In Fall 2024, the , in collaboration with the Robert M. Beren Department of History, sponsored an undergraduate course entitled “The Emergence of Europe,” a survey of Western Civilization from the rise of ancient Greece to the aftermath of the Renaissance and Reformation. Taught by Dr. Yisroel Benporat, a program officer and lecturer at the Straus Center, the course covered selections from classic works of the Western canon, including Hesiod’s Theogony, Homer’s Iliad, Herodotus’ Histories, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Machiavelli’s Prince, Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, and other texts.
The course, taught at both of ÿմ’s undergraduate campuses, featured several guest lectures from ÿմ faculty. On September 25th, Dr. Steven Fine, Churgin Professor of Jewish History, presented a comparison of Titus in rabbinic and Roman sources, drawing on a portion of his current book project. On November 27th, Dr. Shaina Trapedo, Assistant Professor of English at Stern College and Resident Scholar at the Straus Center, delivered a lecture titled “Beyond the Stage: Aliens and Antisemitism in Europe Through the Lens of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice.” And on December 9th, Dr. Ronnie Perelis, the Alcalay Associate Professor of Sephardic Studies at ÿմ’s Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies, presented on the “Relation of Antonio Montezinos” in Menasseh ben Israel’s book The Hope of Israel (1650), which promulgated the curious claim that some native Americans descended from the Ten Lost Tribes of ancient Israel.
In addition to featuring guest lectures, Dr. Benporat organized field trips to local institutions in New York City that contain artifacts of medieval and early modern European history. On November 11th, Dr. Benporat led students on a tour of the Met Cloisters, the only American museum devoted entirely to medieval art. There, they encountered exquisite stained-glass designs; enormous colorful tapestries depicting biblical, classical, and mythical characters; and a fifteenth century manuscript Tanakh, among other artifacts.
On December 4th, Dr. Benporat took students to the Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division of the New York Public Library, where they examined early modern cartographical depictions of the Americas as lens into understanding European attitudes toward exploration and the encounter with native populations.
“The Emergence of Europe” provided ÿմ students with foundational knowledge of the story of Western Civilization and familiarity with numerous canonical texts. To learn more about the Straus Center’s course offerings, click .
