HIS 240 The Spanish Expulsion
Final Exam and Transcript Provided by Davar Academy
HIS 240 is a self-study course whose grade is based solely on the final examination. The course of study that is necessary to be prepared for the final examination consists of lessons based on the readings noted in this syllabus. Students should read the entire text of all the reading assignments. There are no formal assignments, but students are encouraged to take the practice quizzes associated with the readings to ensure that they have gleaned the appropriate knowledge to fulfill the course objectives and are well prepared for the final exam.
This course explores historical events and personalities involving or affecting the Jewish people in medieval Europe through the fourteenth century. The course will also focus on how historical figures made an impact on Jewish life through their major works and communal interaction. Significant figures include Avner, Shlomo HaLevi, Yehoshua Lorki, R’ Nissim b. Reuven (Ran), R’ Chisdai b. Crescas, R’ Yitzchok Abrabanel, Torquemada, Ferdinand and Isabella. Students will also demonstrate an understanding of how the Jews living in Europe during the Middle Ages interacted with surrounding cultures, and how they influenced and were influenced by their host countries. Also, students will be able to express an understanding of the significance of major political and cultural events and their impact on the Jewish communities and individuals. Topics include the conversos, the riots of 1391, the Inquisition, the Holy Child of LaGuardia, events leading up to the expulsion, and the refugees from Spain.
Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- Illustrate and discuss what Jewish society and culture was like in Spain during in the century leading up to the expulsion.
- Describe the major historical events in Spain in the 14th and 15th centuries that affected the Jewish population and explain the impact these events had on Jewish life.
- Identify the major historical personalities in Spain whose actions affected the Jewish population in the period leading up to the expulsion and explain how they impacted the Jewish population.
- Describe the contributions of Jewish historical figures and explain the impact they had on Jewish life.
- Describe and assess how the interactions between Jewish and Christian cultures influenced Christian attitudes towards Jews and in turn influenced Jewish life and society.
- Describe the important decisions and decrees Jewish leaders made during this period and discuss what may have influenced their decisions and how Jewish culture was affected.
Sendler, Rabbi Binyamin. The Chosen Path: Medieval Jewry, Their Communities and Their Leaders. Dartmouth Oak Park, MI: History Works, 2007. Chapter VII.
Wein, Rabbi Berel. Herald of Destiny: The Story of the Jews in the Medieval Era. Brooklyn, NY: Shaar Press, 1993. Section V, chapter 13 and 14.
Marcus, Jacob R. The Jew in the Medieval World. Hebrew Union College Press, 1999. Pgs. 59-70; 195-202
Articles:
Ray, Jonathan, “Creating Sepharad: Expulsion, Migration, and the Limits of Diaspora,” Journal of Levantine Studies 3:2 (Winter 2013): 9-35
David, Abraham, “The Spanish Expulsion and the Portuguese Persecution Through the Eyes of the Historian R. Gedalya Ibn Yahya,” based on a lecture presented in a conference: «1492 – Expulsion des Juifs d’Espagne» (Université de Paris-Sorbonne [Paris IV], May 1992).
Ram Ben-Shalom, “Between Official and Private Dispute: The Case of Christian Spain and Provence in the Late Middle Ages,” AJS Review 27:1 (April 2003): 23-72
RENÉE LEVINE MELAMMED, “Adapting and Adopting: Conversos and the
Sephardi Diaspora,” Hispania Judaica Bulletin no 8. Assis, Ibanez-Sperber eds. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2009): 85-95.
Benveniste, Henriette-Rivka, “The Ideal of Exile: Jewish Accounts and the Historiography of Salonika Revisited,” https://uth.academia.edu/rikabenveniste
David Gitlitz “Crypto Jews of Spain and Portugal,” Journal of Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian Crypto-Jews. (2009)
The student’s final grade will be based on a final examination. Examination questions will cover all topics covered in the readings. Students will have two hours to complete the final examination. Students will be assigned a number grade from 0-100. A letter grade will also be issued in accordance with the following scale:
90-100 – A
80-89 – B
70-79 – C
0-69 – non passing
