Leo Baeck Institute MA in European Jewish History
The Leo Baeck Institute MA offered by the School of History at Queen Mary, University of London is the only taught postgraduate programme in the UK focusing on the rich field of European Jewish History. The MA in European Jewish History provides a strong grounding in approaches and theories, which have influenced the ways in which scholars understand Jewish history. The question of emancipation, the quest of equal rights and Jewish identity but also the role of antisemitism are central, as are Jewish intellectual history, focussing on the ideas of eminent Jewish thinkers about the place of Jews and Judaism in pre-modern and modern society.
As we find ourselves in a time when identity and difference are key concepts of our everyday lives, this course helps students to reflect on the way European history affects our self-perception today and how we act upon this knowledge in the future. The MA offers you a forum to discuss and reflect on the repercussions of the dynamics of European Jewish history to this day and reflect critically on contemporary public debates about cultural diversity, power and concepts of state.
Funding opportunities 2012-2013
Dr Daniel Wildmann is happy to answer any questions you may have about the MA.
Forthcoming Events
European Leo Baeck Institute Lecture Series
A lecture series organised by the Leo Baeck Institute London, the Jewish Museum and the Fritz Bauer Institute, Frankfurt am Main, in cooperation with the German Historical Institute London.
Professor Vivian Liska (University of Antwerp)
‘Before the Law stands a doorkeeper. To this doorkeeper comes a man…’: Kafka, Narrative and the Law
Wednesday 23 May, 6.30pm at the German Historical Institute
References to the law pervade Kafka’s writings, but their meaning remains elusive. It is precisely because it is uncertain whether the law in Kafka’s work is to be understood in juridical, religious, literary, or more generally ontological terms that it has elicited numerous and often contradictory interpretations. The lecture will explore how this indeterminacy and its effects have inspired concepts of justice in modernist thinkers as well as the relationship between law and narrative and its correlation with Jewish approaches to the interaction between Halacha and Aggadah.
Vivian Liska is Senior Professor of German literature and Director of the Institute of Jewish Studies at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. Her research focuses on modernist literature, German-Jewish literature and culture, and literary theory. She is the author of Die Nacht der Hymnen and Das schelmische Erhabene. Her most recent book is Fremde Gemeinschaft. Deutsch-jüdische Literatur der Moderne (2011).
Entry is free but seating is limited. Please book in advance via the Leo Baeck Institute (email info@leobaeck.co.uk or phone 020 7882 5690). This lecture will be held at the German Historical Institute (17 Bloomsbury Square, London WC1A2NJ).