Toward the Historical Inclusion of the Jew: Spanish Orientalism and the Representations of Spain’s Jewish Past, 1875-1905

• In Event: New Crossroads in Iberian and Jewish Studies PANEL 2: Reinterpretations, Reincorporations, and Representations of Spain’s Jewish Past

Abstract

This paper examines the shift that the development of a modern Orientalist scholarship in Spain exerted on historical representations of the Iberian Jewish past, and how this shift contributed to shaping and projecting a collective Spanish identity during the politically formative period of 1875-1905. Many factors contributed to building this scholarly discipline. Among these were a change that modernity brought to how particular identities within Spain were constructed. Theological underpinnings diminished in favor of more ethnic and cultural understandings of what historically constituted the elements of Spanish identity. At a time when Church-State relations had become one of the main sources of conflict in Spanish politics, this scholarship helped to problematize discussions on the historical weight of religion and of the Catholic Church in forming the “Spanish nation.”

The bulk of such historiographical production between 1875 and 1905 emerged from Spain’s Royal Academy of History. Thus, most of the sources for this paper come from the diverse works published under the aegis of this institution, including its bulletin and other academic publications. Most contributors to these publications were tied to the Academy. Despite the conservatism of this institution, Spanish orientalists working in its midst strove to import methods of modern scholarship. With regards to the Jewish past, while some old negative images of Jews certainly persisted, a new sensibility emerged that was both more inclusive in the recognition of the existence of a “national” Jewish heritage, and more empathetic toward the medieval Iberian Jews and their historical circumstances. Moreover, the building of personal contacts with European Jewish scholars, fomented by the Academy, contributed to the internationalization of the Spanish Humanities.

Author

• Pablo Bornstein, Tel Aviv University