This course focuses on the study of Sephardim, the Jews of Iberian/Spanish descent. During their exile, Sephardic Jews developed a culture characterized by a combination of Jewish roots and Hispanic heritage, along with a tangible influence of the cultures with which they lived. The course looks at their migration patterns, and examines how their culture has survived in different geographical spaces, with particular attention to contemporary Israel.
Learning outcomes:
By the end of the course, students will:
Interpret historical information about Sephardic Jews, their culture, and traditions.
Understand and analyze the efforts of Sephardic Jews to maintain their identity and memory at different points in time and space.
Have acquired basic competence in the Sephardic language (Ladino), so as to read short texts.
Method of presentation:
Required readings of selected texts
Class presentations and discussions
One research papers
Recordings of life stories
Reproduction of Sephardic music
Viewings of documentary films
Visits in Granada and Córdoba
Required work and form of assessment:
Active class participation 15%
Short individual or group research papers 20%
Oral presentation of research papers 15%
Mid-term exam 25%
Final exam 25%
Note: Class attendance is mandatory. Only two unexcused absences are allowed during the course. Punctuality is required.
content:
Judaism in Medieval Iberia
Garnata al Yahud (the Granada of the Jews): Field study
Jewish society and community at the time of the expulsion of 1492
The expulsion edict. Factors and reasons for the expulsion
Jews in Al Andalus: Cordoba field trip
Consequences after 1492:
Spain: Converted Jews and Judaizers
The Diaspora: The development of the Sephardic world
Religious expression and cultural identity of the Sephardim: Rituals, symbols, traditions
Introduction to Sephardic literature: Chronology and geographical distribution
Religious and secular literature
Sephardic language (Ladino) and its different varieties
The Sephardim and the Holocaust
Sephardic Jews today: The Second Dispora, Sephardim in Israel, new Sephardic identities
The Sephardim in contemporary Spain: Memory and identity
Required readings:
DÍAZ-MAS, Paloma, Los sefardíes: Historia, lengua y cultura. Barcelona, Riopiedras, 2ª ed. 1993.
KÜNG, Hans. El judaismo. Pasado, presente y futuro. Madrid, Trotta, 1993.
MÉCHOULAN, Henry (dir.), Historia de una diáspora (1492-1992), Madrid, Trotta, 1993.
BEL BRAVO, María Antonia, Sefarad: Los judíos de España, Madrid, Silex, 2006.
A selection of articles from the list of recommended readings, and other materials.
Recommended readings:
ALVAR, Manuel, El judeo-español, Madrid, Universidad de Alcalá, Servicio de publicaciones, 2003.
BARNAI, Jacob, "Los sefardíes en el Imperio otomano (siglos XV-XIX)”, en M.A. Bel Bravo, coord., Diáspora sefardí. Madrid, Mapfre, 1992, pp. 91-165.
BEL BRAVO, María Antonia, Sefarad: Los judíos de España, Madrid, Silex, 2006.
BENBASSA, Esther y RODRIGUE, Aron; José Luis Sánchez Silva (trad.), Historia de los judíos sefardíes: de Toledo a Salónica, Madrid, Abada, 2004.
CASTRO, Adolfo de, Historia de los judíos en España, Zaragoza, Libros Certeza, 2004.
DÍAZ-MAS, Paloma, Los sefardíes: Historia, lengua y cultura. Barcelona, Riopiedras, 2ª ed. 1993.
ELAZAR, Daniel J., The Other Jews: The Sephardim Today. New York, Basis, 1988.
GONZÁLEZ, Isidro, El retorno de los judíos. Madrid, Nerea, 1991.
KAPLAN, Yosef, “Los sefardíes en Europa", en M.A. Bel Bravo, coord., Diáspora sefardí. Madrid, Mapfre, 1992, pp. 47-90.
