The dissertation examines how Jewish figures in early modern plays, prose, and poetry moved beyond the uncomplicated medieval image of murderous villain and towards a more reasoned consideration of the Jew's position in Christianity as well as in English life. While there has been significant scholarship on early modern representations of Jews, particularly in drama, these studies have not examined how Paul's Letter to the Romans, in forming much of Reformation doctrine, was also crucial in forming attitudes towards and representations of literary and living Jews. My project uniquely combines history, biblical studies, and literary analysis to reveal how early modern treatment of Jews and Judaism were inextricably tied to Reformation theology which was grounded in Romans. This new perspective shifts the discourse away from the question of whether or not there was early modern anti-Semitism, and toward a more nuanced reading of the ideologies and evidence that motivated these representations and behaviors. Inherently interdisciplinary, my dissertation is informed by the ways in which the humanities (history, religious studies, language, literature and the arts) converge to become the driving force behind human interactions.
","abstract_html":"<p>The dissertation examines how Jewish figures in early modern plays, prose, and poetry moved beyond the uncomplicated medieval image of murderous villain and towards a more reasoned consideration of the Jew's position in Christianity as well as in English life. While there has been significant scholarship on early modern representations of Jews, particularly in drama, these studies have not examined how Paul's Letter to the Romans, in forming much of Reformation doctrine, was also crucial in forming attitudes towards and representations of literary and living Jews. My project uniquely combines history, biblical studies, and literary analysis to reveal how early modern treatment of Jews and Judaism were inextricably tied to Reformation theology which was grounded in Romans. This new perspective shifts the discourse away from the question of whether or not there was early modern anti-Semitism, and toward a more nuanced reading of the ideologies and evidence that motivated these representations and behaviors. Inherently interdisciplinary, my dissertation is informed by the ways in which the humanities (history, religious studies, language, literature and the arts) converge to become the driving force behind human interactions.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Wedes, Joan Blackwell"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Open Access Dissertation","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Simone R. Chess"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:59:39Z","subjects":["Christianity","Early Modern English Literature","Judaica","Paul's Letter to the Romans","Plays","Shakespeare","English Language and Literature","History of Religion","Jewish Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/1000","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Simone R. Chess"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Wedes, Joan Blackwell"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Christianity","Early Modern English Literature","Judaica","Paul's Letter to the Romans","Plays","Shakespeare","English Language and Literature","History of Religion","Jewish Studies"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/1000"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The dissertation examines how Jewish figures in early modern plays, prose, and poetry moved beyond the uncomplicated medieval image of murderous villain and towards a more reasoned consideration of the Jew's position in Christianity as well as in English life. While there has been significant scholarship on early modern representations of Jews, particularly in drama, these studies have not examined how Paul's Letter to the Romans, in forming much of Reformation doctrine, was also crucial in forming attitudes towards and representations of literary and living Jews. My project uniquely combines history, biblical studies, and literary analysis to reveal how early modern treatment of Jews and Judaism were inextricably tied to Reformation theology which was grounded in Romans. This new perspective shifts the discourse away from the question of whether or not there was early modern anti-Semitism, and toward a more nuanced reading of the ideologies and evidence that motivated these representations and behaviors. Inherently interdisciplinary, my dissertation is informed by the ways in which the humanities (history, religious studies, language, literature and the arts) converge to become the driving force behind human interactions.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Grafting Onto `the Jew': The Importance Of Being Jew-Ish To Early Modern English Christian Identity"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Simone R. Chess"],"dc:creator":["Wedes, Joan Blackwell"],"dc:date.available":["2014-01-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The dissertation examines how Jewish figures in early modern plays, prose, and poetry moved beyond the uncomplicated medieval image of murderous villain and towards a more reasoned consideration of the Jew's position in Christianity as well as in English life. While there has been significant scholarship on early modern representations of Jews, particularly in drama, these studies have not examined how Paul's Letter to the Romans, in forming much of Reformation doctrine, was also crucial in forming attitudes towards and representations of literary and living Jews. My project uniquely combines history, biblical studies, and literary analysis to reveal how early modern treatment of Jews and Judaism were inextricably tied to Reformation theology which was grounded in Romans. This new perspective shifts the discourse away from the question of whether or not there was early modern anti-Semitism, and toward a more nuanced reading of the ideologies and evidence that motivated these representations and behaviors. Inherently interdisciplinary, my dissertation is informed by the ways in which the humanities (history, religious studies, language, literature and the arts) converge to become the driving force behind human interactions.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/1000"],"dc:subject":["Christianity","Early Modern English Literature","Judaica","Paul's Letter to the Romans","Plays","Shakespeare","English Language and Literature","History of Religion","Jewish Studies"],"dc:title":["Grafting Onto `the Jew': The Importance Of Being Jew-Ish To Early Modern English Christian Identity"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:59:39Z"}