AP/JWST 3835 6.00

Antisemitism and Islamophobia in Canada

This course examines contemporary manifestations of antisemitism and islamophobia in Canada. It begins by providing a brief historical review of Christian anti-Jewish thought and theology as put forward by the early Church fathers, Augustine and the subsequent papal bulls. The significance of the role of the Jew as moneylender in medieval feudal Europe will be explored as well as the antisemitism of the early modern period found in the writings of Martin Luther at the time of the Protestant Reformation. In addition to tracing these periods of anti-Jewish thought it examines the parallel anti-Muslim sentiment in the medieval Christian world as evidenced by, for example, the Crusades against the “Muslim infidels” in the Holy Land and the Christian project of the “reconquest” of the Iberian Peninsula from the Muslims. Turning to the central theme of Canada, the course explores the social history of Jewish and Muslim immigration and integration into Canada, thus uncovering examples of social exclusion experienced by these immigrant communities. Stereotypical depictions of Jews and Muslims in Canadian discourse will be interrogated to expose the underlying threads of xenophobia. The course will also examine contemporary Canadian internet hate which includes, for example, Holocaust denial and anti-Muslim rhetoric. These areas of investigation allow us to reflect on the broader questions of the course which concern the construction of ethnic/religious identity. How do minority groups negotiate their identities to find a comfortable place in a majority society?