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IAFS/JWST 3650 Religious Narratives

IAFS/JWST 3650 Religious Narratives. Jewish History Job Candidates. Amos Bitzan, “ Reading the Talmud like Rousseau's 'Julie': How Female Pleasure Readers and their Critics Transformed Modern Judaism, 1770-1870 ” (Tues, 22 Jan, 5pm, HLMS 211)

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IAFS/JWST 3650 Religious Narratives

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  1. IAFS/JWST 3650Religious Narratives

  2. Jewish History Job Candidates • Amos Bitzan, “Reading the Talmud like Rousseau's 'Julie': How Female Pleasure Readers and their Critics Transformed Modern Judaism, 1770-1870” (Tues, 22 Jan, 5pm, HLMS 211) • Liora Halperin, “Babel in Zion: Hebrew and the Politics of Language Diversity in Mandate Palestine”(Mon, 28 Jan, 5pm, HLMS 141) • Jessica Marglin, title TBA (Tues, 5 Feb, 5pm, HLMS 201) • Saskia Coenen Snyder, title TBA (Tues, 12 Feb, 5pm, HLMS 201)

  3. Outline • Reading maps: vulnerability • Intro to religions • Quiz

  4. Part I:Reading Maps of Israel and Palestine (cont.)

  5. Reading Maps of Israel and Palestine • Themes: • Sacred claims to territory • Erasure • Palestinian homeland(s) • Weapons • Vulnerability

  6. Vulnerability (Israeli) • “Growth under Siege” • Depicts Israel under attack from all sides • Perceived threats from land, sea, & air Mapai Poster (early 1950s) Christine Leuenberger and Izhak Schnell,“The politics of maps: Constructing national territories in Israel”Social Studies of Science 40:6 (Dec 2010) 813-814.

  7. Vulnerability (Israeli) • “Likud will prevent this! 2.5 million Israelis are within firing range if an ‘Arafat state’ is founded.” • Depicts serious threat due to Israel’s lack of strategic depth LikudElection Poster (1981) Christine Leuenberger and Izhak Schnell,“The politics of maps: Constructing national territories in Israel”Social Studies of Science 40:6 (Dec 2010) 823-825.

  8. Vulnerability (Palestinian) • “Loss of Land” over time Original source unknown (2000s, revised 2010)

  9. Vulnerability (Palestinian) • “Map of occupation” coupled with iconic images • Roughly same dates as previous poster Original source unknown (2007)

  10. Vulnerability (Palestinian) • “Stealing of Pal. Land by the Zionist State” • Emphatic coloring Original source unknown (2009)

  11. Vulnerability (Israeli) • Size comparisons to European and South American countries, and the US and US states (plus Turkey and India) Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs Website (2013)

  12. Vulnerability (Israeli) • Size comparisons emphasize Israel’s smallness Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs Website (2013)

  13. Vulnerability (Israeli) • “Israel is tiny! . . . . Imagine living in New Jersey while most people living in the other 49 states want to see you destroyed.” Zionist PR Firm Poster (~2004)

  14. Conclusions • Maps used by range of Israeli and Palestinian groups to convey their arguments • Images of the same (or roughly the same) territory or iconography can be used to support opposing arguments • Groups on both sides address both internal and external audiences

  15. Conclusions • Hobsbawm: • many national symbols are “invented traditions” • Invented traditions use history as legitmator

  16. Conclusions • Nations claim to be natural and ancient, but are constructed and new • Maps help construct the nation

  17. Part II:Introduction to Religions

  18. Religious Narratives • Narratives can be constructed to serve specific goals • via invention of tradition (Hobsbawm) • via remembering and forgetting (Renan) • Role of religion in narratives re conflict

  19. Arguments • Can’t generalize re Jewish, Muslim, or Christian views • Religion plays a role in how (some) people think about this conflict

  20. Religion in the Middle East • Terminology • Middle East vs West Asia • BC/AD vs BCE/CE

  21. Religion in the Middle EastWest Asia • Terminology • Middle East vs West Asia • BC/AD vs BCE/CE

  22. Intro: Judaism • 3500 years old • Est. by Abraham and Moses • Jews as God’s chosen people

  23. Intro: Judaism • Monotheistic • Focus on Jerusalem

  24. Intro: Judaism • Rabbis interpret God’s instructions • Torah = “teachings” • “Promised land” given to Jews

  25. Intro: Judaism • 1st c CE: Roman dispersion of Jews • Jewish diaspora: W Asia, N Africa, Europe • Oral tradition (Mishnah) and commentary (Gemara) form Talmud (intstruction)

  26. Intro: Christianity • 2000 years old • Monotheistic, based on scripture

  27. Intro: Christianity • Based on teachings of Jesus Christ • Christ both divine and human • Christ’s death and resurrection provided salvation and eternal life

  28. Intro: Christianity • 1st three centuries: spread into W Asia, N Africa, and Europe • Bible = Old and New Testament

  29. Intro: Christianity • Holy Land and esp. Jerusalem sacred • Birth in Bethlehem • Miracles at Galilee • Death and resurrection at site of Church of Holy Sepulchre

  30. Countries withLargest Muslim Populations?

  31. Intro: Islam • God’s multiple revelations • Moses, Abraham, Jesus revered as prophets

  32. Intro: Islam • ~1300 years old • Monotheistic • Koran revealed to Prophet Muhammad in 7th c. CE

  33. Intro: Islam • Spread from 7th c. on through W Asia, N Africa, parts of Europe • Five central requirements: • Faith • Prayer • Zakat [alms] • Fasting • Hajj [pilgrimage]

  34. Islam • Jihad = جهاد‎ = “struggle, striving”

  35. British Perceptions of Islam • British concerns about Muslim violence • Fears of fanaticism and jihad • But Islam not monolithic

  36. Islam • Allah الله‎ = = “the God” http://www.al-islam.org/gallery/photos/d8.gif

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