As the days of summer wane, I am working on finalizing the structure of our Medieval Jewish History course, which will begin in just a few short weeks. Although I have taught this course for Hebrew College eight or nine times now, I always enjoy changing things around a bit for each new class. Reading new texts in preparation for teaching is a great learning opportunity for me. And I also like to use the feedback I get from students in previous years, to tinker with the readings.
Among other changes, I am putting "Satan in Goray" on the syllabus for the first time. This historical novel, written by Isaac Bashevis Singer, is set in 17th century Poland. It depicts the devastation that the Chmielnicki massacres wrought upon one particular Jewish hamlet, and describes the fervor of messianic hope in the wake of this destruction.
We will not get to this book until the very end of the semester, but wanted to tell you about this far in advance. I have listed the novel as *optional* because it is very strange (some may find it disturbing) and my use of it in class is also quite experimental. That said, I think it will provide an interesting angle for our session on Messianism.
Among other changes, I am putting "Satan in Goray" on the syllabus for the first time. This historical novel, written by Isaac Bashevis Singer, is set in 17th century Poland. It depicts the devastation that the Chmielnicki massacres wrought upon one particular Jewish hamlet, and describes the fervor of messianic hope in the wake of this destruction.
We will not get to this book until the very end of the semester, but wanted to tell you about this far in advance. I have listed the novel as *optional* because it is very strange (some may find it disturbing) and my use of it in class is also quite experimental. That said, I think it will provide an interesting angle for our session on Messianism.
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