Europe Archives - UW Stroum Jewish Studies

Fences: Jews as Dealers in Stolen Goods in Early Modern Poland

Many "fences" (dealers in illicit goods) in early modern Poland were Jewish. Why? Prof. Shaul Stampfer will explore the reasons Jews entered the field and how Jewish communities dealt with illicit activity.

By Stroum Center Admin| 2018-01-12T12:58:13+00:00 January 18th, 2018|Tags: Europe, Poland|0 Comments

Video: Jonathan Israel on Spinoza as a Revolutionary

Professor Jonathan Israel explores Spinoza's role as a revolutionary thinker and precursor to the modern human rights movement in the 2017 Stroum Lectures in Jewish Studies.

By Kara Schoonmaker| 2017-09-25T16:29:17+00:00 July 20th, 2017|Categories: Digital Jewish Studies, Jewish History & Thought, Our Events, Video|Tags: Enlightenment, Europe, History, Jonathan Israel, Philosophy, Spinoza, Stroum Lectures|0 Comments

Spinoza, Industrialization, and the Nineteenth-Century Ethos of Repose

Professor Tracy Matysik traces philosophers' early critiques of capitalism and its breakneck pace, and finds a surprising remedy in Spinoza's ideas about God.

By Stroum Center Admin| 2017-09-04T22:41:00+00:00 May 17th, 2017|Categories: Jewish History & Thought, Spinoza & Modern Jewish Philosophy|Tags: Europe, Germany, Philosophy, Spinoza, Stroum Lectures|0 Comments

How Did the Enlightenment Shape the Jews?

2017 Stroum Lecturer Jonathan Israel explores how Enlightenment thinkers both fueled anti-Semitism and created greater space for Jewish people in society.

By Stroum Center Admin| 2017-09-04T22:41:05+00:00 April 20th, 2017|Categories: Jewish History & Thought, Spinoza & Modern Jewish Philosophy|Tags: Enlightenment, Europe, History, Jonathan Israel|0 Comments

What Does It Mean to Be Heard?

Opportunity Grant winner Katja Schatte reflects on her time at the Voice of Witness Oral History training and its impact on her multimedia doctoral project centered on the voices of East German Jewish women.

By Katja Schatte| 2017-09-04T22:41:09+00:00 March 30th, 2017|Categories: Grad Student Writing, Student Writing|Tags: Europe, Graduate Fellows|0 Comments

Prophets at War: Hermann Cohen and German Jews in the First World War

During World War I, philosopher Hermann Cohen argued that Jews could be true and full citizens of the new German nation-state. Many of his contemporaries, including other Jews, disagreed. Professor Michael Rosenthal explains.

By Michael Rosenthal| 2017-09-04T22:41:13+00:00 January 18th, 2017|Categories: Global Judaism, Jewish History & Thought, Spinoza & Modern Jewish Philosophy|Tags: Europe, History, Michael Rosenthal, Philosophy, Zionism|0 Comments

The Importance of Welcoming Refugees

What years of interviewing Bosnian War refugees taught Professor Kathie Friedman, a sociologist in the Jackson School at the University of Washington.

By Stroum Center Admin| 2017-09-04T22:41:15+00:00 December 9th, 2016|Categories: Featured, Global Judaism, Jewish History & Thought|Tags: Europe, Kathie Friedman|1 Comment

Is It Time to Reconsider Marlowe’s and Shakespeare’s Jews?

New theories about Shakespeare's collaborative authorship could shed light on his portrayal of Jewish characters.

By Hannah Pressman| 2017-09-04T22:41:16+00:00 December 4th, 2016|Categories: Arts & Culture, Featured, Grad Student Writing|Tags: Europe, Graduate Fellows, Jewish Identity|0 Comments