HUAS29601 - Intellectual Currents in the Development of Zionism

Course Description

The idea of Zionism, in its broadest definition, means something along the lines of a Jewish return to the ancestral homeland. Yet the Zionist Movement, since its genesis in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, has always included vastly different – if not entirely opposing – conceptions of its nature and its aims. In this course, we will survey some of the main intellectual currents prevalent in the development of the movement (~1880’s-1940’s), and that in many ways continue to influence Israel to this day, culturally and politically. Topics include: the role of religion in the state, Jewish attitudes to military power and use of force, the differences between the Israeli Left and Right, and more.

HUAS29601 Religious Studies