Led by Dr. Charles Asher Small, this four-part course will offer a critical analysis of issues central to the study and emergence of contemporary antisemitism, as it relates to processes of globalization, the crisis of modernity, and the rise of reactionary anti-systemic movements, including political Islam, and the extreme left and extreme right wing nationalism. This area of inquiry is central to challenges confronting scholars and students when assessing the complexities of contemporary antisemitism(s) in a comprehensive analytical manner.
Attention is placed on notions of contemporary forms of antisemitism(s) in the framework of how political, socio-economic, political and cultural forms are affected by processes of globalization, in relation to marginalization, the emergence of social movements that attack the democratic center, as a response to the crisis of modernity. Themes to be explored include analysis, in relation to issues of power, the construction of identity (nationality, race, ethnicity, gender, community, notions of `Otherness’, migration); as well as social and protest movements. The course will examine contemporary antisemitism within a conceptual and empirical framework.
Live sessions will occur on the following dates and times. Recordings will be made available to registered participants who are unable to attend.
Tuesday, January 19, 2021 – 2:00pm EST
Tuesday, January 26, 2021 – 2:00pm EST
Tuesday, February 2, 2021 – 2:00pm EST
Tuesday, February 9, 2021 – 2:00pm EST
Recently, issues such as nationalism and new forms of identity politics, have exacerbated existing social and political cleavages. Among the causes of this emerging crisis are, the combination of the extension of the global competitive market and related effects from structural adjustment, the intensifications of social and economic inequalities, the blurring of international and domestic political conflicts, and the worldwide escalation of adversarial `identity politics’. The role of the state, particularly in the realm of socio-cultural policies, has become less interventionist, as the functioning of free market economy and ideology becomes entrenched. In the recent past, the state often played a key role in this context, intervening in terms of economic integration/marginalisation. This relates to issues of national identity, cultural policy, notions of `Otherness’, belonging and citizenship. Internationally, new tensions have emerged, drawing on old patterns of objectification of the Other. In the era of globalisation, important processes are occurring, such as, a shift from nation-state to transnational financial institutions and the creation of supra-national political institutions. Significant socio-economic, spatial and demographic changes are apparent. As the repercussions of globalisation are evident, societies are becoming shared spaces of different levels of citizenship, and peoples with distinct destinies, resulting in greater differentiation. Societies, in general, are increasingly divided in socio-economic, political and spatial terms. The gaps between the affluent and deprived are expanding at alarming rates, threatening social cohesion. It is within this context that we are witnessing a rise in antisemitism, as protest and social movements emerge; several of which use antisemitism as a core element of their ideology and political objectives.
Within the changing contemporary context contemporary antisemitism, or the ‘longest hatred’, is emerging as a complex and, at times, perplexing form of hatred. It spans history, infecting different societies, religious and philosophical movements, and even civilizations. In the aftermath of the Shoah, some contend that antisemitism illustrates the limitations of the Enlightenment and modernity itself. Manifestations of antisemitism emerge in numerous ideological based narratives and the constructed identities of belonging and otherness such as race and ethnicity, nationalisms, and anti-nationalisms. In the contemporary context of globalised relations, antisemitism has taken on new complex and changing forms that need to be decoded, mapped and critiqued.
This course examines an interdisciplinary approach to the study of contemporary antisemitism within a historic framework. The course will assess extreme left, political Islam, right-wing and nationalist forms of antisemitism(s). The main purpose of the course will be to explore and challenge these issues and debates, at both the conceptual and case study level.
Dr. Charles Asher Small is the Founder and Executive Director of ISGAP, and a Research Scholar at St. Antony’s College, Oxford University. Dr. Small is a prominent scholar and public speaker, specializing in the fields of contemporary antisemitism, including the delegitimization of Israel and notions of Jewish Peoplehood, social and cultural theory, globalization and national identity, social movements, Political Islam, and racism(s) – including antisemitism(s).
Charles convened groundbreaking academic seminar series in the emerging field of contemporary antisemitism studies at Columbia University, Fordham University, Harvard University, McGill University, National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy, Kyiv, Sapienza University, Rome, the Sorbonne and the CNRS, Paris, Stanford University, University of Miami, Yale University, as well as an academic training program for professors at Hertford College, St. John’s College, and St. Antony’s College, Oxford.
Charles is the author of books and articles including the six Volume “Global Antisemitism: A Crisis of Modernity” (Brill and ISGAP); “The Yale Papers: Antisemitism in Comparative Perspective”, ISGAP (2015); “Antisemitism in Comparative Perspective: Volume Two”, ISGAP (2016); “The ISGAP Papers: Antisemitism in Comparative Perspective: Volume Three”, ISGAP (2018) and “Social Theory – a Historical Analysis of Canadian Socio-cultural Policies Race and the Other”, Eleven International Publishers (2013); Charles is committed to creating scholarly programming and research on contemporary antisemitism at top tier universities internationally, and establishing contemporary antisemitism studies as a recognized academic discipline.
Limited student scholarships available upon request: [email protected]