Our current moment appears a propitious one for French Jewish history, though perhaps less so for Jews in France. The history of Jews in France is that of a deeply rooted minority. French Jews enjoyed the privilege, and burden, of being the first minority to navigate the demands of citizenship within a modern nation-state with adherence to a sense of cultural, religious, or social difference. French Jewish historians have recognized this fact and sought to demonstrate how the study of Jews can open a vista on the workings and the weaknesses of French republican politics and society. Many French Jewish historians, often originally trained as modern Europeanists and French historians, have approached their topic of study armed with the same methodological agendas and perspectives that drove their peers in European and French history. Yet the work of French Jewish historians has traditionally been perceived as siloed in the field of...
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