In your first module for this course, Globalization and Antisemitism(s): Understanding the Contemporary Attack on Jewish Notions of Peoplehood and Democratic Principles, Dr. Charles Asher Small explores the importance of Critical Contemporary Antisemitism Studies and how developing them is vital in the battle against this ‘longest hatred’. Antisemitism is a complex and, at times, perplexing form of hatred. It has spanned centuries of history, infecting different societies, religious, philosophical and political movements, and even civilizations. Manifestations of antisemitism occur in numerous ideologically-based narratives and in constructed identities of belonging and Otherness such as race and ethnicity, as well as nationalist and anti-nationalist movements. In the contemporary context of globalized relations, it appears that antisemitism has taken on new complex and changing forms that need to be de-coded, mapped, and exposed.
Dr. Small gives an introduction to contemporary critical antisemitism studies by tracing a direct line from the most prominent post-modern scholars to political Islam, to antisemitism’s standing in the world today. He will discuss the paradoxical yet powerful red-green alliance in order to demonstrate the incipient antisemitic world they are cultivating, particularly in academia and social movements.
Readings for this lecture