The course concentrates on the over 2000 years of history of the Jewish community in Rome. Focusing on the sites of the Roman Jewish experience, from the ancient settlement of Ostia Antica, when the kingdom of Israel was still extant, to the vestiges of the Roman Ghetto and the contemporary districts where Jews now live, the course intends to give students a picture of the actual experience of Roman Jewry. Students will visit the major sites of Jewish life in the city in order to retrace the transformation of the community. The present day community counts about 18,000 members scattered all over the city but still rather cohesive. Touching upon the more general history of Italian Jews, classes will analyze the conditions of present-day Jews while providing the historical background that includes 400 years of Ghetto life, the emancipation of the late 19th century, the fascist racial laws of 1938 and the mass deportation under Nazi rule. A vibrant and active community, today’s Jews constitute probably the “most Roman” community in the city. (3 credits)
Learning outcomes:
By the end of the semester, students have a :
- general knowledge of Roman and Italian Jewish culture and history;
- a good understanding of ghetto genesis and life;
- a good understanding of the major aspects of the Shoah in Italy;
- a familiarity with major Italian Jewish writers;
- an ability to identify some major aspects of Judaism, its religion and culture.
Method of presentation:
Lectures, field studies, guest lectures and student presentations.
Required work and form of assessment:
Class attendance and participation (20%); midterm (25%); student presentations (25%); final exam (30%).
content:
PART I – Introduction: The experience of the oldest diaspora in the world
1) 2000 years of history. (week 1)
The first meetings provide students with an understanding of the peculiarities of Roman Jewry and their position within Italian Judaism. The first Jews who came to the city were traders and diplomats who worked with the Roman Empire.
2) Sites of Jewish “Romanitas” . (weeks 2-3)
a. Moving to Rome/Removed to Rome. From trading to deportation. In 70 A.D. with the destruction of the second temple, Jews were taken in chains to Rome by the future Emperor Titus.
b. Field studies
1. Ostia Antica.
2. The Roman Forum and the Arch of Titus.
3) Roman Jews Today. (week 4)
a. In the course of these meetings, students will learn about the present conditions of Roman Jews: how the community recovered from the destruction operated by Nazi-Fascism, the transformations that took place in the 1960 and 70s, and the significant immigration of Libyan Jews who came to constitute almost a third of the Jewish population in the city. Memory, as in many other Jewish centers, is an important feature of the community. The writings of Primo Levi and Giorgio Bassani contributed to form a post-Shoah Italian Jewish identity still alive today. The course analyzes this aspect of contemporary life in the Jewish communities of Rome and more in general of Italy.
b. Field studies
1. The Marconi-Monteverde District and the Beth Michael Synagogue
PART II – Struggles for Survival - I
1) From the Fall of the Roman Empire to the end of the Middle Ages. (week 5)
Presents an overview of the history of Italian Jews during a difficult period for the whole country. Rome was sacked repeatedly during the Barbarian invasions but the plight of the Jews was not very different from the one of the rest of the population. In these centuries the Jewish population in the city and across Italy was probably at its lowest.
2) The Ghetto Experience. (weeks 6-7)
a. This section deals with the first major disruption of Italian Jewry. With the opening of the Inquisition in 1492 and the Council of Trento in the mid-16th century, Jews were persecuted and closed within Ghettos. Roman Jews lived in the ghetto between 1565 and 1870, four hundred years of emargination, insults and forced conversions. This section analyzes the policy of the Catholic Church against the Jews.
b. Field studies
1. The Ghetto (early times)
PART III – Struggles for Survival - II
1) The Emancipation of Italian and Roman Jews. The Liberal State. (week 8)
The beginning of the emancipation for Italian Jews took place under Napoleon in the early 19th century. The restoration of authoritarian rule and the renewed fragmentation of Italy in small kingdoms and principates brought back ghetto life. The last ghetto to be opened was the one of Rome when the city was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1870, to become its capital.
