AP/HUMA 3835 6.00
Antisemitism and Islamophobia in Canada
This course examines contemporary manifestations of antisemitism and Islamophobia in Canada. To provide historical context it explores the antecedents of anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim thought in the medieval and early modern periods. The course is interdisciplinary in nature drawing on both Humanities (primary texts, films, literature) as well as social science approaches.
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 money-lender 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 the Crusades against the "Muslim infidels" in the Holy Land.
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. Comprehensive demographic profiles of contemporary Jewish and Muslim communities in Canada will set the context; while stereotypical depictions of Jews and Muslims in Canadian discourse will be interrogated to expose the underlying threads of xenophobia.
Specific contemporary themes to be discussed include Holocaust denial, gendered Islamophobia (such as discrimination against women wearing the hijab or niqab), online-hate speech, White Supremacism and Neo-Nazism in Canada, tensions surrounding Israel/Palestine activism, and Canadian legal protections against hate.
Course credit exclusion: AP/HUMA 3835 3.00