Medieval Miracle Plays and Antisemitic Violence
Subject:
Writing and Reading, 8th Grade Social Studies, World History
Duration:
Five to seven days
Procedure:
Detailed explanation of each day’s activities
Grade level:
Meets Arizona Reading and Writing Standards 8-12. Group projects meet Social Studies “Study Skill Requirements for Historical Research” Grades 8-12.
Purpose:
Students will understand how Medieval Miracle plays led to violence against Jews in Medieval Europe and how this contributed to the causes of the Holocaust.
Arizona Standards:
Social Studies, Writing, Reading and World History
Assessment/Rubrics
Student Handouts on Rubrics for Collaborative Writing on Visual and Written texts based on Six Traits required by AIMS Test
Explanation for teacher
Objectives:
Students evaluate differences in texts (original narrative and dramatization) and analyze purpose of genre, word choice, and detail for effect on audience. Students demonstrate understanding of impact of genre, word choice and detail on medieval audience and how medieval morality plays provided popular outlet for violent antisemitism. Through categorization and analysis of events of medieval period students will recognize patterns of exclusion of Jews from European community, become familiar with use of yellow patches as signs of Jewish “otherness.” By analyzing Nazi posters from 1930s using medieval Christian imagery, students will see how tradition of Christian antisemitism was used by Nazis to demonize Jews.
Materials:
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Handouts
- Background (one page: may be used as reading homework)
- Group Activity: Antisemtic Violence in Europe
- Handouts for six groups: 70-652 CE 655-1194 CE 1195-1328 CE 1338-1543 CE 1554-1889 CE 1890-1938 CE
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- Handout with blank dates for larger classes
- “Short Review of a Troubled History” http://jcrelations.net/en/?item=836
- Homework (or in class reading) Genesis 4:1-16
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- Translated from Hebrew (given to half the class)
- Translated from Latin (given to the other half)
- In-Class Pair/Share Activity: Compare/Contrast Activity with different translations Venn Diagram and Questions
- Homework Assignment Cain and Abel
- Group Work: Reading and Analyzing Cain and Abel
- Final Individual Response
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PowerPoints
- Medieval Miracle Plays and Antisemitic Violence
- Note: The history presented in this unit can be hard to accept. Sometimes, skepticism is expressed in the question “What did Jews do to make Christians act this way?” Such skepticism can be an opportunity to discuss the validity of sources. If there were evidence of crimes committed by the Jewish communities of Europe, would not church and state authorities have documented them as thoroughly as the violence against Jews for which there is no lack of primary sources? In this discussion, I use the following PowerPoints:
