About the course
"Zionism" is hurled as a slur. It’s defended passionately. Antisemites weaponise it. Jewish institutions invoke it.
Yet this many sided, diverse movement was built on ideas and texts, wrestled over and cultivated by a wide range thinkers — with powerful ideas that deserve to be reexamined, and ultimately serve as the foundation for new and contemporary Zionist thought.
This isn't a history course, nor an exhaustive class in theory. Instead, we explore key texts that directly address, evoke, or planted the seeds of Zionist thought.
You may not have heard of all these thinkers — but these texts have profoundly shaped Jewish and Zionist thought, and remain capable of inspiring and challenging both Jewish and non-Jewish readers today.
We take a critical close reading text-based approach, that allows both for a deeper understanding of the texts discussed and for the possibility to break out of existing dogmas and ideologies.
The classes are held at 6pm UK Time, 7 PM Berlin time, 1 PM NYC time, 10 AM LA time.
Schedule of sessions:
April 21
April 28
May 5
May 12
Each session is 60 minutes long + 15 minutes for optional post class continued discussion
Module 1: transvaluation of values: a brief intro and deep dive into the thought and writings of micha josef berdichevsky & yosef haim brenner and their world
Module 2: spiritual revolution in a not so spiritual world: the subversive thought of kook, alexandrov, and zeitlin.
Module 3: zionism now!
Price: $150 for 4 weekly sessions
(discounts available for students, groups, SHIUR community members)
The course starts April 21
After registration and payment you’ll receive an email with a link to a password protected course page.
In the course page you will find:
Zoom link for the weekly calls
Source sheets for each discussion
Access to the WhatsApp group