How did Judaism develop as a religion and a civilization? How did a tribe of Near Eastern shepherds become the first monotheists and what changed when they did? How did the Roman Empire change Judaism from a Temple-based cult to a worldwide religion? Where have Jews lived in the world since then? How have the Jewish communities of the world fared under Christian and Muslim rule? Where were the centers of Jewish learning and culture at different points in the Jewish people’s evolution? How has anti-Semitism shaped Jewish identity and sensibility? How did the role of American Jewry change after the Holocaust and after the founding of the State of Israel?

This class continues where Part 1 left off in the fall semester, looking at the History of Jews and Judaism from the Late Medieval Period through the present time. No previous knowledge of Judaism is assumed, and you do not have to have taken the fall class to attend this one.