Jewish Studies

For beginning students and those with rudimentary training in Hebrew. The course stresses reading, writing, and speaking by involving students in situations that concretely express the concepts of the language.

Credits: 4

A continuation of HEB 1010. Students increase their fluency and confidence in comprehension through discussions of simple stories and increased grammar drill. Situations are presented and discussed in Hebrew.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: HEB1010

An exploration of the relationship between Judaism and other religions and cultures in the ancient Mediterranean world. Students will study the historical development of and religious innovation within Judaism in the context of intercultural and interreligious contact in the Greco-Roman period

Credits: 4

Explores the ancient civilizations of the Middle East, including those of Egypt, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran. Students examine cultural, social, and political movements using texts as well as archaeology as sources.

Credits: 4

Examines how early Jewish interactions with various cultures affected the development of Judaism. Interactions with Mesopotamian, Greek, Roman, Christian, and Muslim cultures are explored. Topics include conflicts with external powers, exile, and diaspora.

Credits: 4

An exploration of the many religious cults that populated the ancient world from Greece to Egypt to the near East. Students will study the history and development of counter-cultural movements like the Greek cults of Asclepios and Isis, the Jewish sect of Essenes, the messianic Jesus movement, and Roman Mithraism. Students will also examine the distinction between a “religion” and a “cult”.

Credits: 4

Students will learn about the place and development of music in Jewish culture and liturgy from ancient times to the modern, with a particular focus on Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, and New York. The course will discuss Ashkenazi and Sephardic compositions, male and female composers, important genres and styles within classical music, and exchanges with Christian culture in each era.

Credits: 4

How was the Holocaust possible in the 20th century? This course responds to the question by examining specific issues: German anti-Semitism; Hitler’s rise to power; the genocide process; responses to Nazism and the news of the Holocaust in Jewish and international communities; resistance and collaboration; and theological and moral questions.

Credits: 4

Considers the profound influence Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have exerted on the social, cultural, and political history of the East and the West. This course examines the historical developments, tenets, and scriptures of the three religions.

Credits: 3

Examines the relationships among Jews, Muslims and Christians in North Africa and the Middle East in the period of British and French colonialism. From Morocco to Egypt to Lebanon, explore first-person memories of shared food, music, languages, and religious practices that emerged from centuries of migration. The course also examines the conclusion of the colonial era.

Credits: 4

Explores the history of American Jewry from its beginnings to the present, touching on such topics as integration into American society, formation of Jewish identity, anti-Semitism, evolving religious traditions, cultural clashes, cultural issues involving various waves of immigration, the evolving role of women, Jews and entertainment, and economic and political issues.

Credits: 4

Survey the approaches to various important religious questions and practices within Ancient Judaism and Christianity. Particular attention devoted to the Jewish roots of Christianity and the assimilation of Jewish faith practice into the Early Christian movement. We also examine the historical and ongoing relationship between the two faith systems.

Credits: 4

An exploration of the peoples, religions, cultures, places, and monuments of the land of Israel. Home to three major world religions, the land has been embraced, fought over, and conquered repeatedly throughout history. Why? Students explore the reasons for Israel’s prominence and discover how its position and importance in the worldview is constantly being reinvented.

Credits: 4

The historicity of the Hebrew Bible is explored, from the protohistory of the Israelites as related through the Pentateuch and early prophetic works, through the period of the Monarchies, to the 6th-century B.C. exile, the birth of early Judaism, and the books of prophets and writings. Issues relating to historiography and biblical criticism are essential elements in this course.

Credits: 4

Explores important works of ancient literature in conversation with important Enlightenment texts and ideas. Students will read selections from the Bible and Greek literature and study the reception of their ideas and ideals in the work and thought of prominent Enlightenment authors.

Credits: 4

The historical relationship of Judaism and Christianity and the encounter of the Jewish and Christian communities from ancient to contemporary times are examined. Topics include the split between the two religions in late antiquity, medieval disputations, and the challenges of the modern period. Students also examine the varying ways in which texts can be interpreted.

Credits: 4

Explores the relationship between politics and archaeology. Topics include who owns antiquities; fakes, forgeries, and the manipulating of history; presentations of archaeology to the public; buying, selling, and auctioning of antiquities; and archaeology in wartime. The geographic range of topics includes Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Syria, and other countries in region, as well as Greece and Rome.

Credits: 4

Jews, Christians, and Muslims each have their own scriptures, but also share stories, traditions, and ideas in common. Students explore this relationship through examination of important examples of biblical commentary and interreligious dialogue in the late ancient and early medieval periods.

Credits: 4

Critics agree that the world of the concentration camps and ghettoes is impossible to duplicate on stage. Despite serious aesthetic and practical constraints, playwrights in Europe, Israel, and America have, for the last five decades, created a diverse group of plays dealing with this unprecedented 20th-century event. Works examined in class include documentary dramas, realistic reenactments, absurdist plays, a comedy, and a standup routine.

Credits: 4

Beginning as a response to the immigrant experience, writing by American Jews emerged as a central literary presence and the inspiration for important films. This course traces the evolution from early writers such as Abraham Cahan and Anzia Yezierska, through major figures such as Saul Bellow, Bernard Malamud, Philip Roth, and I.B. Singer, to their contemporaries and heirs, including Stanley Elkin, Joseph Heller, Cynthia Ozick, and Grace Paley.

Credits: 4

Explores a variety of literary and cinematic works that depict the conflicting points of view and the varied interests of contemporary Israeli and Arab writers and filmmakers. Students learn the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict and then explore a variety of issues relating to it by reading the work of Amos Oz, David Grossman, Mahmood Darwish, and others. Films include Paradise Now (Hany Abu-Assad, 2005) and Lemon Tree (Eran Riklis, 2008).

Credits: 4

Focuses on a variety of writings (memoirs, letters, fiction, poetry), theatre, and films depicting the Yiddish world of the Lower East Side, home to more than two million Eastern European Jewish immigrants between 1880 and 1920. Readings include selections from the work of a variety of authors, from Yiddish newspapers, films, and other cultural materials.

Credits: 4

Examines philosophers’ efforts to rethink fundamental ethical, legal, and political issues in the wake of total war and totalitarian domination in Europe between 1914 and 1945. Focusing on Arendt’s Eichmann in Jerusalem, questions about resistance, complicity, guilt, and punishment become central. Additional texts are selected from Jaspers, Beauvoir, Sartre, Foucault, Derrida, Levinas, Adorno, and Butler.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: PHI1515 Or PHI2110 Or PHI3212