HISTORY OF THE JEWS OF THE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

The course is one of the optional courses of the second year of the BA degree in Languages, cultures and society of Asia and North Africa (LICSAAM). It aims at providing students with introductory methodological tools related to Jewish history and culture, with particular reference to the Middle East, North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa.
The aim of the course is to develop critical and analytical skills with particular reference to the historicisation of Jewish identities and of forms of exile and diaspora in the Mediterranean, especially in the colonial and postcolonial era.
In addition to this, the student will delve into fundamental aspects of Jewish culture (e.g. holidays, rites of passage, dietary laws).

1. Knowledge and understanding: ● An intermediate knowledge of the history and cultural productions related to Judaism in general and with reference to Middle Eastern and African Jewry.
2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: ● To be able to correctly use the tools of interpretative analysis concerning Middle Eastern and African Jewry from a historical and cultural point of view; ● To be able to carry out a critical analysis of different aspects of the Jewish cultures of the Middle East and Africa, and their interaction with Europe; ● Knowing how to apply one's own historical competence for analyzing different textual and metatextual typologies.
3. Judgment skills: ● Knowing how to formulate and argue hypotheses, also developing a critical approach to the evaluation of alternative hypotheses.
4. Communication skills: ● Knowing how to communicate in a critical way the acquired knowledge; ● Knowing how to interact with the teacher and peers in a critical and respectful way.
5. Learning skills: ● Knowing how to take notes and share them collaboratively; ● Knowing how to critically consult the reference texts and the bibliography contained therein.

It is advisable - but not strictly necessary - to have a general knowledge of the history of the Middle East and North Africa.
Adequate English language skills.

The course is divided into two parts and is dedicated to the analysis of Jewish history and culture, with particular reference to the Jews of the Middle East and Africa in the contemporary world (from the 19th century to today):

1. fundamental aspects of culture (who are the Jews; holidays and celebrations; rites of passage; dietary laws) and Jewish history (fundamental events of contemporary Jewish history in a transnational and global perspective);

2. the Jews of the Middle East and Africa: starting with a cultural-historical introduction to the Jewish communities living in these geographical areas in pre-modern times, we will examine the history of the Jews of North Africa and the Middle East during the centuries of Ottoman rule, in the colonial and finally post-colonial period from a socio-political and cultural point of view. Finally, the North African and Middle Eastern Jewish migrations of the 1950s and 1960s towards Israel, Europe and the United States - following the birth of Israel and the decolonization process - will be analysed, together with the decline of Jewish presence in the Middle East and North Africa. Some lessons will be dedicated to the study of Jewish communities of East and Central Africa (e.g. the Jews of Ethiopia, the Jews of South Africa, 'Judaising' communities in Kenya and other countries).

Although the course is based on a historical approach, we will also consider perspectives related to it and indispensable for understanding the Jewish presence in these areas, such as Memory Studies, heritage studies, anthropology and literary studies.

BOOKS AND ARTICLES
- Piero Stefani e Davide Assael, Storia culturale degli ebrei (Bologna: Il Mulino, 2024).
- Ernest Guggenheim, L'ebraismo nella vita quotidiana (Firenze: Giuntina, 1994).
- Bernard Lewis, Gli ebrei nel mondo islamico (Firenze: Sansoni, 2003), solo i cap. I, II, III e IV.
- Orit Bashkin e Daniel Schroeter, "Muslim-Jewish Relations in the Modern Middle East and North Africa", in Josef Meri, a cura di, The Routledge Handbook of Muslim-Jewish Relations (Londra: Routledge, 2016), 35-56 (pdf nel Moodle).
- Edith Bruder, The Black Jews of Africa: History, Religion, Identity (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), passim.

LITERATURE
- Leila Sebbar, a cura di, A Jewish Childhood in the Muslim Mediterranean (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2023 - o in alternativa l'edizione originale in francese), passim.

MOVIES
- Efraim Kishon, Sallah Shabati (1964).
- Nadia Kamel, Salata baladi (2007).

It is advisable to consult (in the sections related to the course) a general text, such as:
- William L. Cleveland e Martin Bunton, Storia del Medio Oriente moderno (Milano: Mondadori, 2020).
- Caterina Roggero, Storia del Nord Africa indipendente (Milano: Bompiani, 2019).

Further references will be given in class.

All students are required to read all the reference texts.
The final exam is written( 2 hrs) and will consist of 2 questions on the topics discussed in class.

written

Regarding the grading scale, scores will be assigned according to the following schema:
A. Scores in the 18-22 range will be awarded in the presence of sufficient knowledge and applied comprehension of the program;
B. Scores in the 23-26 range will be awarded in the presence of fair knowledge and applied comprehension of the program;
C. Scores in the 27-30 range will be awarded in the presence of good or very good knowledge and applied comprehension of the program;
D. Honors will be awarded in the presence of excellent knowledge and applied comprehension of the program.

Lectures, participation in seminars and conferences, discussion groups.

Italian

Non-attending students are asked to contact the teacher at the beginning of the semester.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development