Jerusalem at BU
BUToday’s Sue Seligson describes a summer course, taught by EWCJS director Michael Zank, as “talmudic” in style but compelling in its pursuit of an explanation of how Jerusalem became the holy city of Jews, Muslims, and Christians.
“In Michael Zank’s class [Holy City: Jerusalem in Time, Space, and the Imagination], Jerusalem is the window into three religions—and human resilience.
From accounts carved in stone thousands of years ago to today’s New York Times, Jerusalem has always been headline-worthy. It is a beautiful, vibrant, modern metropolis where every ancient byway tells a story of faith, siege, prosperity, and grief. To study Jerusalem—its tumultuous history, dramatic architecture, politics, power struggles, commerce, and shifting population—is to gain an invaluable understanding of three of the world’s major religions and the global impact and legacy of their long long-simmering conflicts and periodic alliances.”
From: BU Today, “Jerusalem: How Did It Get to Be the Holy City?” Read the full article here.