Visiting Israeli Scholar: Dr. Yaron Ayalon

Dr Yaron Ayalon is an Assistant professor of History at Ball State University. His scholarship and publications focus on the history of Sephardi Jewry, early modern and modern Middle East, the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey. He was educated at Tel Aviv University and earned his PhD at Princeton University. He was at Emory from 2011-2013. Among other items, he co-authored Sephardi Jewry and the Land of Israel (http://israeled.org/sephardi-jewry-land-israel-2/).

Professor Ayalon taught the following courses as a visiting Israeli scholar at the Emory University History Department: 

Sephardic Jews in the Diaspora and Israel (Spring 2013)

Aiming to survey the history of Sephardic Jews, this course will begin with a brief discussion of the formative Middle Ages, which in many ways defined and shaped Jewish practices and customs for centuries to come. We will move on to the Expulsion of the Jews from Spain, and then the Ottoman period and the transformation of the eastern Mediterranean Jewish world into a Sephardi-dominated one, in language and practices. Then we will discuss the changes Sephardi-Mizrahi communities experienced with the emergence of Zionism and the immigration to the State of Israel, where the Sephardim were a majority until the 1990s. We will devote the last third of the semester to the experiences of Sephardi-Mizrahi Jews in Israel.

Contemporary Israeli Society and Politics (Fall 2012)

The State of Israel was founded in 1948. For Jews, it was the fulfillment of a 2000-years-long dream to return to their ancestral homeland of Erets Yisrael. For others, notably the Arab inhabitants known as the Palestinians (named after the land, Palestine), the establishment of a Jewish state was a tragedy. This course, however, will deal very briefly with the dispute between the two parties known as the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Although the conflict has undoubtedly shaped Israeli society and its political system, this course will mostly have an inward focus on Israel itself: its political system, international relations, how it functions as a society of immigrants, relationships between secular and religious Jews and between Jews of various ethnic backgrounds, and the role the military plays in Israeli society. We will also look at Israeli culture through music, television, and film.

Previous knowledge about the history of Judaism, Israel, the Arab-Israeli Conflict, or the Middle East is helpful, but not required. Historical and other background will be provided in class, as well as in the readings for most weeks.

Israeli Society and Politics (Spring 2012)

The State of Israel was founded in 1948. For Jews, it was the fulfillment of a 2000-year long dream to return to their ancestral homeland of Eretz Yisrael. For others, notably the Arab inhabitants known as the Palestinians (named after their land, Palestine), the establishment of a Jewish state was a tragedy. This course, however, will deal very briefly with the dispute between the two parties, also known as the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Although the conflict has undoubtedly shaped Israeli society and its political system, this course will mostly have an inward focus on Israel itself: its political system, international relations, how it functions as a society of immigrants, relationships between secular and religious Jews and between Jews of various ethnic backgrounds, and the role the military plays in Israeli society. We will also look at Israeli culture through music and film.
 
Previous knowledge about the history of Judaism, Israel, the Arab-Israeli Conflict, or the Middle East is helpful, but not required. Historical and other background will be provided in class, as well as in the readings for most weeks.

Freshman Seminar: Migration in the Muslim World (Spring 2012)

This freshman seminar has a number of goals: to make you better writers; to teach you a set of academic skills necessary for your success in college, from performing independent research through documenting sources properly to reading and analyzing evidence; to provide you with numerous tips that would give you the edge over others while at Emory and beyond; and also to teach you a thing or two about Islam, migratory movements, and the problem of immigration the world faces today. Accordingly, we will look at population movements throughout Islamic history. We will explore involuntary and voluntary forms of migration, assimilation into new societies, social mobility, and how newcomers and receiving societies deal with cultural differences. Although this is a history seminar, much of our discourse will venture into other disciplines, especially sociology and psychology. No previous knowledge or preparation is required to take this class. I will explain everything during our weekly meetings, but occasionally you may find a need to do some research on your own to find answers.

The Jews of Arab Lands (Fall 2011)

Aiming to survey the history of Middle Eastern Jews in the modern period, this course will begin with a brief discussion of the formative middle ages, which in many ways defined and shaped Jewish practices and customs for centuries to come. We will move on to the Ottoman period and the transformation of the eastern Mediterranean Jewish world into a Sephardi-dominated one, in language and practices. Then we will discuss the changes Jewish communities in Arab countries experienced with the emergence of Zionism and the immigration to the State of Israel. We will devote the last third of the semester to the experiences of mizrahi Jews (those from Arab lands) in Israel. Topics covered will include the absorption of Middle Eastern Jews in Israel; the socioeconomic status of Jews from Arab lands in Israel and how it changed over the years; their involvement in Israeli politics and how it affected the immigrants as well as the Israeli political game; and the culture Jews from Arab lands brought with them, such as music and popular customs, and how the impact these have had upon Israeli society.

Previous knowledge about Jewish history, the Middle East, or Islam is helpful, but not required. Sufficient background will be given on the first week, and throughout the course, in the weekly readings and during lecture.

Modern Turkey (Fall 2011)

The foundation of the modern republic of Turkey in 1923 was accompanied by sweeping religious, political, social, and linguistic reforms. Initiated by the founder of the Republic Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, these changes were intended to create a new, modern society by breaking with past traditions. Atatürk's vision of a new Turkey was realized to a great extent. But it is impossible to understand the social and political predicaments Turkey faces today -- the rise of political Islam, the aspirations to join the European Union, the Kurdish problem, Turkey's place among Middle Eastern nations, its strategic relationship with the US and Israel -- without exploring Turkey's Ottoman heritage. This class consists of two parts. The first tells the story of the Ottoman Empire, Modern Turkey's predecessor, with emphasis on its last century and the factors that brought about its demise, as well as the history of Modern Turkey to this day. The second part will discuss contemporary issues in Turkish politics, society, and international relations. Previous knowledge about the history of Modern Turkey, the Ottoman Empire or the Middle East is helpful, but not required. Historical background will be provided in lectures, as well as in the readings for most weeks.