‘It is impossible to establish with (…) certainty, whether an incident, commonly regarded as antisemitic, really deserves that designation or not,’ Dutch Jewish journalist Fritz Bernstein wrote in 1926. He continued, stating that ‘whenever an occurrence is characterised as antisemitic, someone can be found to deny it that character.’
What puzzled Bernstein in the 1920s continues to be hotly debated. Sociologists, historians, theologians, political scientists, psychologists, activists, and many more have long tried to understand the origins and nature of antisemitism, and thought about how it could be defined and combatted. This course explores the different theories, approaches, and explanations for antisemitism from the late 19th century to the present. Students will study different perspectives, closely engage with sources and case studies, and familiarise themselves with the main theories, the debates over definitions, and how people have proposed to combat antisemitism.
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