HUMSS - Benjamin Nathans

Simon Dubnov (1860-1941): Stateless History and Sovereign Self

Nineteenth-century European thought took for granted that human beings were divided into “historical” and “non-historical” nations, the critical difference being the experience, or lack, of collective sovereignty. According to this theory, Jews had ceased, following their exile from biblical Israel, to be a “historical nation,” and were now merely a relic of their former selves.  The scholarly and political career of the Russian-Jewish historian Simon Dubnov culminated in a creative revolt against this view, drawing in unexpected ways on the Russian intelligentsia’s precocious engagement with socialism.  This talk will explore the development of Dubnov’s innovative approach to Jewish history and its connections to his own autobiography.