Overview

The module will explore a variety of areas, such as: the relationship of the Christian religion and the Roman Empire, and its impact on the Jews of the early centuries AD; the Crusades and their effects; the Papacy of the Middle Ages; Spain in the Middle Ages; Anti-Jewish images and iconographies by Christians and Muslims; the Paradoxical perspectives of Martin Luther; Zionism and the growth of anti-Semitism; The Holocaust and the Shoah; current relationships between Jews and Christians; historical, sociological and cultural relationships between Islam and Judaism; Jews under the rule of Muslims; the Israel-Palestine conflict; the ‘Anti-Semitism’ of Britain’s Labour Party; Neo-Nazism and anti-Semitism,; and modern efforts to withstand anti-Semitism.

Assessment Strategy

-threshold -ThresholdD- to D+Submitted work is adequate and shows an acceptable level of competence as follows: •Generally accurate but with omissions and errors. •Assertions are made without clear supporting evidence or reasoning. •Has structure but is lacking in clarity and therefore relies on the reader to make links and assumptions. •Draws on a relatively narrow range of material.

-good -Very Good B- to B+Submitted work is competent throughout and distinguished by superior style, approach and choice of supporting materials. It demonstrates: •Very good structure and logically developed arguments. •Draws on material that has been sourced and assessed as a result of independent study, or in a way unique to the student. •Assertions are backed by evidence and sound reasoning. •Accuracy and presentation in an appropriate academic style.

-excellent -ExcellentA- to A*Submitted work is of an outstanding quality and excellent in one or more of the following ways: •Has originality of exposition with the student’s own thinking being readily apparent. •Provides clear evidence of extensive and relevant independent study. •Arguments are laid down with clarity and provide the reader with successive stages of consideration to reach conclusions.

-another level-GoodC- to C +Submitted work is competent throughout and occasionally distinguished by superior style, approach and choice of supporting materials. It demonstrates: •Good structure and logically developed arguments. •At least in parts draws on material that has been sourced and assessed as a result of independent study, or in a way unique to the student. •Assertions are, in the main, backed by evidence and sound reasoning. •Accuracy and presentation in an appropriate academic style.

Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of how personal and communal identities and motivations are shaped by religion, particularly, how this has both positive and negative effects.

• Demonstrate comprehension of and intelligent engagement with the richness of Judaism and Christianity and their varied and central forms.

• Describe, discuss and demonstrate critical comprehension of the political, social, textual, historical, theological, and institutional expressions of each religion and how they have impacted interreligious relations.

• Evaluate and critically analyse a diversity of primary and secondary sources, including materials from theology, Church declarations and legal writings with specific emphasis on how they have impacted relations between Jews and Christians.