Teaching Antisemitism in 2024

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Abstract

This roundtable will examine the complexities and challenges of teaching critical antisemitism studies in history and religion courses as well as in campus-wide educational initiatives at a moment of intensifying antisemitism. Three participants (Kessler, Meir, Shternshis) will discuss their recent experiences in curricular innovations in the classroom, including integrating critical theories of race and gender into antisemitism pedagogy; drawing on previous examples in Jewish history of discrimination, bigotry, and violence to shed light on contemporary antisemitism; and using examples of contemporary antisemitism on North American campuses as pedagogical tools. The author of a recent textbook on antisemitism, Maizels will highlight the onion model that she uses as a conceptual tool in the book. As the program director of a campus-based initiative focused on antisemitism education, Drinkwater will reflect on practical considerations related to antisemitism education in university settings. Aleksiun (moderator) is a scholar of the Holocaust, antisemitism, gender, and Jewish social history.

Among the questions we intend to address are:
How do we approach the challenging task of defining antisemitism?
What are some differences between teaching courses about antisemitism offered by a Religion Department as opposed to those offered by a History Department?
How do different understandings of the concept of race surface within examinations of antisemitism?
How can comparisons to other types of hate and intolerance be used to enrich courses on antisemitism?
How does antisemitism shape the category of “Jew”?
How can greater knowledge of the long history of animosity toward Jews and Judaism inform discussions about contemporary antisemitism?
How can instructors integrate into their syllabi art (memes, jokes, music) produced in response to violence?
In courses on the history of antisemitism, what are the advantages of a "straight" historical approach vis-à-vis a more conceptual approach.
How can Jewish Studies programs better incorporate awareness and teaching about antisemitism within their educational and intellectual missions?
What are best practices for Jewish Studies scholars when interfacing about antisemitism with DEI and student affairs staff?
How can Jewish studies scholars navigate and articulate diverse perspectives on antisemitism and on Zionism/anti-Zionism for students and non-expert audiences within campus contexts?

Sub Unit

• Pedagogy & Professional Practice

Moderator

• Natalia Aleksiun, Bud Shorstein Center for Jewish Studies

Discussants

• Gregg Drinkwater, University of California Berkeley

• Gwynn Kessler, Swarthmore College

• Linda Maizels, Yale University Program for the Study of Antisemitism

• Natan Meir, Portland State University

• Anna Shternshis, University of Toronto

Zoom Host

• Zoom Host 12