The project’s objective is to create a catalog of visual representations of the image of the Jew in the Russian Empire based on data found in various written sources of the late XIX and early XX centuries. This project offers a systematic study and recording of such visual discourses. In the XIX century, «the Jew» became an important figure in the cultural and public discourse of the Russian Empire. By the early XX century «the Jew» has occupied the niche of «the Other» within important segments of the Russian (but not limited to Russian) consciousness. A huge number of texts in various genres (fiction, nonfiction, academic, etc.) define, discuss, create and destroy the image of «the Jew». At the first step of the research, the team plans to study sources from the period of years 1905 to 1907 (the First Russian Revolution). Historical events of this period (the proclamation of free press, the wave of anti-Jewish pogroms, the legalization of political life in Russia and the election campaign for the Duma ballot) have led to a surge of publications (textual and visual), that describe anew and re-design the image of «the Jew». The next step will be the preparation of a monograph or a collection of articles.
Head of the research group:
Dr. Semion Goldin, professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Head of the research group:
Dr. Semion Goldin, professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.