HARRIS, Tracy, Death of a Language, The History of Judeo-Spanish, Newark, University of Delaware Press, 1994
HASSÁN, Iacob, “La lengua y la literatura sefardíes en el marco del hispanismo”, en Raíces sobre la cultura sefardí 52/53: 20-30, 2002-2003.
HERNANDEZ GONZALEZ, C., “Rasgos generales del castellano en la época de la expulsión de los judíos”, en Las tres culturas en la Corona de Castilla y los sefardíes, 1900, 49-57.
—— “Notas de historia de la lengua sefardí”. En Insula 647, 2000, pp. 4-6.
—— “Un viaje por Sefarad: la fortuna del judeoespañol”. En El español en el mundo, 2001, pp. 304-310.
KAPLAN, Yosef, “Los sefardíes en Europa”, en María Antonia Bel Bravo (coord.), Diáspora sefardí, Madrid, Mapfre, 1992, pp. 47-90.
LEIBOVICI, Sarah y VILAR, Juan Bautista, “Los sefardíes en el Magreb", en M.A. Bel Bravo, coord., Diáspora sefardí. Madrid, Mapfre, 1992, pp. 187-249.
MARQUINA, Antonio y OSPINA, Gloria Inés, España y los judíos en el siglo XV. La acción exterior. Madrid, Espasa Calpe, 1987.
MÉCHOULAN, Henry (dir.), Historia de una diáspora ( 1492-1992), Madrid, Trotta, 1993.
MOLHO, Michael, Usos y costumbres de los sefardíes de Salónica, trad. F. Pérez Castro. Madrid, Instituto Arias Montano, 1950.
NEHAMA, Joseh, Histoire des Israélites de Salonique, 7 ts. en 6 vols. Salonique, Paris, v. e, 1935-6, 1959, 1978.
PÉREZ, Joseph, Los judíos en España, Madrid, Marcial Pons, 2006.
——, Historia de una tragedia: la expulsión de los judíos en España, Barcelona, Crítica, 2003.
RODRIGUE, Aron, French Jews, Turkish Jews: The Alliance Israélite Universelle and the Politics of Jewish Schooling in Turkey, 1860-1925. Bloomington, Indiana Univ., 1990.
ROMERO, Elena, La creación literaria en lengua sefardí, Madrid, Mapfre, 1992.
TOAFF, Ariel y SCHWARZFUCHS, Simon, eds., The Mediterranean and the Jews: Banking, Finance and International Trade (XVI-XVII Centuries). Ramat Gan, Bar-Ilan Univ., 1989.
VILAR, Juan Bautista, Tetuán en el resurgimiento judío contemporáneo (1850-1870): Aproximación a la historia del judaísmo norteafricano. Caracas, Centro de Estudios Sefardíes, 1985.
Brief Biography of Instructor:
Alicia Ramos González has a Ph.D. in Semitic Studies from the University of Granada (UGR). She is currently a researcher at the UGR´s Institute of Women´s Studies. She collaborates in an international project on women of the Shoah with researchers from the Universities of Granada, Seville, Barcelona, Oxford, Lublin, Warsaw and Buenos Aires. She has an extensive publishing record in the field of Jewish Studies.
Memory And Identity Of Sephardic Jews
This course focuses on the study of Sephardim, the Jews of Iberian/Spanish descent. During their exile, Sephardic Jews developed a culture characterized by a combination of Jewish roots and Hispanic heritage, along with a tangible influence of the cultures with which they lived. The course looks at their migration patterns, and examines how their culture has survived in different geographical spaces, with particular attention to contemporary Israel.
By the end of the course, students will:
Note: Class attendance is mandatory. Only two unexcused absences are allowed during the course. Punctuality is required.
Alicia Ramos González has a Ph.D. in Semitic Studies from the University of Granada (UGR). She is currently a researcher at the UGR´s Institute of Women´s Studies. She collaborates in an international project on women of the Shoah with researchers from the Universities of Granada, Seville, Barcelona, Oxford, Lublin, Warsaw and Buenos Aires. She has an extensive publishing record in the field of Jewish Studies.