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Fall 2011
Van der Horst Fellow Joins Carolina
As a child growing up Jewish in Belgium,
Flora Cassen was naturally curious about
European history, and thanks to inspirational
teachers and mentors who influenced her studies,
Cassen has followed a career path that explores
the rich history of Jews in Europe.
Professor Cassen, who joined Carolina’s
History department this year as the inaugural
JMA and Sonia Van der Horst Fellow in Jewish
History and Culture, will now inspire Carolina’s
students just as her teachers guided her studies.
Cassen teaches classes on Medieval and Early
Modern Jewish History, specifically focusing on
the history of Europe from 10th through 18th
centuries. This fall, she is teaching two undergraduate
courses: History 490: Jews, Christians and
Muslims in Early Modern Europe, and an honors
course called The Passion and the Jews. Inspired
by the debate that Mel Gibson’s movie “The
Passion of the Christ” generated, the course
explores the alleged role of the Jews in Christ’s
Passion from the gospels to today through text,
art, and film.
“In the future, I hope to create a senior
seminar course on Jewish history and introduce
graduate-level courses on Jews in Italy and
Spain, which will explore their lives in terms
of commerce, channels of information and their
relationships with Christians and other Jewish
communities.”
Her current research focuses on Jews in
Italy during the 15th and 16th centuries. She is
writing a book based on her Ph.D. dissertation,
which studies the roots and consequences of
anti-Judaism by examining discriminatory marks,
typically a yellow hat or yellow badge, that the
Jews were compelled to wear in 15th- and 16thcentury
Italy. She is also starting research on
Jews in Italy who acted as spies for the King of
Spain, despite the fact that Jews were previously
expelled from Spain.
“I was shocked when I found out about these
spies while doing my research on the yellow
badges,” said Cassen. “But through their Jewish
networks, the spies had very specific information
on both Italy and the Ottoman Empire, which was
at war with Spain. “In general I am interested in how the Jews
lived during this time. As a small minority under
Christian rule, they were subjected to a whole
series of religious and legal restrictions and
had an inferior status, but in spite of that,
they achieved remarkable success in building
communities and businesses, and developing a
rich culture. Their resourcefulness was very
impressive.” said Cassen.
Cassen previously was an assistant professor
at the University of Vermont and last academic
year she held a fellowship at Columbia University’s
Italian Academy, allowing her to pursue her
research full time. She holds a B.A. from the Free
University of Brussels, an M.A. from Brandeis
University and a Ph.D. in History and Judaic
Studies from New York University.
“I am delighted to join such a prestigious
university, and a history department that is so
impressive and collegial,” added Cassen. “The
reputation of the history department, combined
with the thriving Jewish Studies program, makes
it a true honor to be joining Carolina.”
The JMA and Sonja van der Horst Distinguished
Professorship was established by the children of the
late Johannes and Sonja van der Horst (Charles van
der Horst, Roger van der Horst, Jacqueline van der
Horst Sergent ’82, and Tatjana Schwendinger) with
reparation funds that were awarded to their mother.
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