Students will be able to map traces of the Jewish existence in the territories of the Croatian lands in late Antiquity and the Middle Ages; to understand the patterns of permanent Jewish settlement in the Croatian territories; to follow the development of Jewish communities in different historical contexts; to understand the complexities of Jewish identities in these lands, especially since the end of the 18th century; to be acquainted with facts from the area of Jewish-Croatian relations, emphasizing their contacts and the mutual influence they had on each other.
This course helps students to learn and understand Jewish history in the Croatian lands in different periods, from Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages to the Early Modern and Modern periods in the Croatian territories and in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Students will be acquainted with basic skills for doing independent research on primary sources.
The student will be acquainted with and be able to understand:
1. The historiography and primary sources of the history of Jewish communities and individuals;
2. Jewish communities of Late Antiquity and the Medieval period in the territories of the Croatian lands;
3. Historical processes in the Early Modern period in the Mediterranean, after the Expulsion of 1492;
4. The permanent settlement of Sephardic Jews on the Eastern Adriatic coast and Bosnia-Herzegovina in the context of the Expulsion of 1492, as well as their further development;
5. The everyday life of Jewish communities, their material culture, and their professions.
6. The permanent settlement of the Ashkenazi Jews in the territory of the Habsburg Empire in the context of the partitions of Poland and the legislation of Maria Theresa and Joseph II;
7. The processes of Jewish settlement in Croatia and Slavonia and of Jewish emancipation in the Croat lands;
8. The economic and social strengthening of the Jews in Croatia and Slavonia;
9. Processes that follow the decline and fall of two maritime republics in the Eastern Adriatic – Venetia and Dubrovnik – and the consequences for the Jewish communities of Split and Dubrovnik;
10. The emergence of Zionism, the First World War and the impact the Great War had on Jews.