2) Fascism and Nazi Persecutions. (weeks 9-10)
After an initial good relationship between Jews and the Fascist Regime, the authoritarian government instituted by Benito Mussolini approved racial laws that ousted Jews from all walks of society. In 1943 the Nazi occupation of the city precipitated Jews in the nightmare of the Shoah. Lectures and readings will provide students with a sense of what it was like to be a Jew in those years.
a. Field studies
The Ghetto and the Major Synagogue (October 16, 1943 Square)
PART IV – Conclusions: Being a Jew in Rome Today.
1) An Orthodox Community (week 11)
a. Despite all the changes, the Roman Jewish community is one and has no denominations. The Orthodox identity though is not as rigid as it can be in the United States. A rabbi will lecture students on the meaning of the religious experience today.
b. Field Study
Il Pitigliani Jewish Community Center
2) The Relationship with Israel (week12)
The attitude of Italian Jews with Israel is very articulated as it is in other countries. The last two meetings analyze the interaction between the local community and Israel. How this relationship has changed over the years. Although the establishment is very supportive of Israel, several groups are critical of some Israeli choices and work actively for dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, considering also the position of Italy in the Mediterranean.
NB: During Field Studies, students will be required to illustrate the sites visited and to analyze their relevance to the history of the Roman Jews and of the city in general. This assignment provides the Student presentation’s 25% of the grade.
Required readings:
PART I http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12816-rome
(students may read this on-line article even before the beginning of the course as a general introduction. It is part of the assigned material and will be included in the tests)
Harry J. Leon, The Jews of Ancient Rome: Updated Edition , Hendrickson Publishers, 1995, first 3
chapters.
H. Stuart Hughes, Prisoners of Hope: The Silver Age of the Italian Jews, 1924-1974 , Harvard
University Press, 1996, chapters 3 and 5.
PART II
David Abulafia, Introduction: The Many Italies of the Middle Ages; The Italian Other in
Medieval Italy: Greeks, Muslims and Jews (2 chaps.) in Italy in the Central Middle Ages, 1000-1300, Oxford History of Italy, 2004, pp. 1-26.
David Kertzer, The Popes Against the Jews: The Vatican's Role in the Rise of Modern Anti-Semitism, Vintage 2002, Part One.
PART III
The Jews of Italy under Fascist and Nazi Rule 1922–1945, Edited by Joshua D. Zimmerman, Cambridge University Press, 2005, Part One: “Italian Jewry from Liberalism to Fascism;” chapters 1-3 by A. Stille, M. Toscano, G. Fabre.
David Kertzer, The Popes Against the Jews: The Vatican's Role in the Rise of Modern Anti-Semitism, Vintage 2002, Part Two.
The Jews of Italy under Fascist and Nazi Rule 1922–1945, Edited by Joshua D. Zimmerman , Cambridge University Press, 2005, Part Two: “Rise of Racial Persecution;” chapters 4, 5, 7, 8 by M. Sarfatti, A. Capristo, S. Servi, I. Nidam-Orvieto. Part Three: “Catastrophe - The German Occupation, 1943-1945;” chapters 11, 12 by L. Picciotto, R. Katz. Part IV: chapter 15 by S. Zuccotti.
PART IV
The Jews of Italy under Fascist and Nazi Rule 1922–1945, Edited by Joshua D. Zimmerman , Cambridge University Press, 2005, Part V: “Aftermath: Contemporary Italy and Holocaust Memory;” chapters 16, 17 by A. Bravo, M. Marcus.
Recommended readings:
Abrahams, Israel, Jewish Life In The Middle Ages, Kessinger Publishing, 2004.
Bonfil, Roberto, Jewish Life in Renaissance Italy, University of California Press, 2006.
De Felice, Renzo, The Jews in Fascist Italy: A History, Enigma Books, 2001.
Fiorentino, Luca, Il ghetto racconta Roma, Gangemi, 2006 (English Text).
