contribution of fiction as a historical source

Attendance requirements(%):
90

Teaching arrangement and method of instruction: Lecture, seminar, analytical reading of historical sources and scholarship

Course/Module Content:
Assimilation and Nationalism: definitions and concepts; Habsburg monarchy, nationalities conflicts and Central European Jews; Herzl: biographical background, German-Jewish identity context; "the New Ghetto"; "Der Judenstaat"; "Altneuland"

Required Reading:
John, Michael. " 'We Do Not Even Possess Our Selves': On Identity and Ethnicity in Austria, 1880-1937". Austrian History Yearbook 30 (1999): 17-64

Wistrich, Robert S. "The Jews and Nationality Conflicts in the Habsburg Lands". Nationalities Papers 22 (1, 1994): 119-139

Robertson, Ritchie. "'The New Ghetto' and the Perplexities of Assimilation", in Theodor Herzl, Visionary of the Jewish State, ed. G. Shimoni and R. S. Wistrich (Jerusalem 1999), pp. 39-51

Kornberg, Jacques. Theodor Herzl: From Assimilation to Zionism. Bloomington & Indianapolis, 1993.

שוורץ, יגאל. הידעת את הארץ שם הלימון פורח. אור יהודה תשס"ז
פנסלר, דרק. "הרצל והערבים הפלשתינים: מיתוס ומיתוס שכנגד". ישראל 6 (תשס"ו): 149- 161
אלמוג, שמואל. "לאומיותו של הרצל במבט מפולש". יהדות זמננו 11- 12 (תשנ"ח): 3- 21
הרצל, תאודור. הגטו החדש. תל אביב, 1992
הרצל, בנימין זאב. מדינת היהודים: ניסיון לפתרון מודרני של שאלת היהודים (ירושלים: הספרייה הציונית, תשל"ג)
הרצל, תיאודור. אלטנוילנד (תל-אביב: בבל, תשס"ד)
פונקנשטיין, עמוס, "דיאלקטיקת ההתבוללות". זמנים 55 (1996): 64- 71

Additional Reading Material:

Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 0 %
Presentation 0 %
Participation in Tutorials 10 %
Project work 45 %
Assignments 45 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 0 %
Quizzes 0 %
Other 0 %

Additional information:
Two grades will be given: one for the seminar paper, and one for the course
 
Students needing academic accommodations based on a disability should contact the Center for Diagnosis and Support of Students with Learning Disabilities, or the Office for Students with Disabilities, as early as possible, to discuss and coordinate accommodations, based on relevant documentation.
For further information, please visit the site of the Dean of Students Office.
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