The Left and Antisemitism: History and Theory
Termin: Mittwoch: 10-12 Uhr; Raum: KAI 1315; Dozenten: Dr. Marcus Funck & Memphis Krickeberg
Since the
early 2000s, polemics around "new antisemitism" have brought the role
of the Left into the center of debates around antisemitism. Very much
focused on the contemporary issue of anti-Zionism, these discussions often lack
a certain historical anchoring, highlighting the ambivalence of the Left around
the "Jewish Question. On the one hand, the Left, as it emerged in the wake
of the French Revolution, was committed to equal rights for Jews throughout the
19th century, while on the other hand, the first socialist currents often used
antisemitic tropes associating Jews with capitalism.
This seminar proposes to reinscribe the question of the Left's relationship to
antisemitism in a study of the different national contexts in which the Left
evolves, taking into account the transformations of the Left in connection with
the great social transformations brought about by the advent of capitalist
modernity since the beginning of the 19th century. If the Left evolves in
societies marked by different degrees of antisemitism and is therefore
potentially porous to it, it always positions itself in relation to
antisemitism, rejecting it or reproducing it, in its own terms. Moreover, the
question of antisemitism contributes to the definition and fracturing of the
left and its various components, as shown by the debates within the labor
movement at the time of the Dreyfus Affair. Hence, the seminar aims at
decentering our viewpoint with respect to contemporary polemics and certitudes
specific to each national context by adopting a comparative perspective that
allows for the restitution of the question of the Left's relationship to
antisemitism in a long-term view, taking into account the different factors
that shape the field of intervention of the Left, notably the structuring of
public space, national configurations of power relations, the differentiated
place of Jews in different societies, and the international circulation of
ideas.
The historical understanding of the Left's relationship to antisemitism should
allow students to better grasp the stakes of contemporary debates, to identify
ruptures and continuities, and to orient themselves more easily around these
questions, especially if they are tempted by a career in research or civil
society around these issues.
The seminar consists of a dozen sessions in which specialists from the academic
world and/or civil society will speak about an aspect or episode of the Left's
relationship to antisemitism. Three "free" sessions will allow for a
reflection on the provided historical insight and for discussions on selected
themes related to the subject of the seminar.
Modul: MA-ZfA 2
- Trainer/in: Marcus Funck