The Jews of Italy under Fascist and Nazi Rule 1922–1945, Edited by Joshua D. Zimmerman , Cambridge University Press, 2005
Levi, Primo, If This is a Man and The Truce, Abacus, 1991.
Momigliano, Arnaldo, Essays on Ancient and Modern Judaism, The University of Chicago Press,
1994.
Sarfatti, Michele, The Jews in Mussolini's Italy: From Equality to Persecution, University of Wisconsin Press, 2006
Zargani, Aldo, For Solo Violin: A Jewish Childhood in Fascist Italy , Paul Dry Books, 2002.
Zuccotti , Susan, The Italians and the Holocaust: Persecution, Rescue, and Survival, University of Nebraska Press, 2006.
Zuccotti, Susan, Under His Very Windows: The Vatican and the Holocaust in Italy, Yale University
Press, 2002.
PLEASE NOTE: Students agree that by taking this course all required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. Use of the Turnitin.com service is subject to the Terms and Conditions of Use posted on the turnitin.com site."
Brief Biography of Instructor:
Daniele Fiorentino is Professor of United States History at the University of Rome Three, and Visiting Professor of U.S. History at the University of Macerata. A graduate of the University of Rome “La Sapienza”, he received a Ph.D. in U.S. History from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Ks. and a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Rome “La Sapienza”. Professor Fiorentino has been a Fulbright scholar in the U.S., a NATO-CNR Fellow, and a Smithsonian Institution Fellow. He was the Senior Cultural Advisor at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Director of the Center for American Studies in Italy and the IES Rome first director (until 2006). He is the editor of a series of volumes on the reaction of the United States toward Italy during the process of unification and has written books and articles on Native Americans and Italian-American Relations in the 19th and 20th century, among which: Le tribù devono sparire. La politica di assimilazione degli indiani negli Stati Uniti d’America, Rome, 2001; Gli Stati Uniti e l’Unità d’Italia (ed.), Rome, 2004, Gli Stati Uniti e l’Italia alla fine del XIX secolo, Rome, 2010.
The course concentrates on the over 2000 years of history of the Jewish community in Rome. Focusing on the sites of the Roman Jewish experience, from the ancient settlement of Ostia Antica, when the kingdom of Israel was still extant, to the vestiges of the Roman Ghetto and the contemporary districts where Jews now live, the course intends to give students a picture of the actual experience of Roman Jewry. Students will visit the major sites of Jewish life in the city in order to retrace the transformation of the community. The present day community counts about 18,000 members scattered all over the city but still rather cohesive. Touching upon the more general history of Italian Jews, classes will analyze the conditions of present-day Jews while providing the historical background that includes 400 years of Ghetto life, the emancipation of the late 19th century, the fascist racial laws of 1938 and the mass deportation under Nazi rule. A vibrant and active community, today’s Jews constitute probably the “most Roman” community in the city. (3 credits)
By the end of the semester, students have a :
- general knowledge of Roman and Italian Jewish culture and history;
- a good understanding of ghetto genesis and life;
- a good understanding of the major aspects of the Shoah in Italy;
- a familiarity with major Italian Jewish writers;
- an ability to identify some major aspects of Judaism, its religion and culture.
Lectures, field studies, guest lectures and student presentations.
Class attendance and participation (20%); midterm (25%); student presentations (25%); final exam (30%).
PART I – Introduction: The experience of the oldest diaspora in the world
1) 2000 years of history. (week 1)
The first meetings provide students with an understanding of the peculiarities of Roman Jewry and their position within Italian Judaism. The first Jews who came to the city were traders and diplomats who worked with the Roman Empire.
