Jewish Nationalism

Description

In the sixth part of an eight part lecture series on “Daniel Deronda,” Professor Ruth Wisse discusses George Eliot’s inspiration for writing a novel in support of Jewish nationalism decades before Theodor Herzl wrote The Jewish State. An expert on Yiddish and Jewish literature and winner of the National Humanities Medal, Wisse draws parallels between Eliot’s relationship to her mentor, Emmanuel Deutsch, and Daniel’s relationship to Mordecai Ezra. She analyzes arguments against Mordecai’s vision from within the Jewish community, and examines Mordecai’s “embryonic Zionist” speech in Chapter 42 that also speaks to 19th century English society.

Runtime

39 min 29 sec

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Films on Demand

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