Jews, Christians and Muslims in Europe: Modern Challenges

Overview

The online course Jews, Christians and Muslims in Europe: Modern Challenges focuses on the relationships between Jews, Christians and Muslims in modern Europe and in European history. It consists of three modules, each lasting for four weeks.

In addition to historical topics, such as interreligious relations in medieval Spain, Enlightenment Britain, and 20th-century Germany, participants will engage with contemporary topics such as the relation of religion, ethnicity and citizenship in Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Muhammad cartoons controversy in Denmark; the social reality of Syrian refugees in Sweden; and the Abrahamic approaches to forgiveness and reconciliation.

Students will be encouraged to address challenging questions through case studies and set readings (in sociology, history, anthropology, and theology).

The course is accessed via Hedwig which is hosted by the Cambridge Theological Federation.

Course structure

Each week, you will receive set readings and prepare various assignments online. Woolf Institute tutors will support you and provide feedback throughout the course. Alongside fellow participants, you will be able to discuss ideas on the online discussion forum. Following an online Induction Week, the course is divided into three modules:

History
Week 1: A Golden Age of Convivencia? (Spain)

Week 2: Early Modern Entanglements (England and the Muslim World)

Week 3: Towards Enlightenment and Modernity (Continental Europe)

Week 4: Slovenia and 'the Muslim Other': The History, the Myth and the Present (Slovenia)

Culture
Week 1: Interpreting Symbols from Europe's Past and Present (Spain)

Week 2: Secularism and the Muhammad Cartoons (Denmark)

Week 3: The 'Other' in European Classical Music (Continental Europe)

Week 4: Contemporary Cultural Trends (Germany and Sweden)

Religion, State and Citizenship
Week 1: Building Bridges: Abrahamic Approaches to Forgiveness and Reconciliation

Week 2: Securitisation, Secularism and Dialogue: Contested State Engagements with Islam (Germany and France)

Week 3: State and Citizenship Contested (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Week 4: Religion in European Public Sphere

Course timetable

Participants will have access to the general course information a few days before the course commences to familiarise themselves with this material.

Induction Week

Module 1: History

Module 2: Culture

Module 3: Religion, State and Citizenship

Application details

Interested in applying? Contact Emma Harris eth22@cam.ac.uk.

Before submitting your application, please read the Online Courses Booking Terms and Conditions and Refund Policy.

The course fee is £385 and includes online access to the course, all course materials, tutor feedback and a Woolf Institute Certificate of Completion. Bursaries are available.