2) Sites of Jewish “Romanitas” . (weeks 2-3)
a. Moving to Rome/Removed to Rome. From trading to deportation. In 70 A.D. with the destruction of the second temple, Jews were taken in chains to Rome by the future Emperor Titus.
b. Field studies
1. Ostia Antica.
2. The Roman Forum and the Arch of Titus.
3) Roman Jews Today. (week 4)
a. In the course of these meetings, students will learn about the present conditions of Roman Jews: how the community recovered from the destruction operated by Nazi-Fascism, the transformations that took place in the 1960 and 70s, and the significant immigration of Libyan Jews who came to constitute almost a third of the Jewish population in the city. Memory, as in many other Jewish centers, is an important feature of the community. The writings of Primo Levi and Giorgio Bassani contributed to form a post-Shoah Italian Jewish identity still alive today. The course analyzes this aspect of contemporary life in the Jewish communities of Rome and more in general of Italy.
b. Field studies
1. The Marconi-Monteverde District and the Beth Michael Synagogue
PART II – Struggles for Survival - I
1) From the Fall of the Roman Empire to the end of the Middle Ages. (week 5)
Presents an overview of the history of Italian Jews during a difficult period for the whole country. Rome was sacked repeatedly during the Barbarian invasions but the plight of the Jews was not very different from the one of the rest of the population. In these centuries the Jewish population in the city and across Italy was probably at its lowest.
2) The Ghetto Experience. (weeks 6-7)
a. This section deals with the first major disruption of Italian Jewry. With the opening of the Inquisition in 1492 and the Council of Trento in the mid-16th century, Jews were persecuted and closed within Ghettos. Roman Jews lived in the ghetto between 1565 and 1870, four hundred years of emargination, insults and forced conversions. This section analyzes the policy of the Catholic Church against the Jews.
b. Field studies
1. The Ghetto (early times)
PART III – Struggles for Survival - II
1) The Emancipation of Italian and Roman Jews. The Liberal State. (week 8)
The beginning of the emancipation for Italian Jews took place under Napoleon in the early 19th century. The restoration of authoritarian rule and the renewed fragmentation of Italy in small kingdoms and principates brought back ghetto life. The last ghetto to be opened was the one of Rome when the city was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1870, to become its capital.
2) Fascism and Nazi Persecutions. (weeks 9-10)
After an initial good relationship between Jews and the Fascist Regime, the authoritarian government instituted by Benito Mussolini approved racial laws that ousted Jews from all walks of society. In 1943 the Nazi occupation of the city precipitated Jews in the nightmare of the Shoah. Lectures and readings will provide students with a sense of what it was like to be a Jew in those years.
a. Field studies
The Ghetto and the Major Synagogue (October 16, 1943 Square)
PART IV – Conclusions: Being a Jew in Rome Today.
1) An Orthodox Community (week 11)
a. Despite all the changes, the Roman Jewish community is one and has no denominations. The Orthodox identity though is not as rigid as it can be in the United States. A rabbi will lecture students on the meaning of the religious experience today.
b. Field Study
Il Pitigliani Jewish Community Center
2) The Relationship with Israel (week12)
The attitude of Italian Jews with Israel is very articulated as it is in other countries. The last two meetings analyze the interaction between the local community and Israel. How this relationship has changed over the years. Although the establishment is very supportive of Israel, several groups are critical of some Israeli choices and work actively for dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, considering also the position of Italy in the Mediterranean.
NB: During Field Studies, students will be required to illustrate the sites visited and to analyze their relevance to the history of the Roman Jews and of the city in general. This assignment provides the Student presentation’s 25% of the grade.
PART I
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12816-rome
(students may read this on-line article even before the beginning of the course as a general introduction. It is part of the assigned material and will be included in the tests)
Harry J. Leon, The Jews of Ancient Rome: Updated Edition , Hendrickson Publishers, 1995, first 3
chapters.
H. Stuart Hughes, Prisoners of Hope: The Silver Age of the Italian Jews, 1924-1974 , Harvard
University Press, 1996, chapters 3 and 5.
PART II
David Abulafia, Introduction: The Many Italies of the Middle Ages; The Italian Other in
Medieval Italy: Greeks, Muslims and Jews (2 chaps.) in Italy in the Central Middle Ages, 1000-1300, Oxford History of Italy, 2004, pp. 1-26.
