Representations of the "Other": Jews in Medieval England

FAIN: EH-50354-13

University of Tennessee, Chattanooga (Chattanooga, TN 37403-2504)
Irven M. Resnick (Project Director: March 2013 to March 2015)

A five-week institute for twenty-five college and university faculty to examine changes in the perception of Jews in medieval England, to take place in England, at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies.

This proposal seeks funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities for a five-week summer institute to be held 9 July-13 August 2014. The purpose of this summer institute is to gain a better understanding of changes in the legal status, economic conditions, cultural stereotypes, and depictions of Jews as the most visible ‘other’ in medieval England. The significance of such a study lies in the axiom that we best understand a society by means of its boundaries and its strategies of inclusion and exclusion. Medieval perceptions and treatment of Jews represents a paradigm for notions of the ‘other’ during the Middle Ages. As a result, the lessons derived from this study will also have significant implications for a consideration of Muslims, Christian heretics, lepers, women, and other groups on the margins of society. These implications will be explored in the institute in both formal settings, and informally in extramural discussions.