16.11.2024 – 04.10.2026
The exhibition has a look at the emergence of Oriental studies in the 19th century and highlights a surprising insight: the development of Islamic studies, Arabic studies and Oriental studies was closely linked to Jewish studies, emancipation and reform. The new Oriental studies were the scene of a Jewish search for their own origins: exploring the sources of their own culture and history with a self-determined view also served as an attempt to free themselves from the discriminatory stranglehold of Christian society. The fact that, from this perspective, Islam and the Arab world did not appear as hostile, exotic ‘others’ of Europe, but rather as a source of European culture, productively challenges many contemporary stereotypes, xenophobic ideas and postcolonial black-and-white thinking.
The Orientals
16.11.2024 – 04.10.2026
Jüdisches Museum Hohenems
Villa Heimann-Rosenthal
Schweizer Str. 5, 6845 Hohenems
www.jm-hohenems.at