David Kertzer, The Popes Against the Jews: The Vatican's Role in the Rise of Modern Anti-Semitism, Vintage 2002, Part One.
PART III
The Jews of Italy under Fascist and Nazi Rule 1922–1945, Edited by Joshua D. Zimmerman, Cambridge University Press, 2005, Part One: “Italian Jewry from Liberalism to Fascism;” chapters 1-3 by A. Stille, M. Toscano, G. Fabre.
David Kertzer, The Popes Against the Jews: The Vatican's Role in the Rise of Modern Anti-Semitism, Vintage 2002, Part Two.
The Jews of Italy under Fascist and Nazi Rule 1922–1945, Edited by Joshua D. Zimmerman , Cambridge University Press, 2005, Part Two: “Rise of Racial Persecution;” chapters 4, 5, 7, 8 by M. Sarfatti, A. Capristo, S. Servi, I. Nidam-Orvieto. Part Three: “Catastrophe - The German Occupation, 1943-1945;” chapters 11, 12 by L. Picciotto, R. Katz. Part IV: chapter 15 by S. Zuccotti.
PART IV
The Jews of Italy under Fascist and Nazi Rule 1922–1945, Edited by Joshua D. Zimmerman , Cambridge University Press, 2005, Part V: “Aftermath: Contemporary Italy and Holocaust Memory;” chapters 16, 17 by A. Bravo, M. Marcus.
Abrahams, Israel, Jewish Life In The Middle Ages, Kessinger Publishing, 2004.
Bonfil, Roberto, Jewish Life in Renaissance Italy, University of California Press, 2006.
De Felice, Renzo, The Jews in Fascist Italy: A History, Enigma Books, 2001.
Fiorentino, Luca, Il ghetto racconta Roma, Gangemi, 2006 (English Text).
The Jews of Italy under Fascist and Nazi Rule 1922–1945, Edited by Joshua D. Zimmerman , Cambridge University Press, 2005
Levi, Primo, If This is a Man and The Truce, Abacus, 1991.
Momigliano, Arnaldo, Essays on Ancient and Modern Judaism, The University of Chicago Press,
1994.
Sarfatti, Michele, The Jews in Mussolini's Italy: From Equality to Persecution, University of Wisconsin Press, 2006
Zargani, Aldo, For Solo Violin: A Jewish Childhood in Fascist Italy , Paul Dry Books, 2002.
Zuccotti , Susan, The Italians and the Holocaust: Persecution, Rescue, and Survival, University of Nebraska Press, 2006.
Zuccotti, Susan, Under His Very Windows: The Vatican and the Holocaust in Italy, Yale University
Press, 2002.
PLEASE NOTE: Students agree that by taking this course all required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. Use of the Turnitin.com service is subject to the Terms and Conditions of Use posted on the turnitin.com site."
Daniele Fiorentino is Professor of United States History at the University of Rome Three, and Visiting Professor of U.S. History at the University of Macerata. A graduate of the University of Rome “La Sapienza”, he received a Ph.D. in U.S. History from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Ks. and a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Rome “La Sapienza”. Professor Fiorentino has been a Fulbright scholar in the U.S., a NATO-CNR Fellow, and a Smithsonian Institution Fellow. He was the Senior Cultural Advisor at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Director of the Center for American Studies in Italy and the IES Rome first director (until 2006). He is the editor of a series of volumes on the reaction of the United States toward Italy during the process of unification and has written books and articles on Native Americans and Italian-American Relations in the 19th and 20th century, among which: Le tribù devono sparire. La politica di assimilazione degli indiani negli Stati Uniti d’America, Rome, 2001; Gli Stati Uniti e l’Unità d’Italia (ed.), Rome, 2004, Gli Stati Uniti e l’Italia alla fine del XIX secolo, Rome, 2010.