The Program in Jewish Studies offers an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the history, religion, and culture of the Jews over several millenia in the land of Israel and in diaspora communities in the Middle East, in eastern, western, and central Europe, and in the U.S. It offers courses at various levels to provide students broad entrée to the field as well as immersion in greater depth in selected areas, with emphasis in all courses on the critical skills required to understand Jewish experience, including relations with non-Jews, and Jewish expression: religious and political texts, philosophy, and literature.
Major. The Jewish Studies major consists of a minimum of 30 hours of core and elective courses. Majors select four courses from core (required) areas in Hebrew, JWST history and religion, and at least three additional courses in either JWST history or religion.
Core Courses. Students are required to take a two-semester Hebrew language sequence (either Classical or Modern Hebrew), and two additional courses from the five introductory JWST history and religion offerings listed below:
JWST 111 Classical Hebrew I and JWST 112 Classical Hebrew II, or
JWST 101 Modern Hebrew I and JWST 102 Modern Hebrew II;
JWST 131 Jewish History from Biblical Times to 1492,
JWST 132 Jewish History from the Spanish Expulsion to the Present,
JWST 150 Introduction to Judaism,
JWST 151 Modern Jewish Thought,
JWST 152 Medieval Jewish Thought: Law, Mysticism, and Philosophy.
JWST History or Religion concentration. Majors are urged to complete the four-course required sequence during their first two years of study. Majors are then required to choose a concentration in either Jewish history or Jewish religion and to take three additional courses in those areas from the program's offerings or, with the approval of the Program Director, equivalent courses offered elsewhere, up to the limit listed below. Majors with a concentration in Jewish history are required to select three additional JWST history courses, including a second semester of the required survey (JWST 131/132), if that was not taken to satisfy the core requirement, and at least one 300-level seminar. Majors with a concentration in Jewish religion are required to select three additional JWST religion courses, including JWST 150 and either JWST 151 or 152, if that was not taken to satisfy the core requirement, and at least one 300-level seminar. The student's major advisor and the Program Director must approve these three additional courses, insuring that the major attains both breadth and depth of study. Majors may also establish a concentration in one era of Jewish history, combining courses in history and religion, with the approval of JWST faculty and the Program Director.
Elective Courses. In addition, majors select three elective JWST courses, in consultation with their JWST advisor, to complete the required 30 hours. The program encourages use of Hebrew in more advanced courses and recommends that majors live in Johnson House, the Program House of Jewish Studies, where Hebrew language and text study and/or cultural programming are offered. The program encourages majors to pursue intensive study of Jewish languages (Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, Judeo-Arabic) in approved programs elsewhere, subject to the approval of the Program Director, and offers an award, open to competition by all students, for such study; see the Program Director for details. Normally, admission to 300-level courses will be open only to students who have taken the relevant introductory course (see list, above), or equivalent.
Minor. A minor in Jewish Studies consists of a minimum of 15 credit hours in JWST courses.
Note. All courses in Jewish history and Jewish religion are cross-listed with the departments of History and Religion, respectively, and also count for credit in those majors.
Honors. Qualified students wishing to do an advanced research project in JWST, working closely with an appropriate faculty member, are invited to apply for admission to the Honors Program for their seventh and eighth semesters. Students wishing to be considered for the Honors Program must consult the Program Director and submit a statement of the proposed topic and its methodology and bibliography (8-10 pages total), by April 15 of the student's sixth semester; late applications may be considered. Admission to the program and actual award of Honors will be determined by JWST faculty based on the student's academic record in JWST and overall, and the strength of the proposal and the finished product. Credit hours earned from the Honors Project should be beyond those required for the major. For further details, see the Program Director.
Transfer of Credit. Students may transfer up to 14 hours toward the major, or seven hours toward the minor, from accredited institutions, at the discretion of the Program Director. With the exception of Hebrew, such credits should be for specialized courses, rather than for courses equivalent to introductory courses required for the major/ minor.
A minimum grade of C– is required for any course to count for the major/minor.
FYSP 131. How Jews and Early Christians Rewrote the Bible
4 hours, 4HU, CD, WRi
Next offered 2006-2007.
FYSP 167. Who Was a Jew: Boundaries of Identity
4 hours, 4SS, CD, WRi
First Semester.
For description, please see "First-Year
Seminar Program" in this catalog. Enrollment Limit: 14.
Ms. Magnus
101. Modern Hebrew I
3 hours, 3HU, CD
First Semester.
This is a course in modern, conversational Hebrew, geared to beginners. It emphasizes basic vocabulary, grammar, and idiomatic expression in interactive classroom activities and through assigned exercises to develop students' aural and reading comprehension and basic spoken expression. Note: Registration open but admission and placement determined by the instructor. Enrollment Limit: 20.
Ms. Schafer
102. Modern Hebrew II
3 hours, 3HU, CD
Second Semester.
Modern, conversational Hebrew geared to upper level beginners who have successfully completed Hebrew 101 or its equivalent. Note: Registration open but admission and placement determined by the instructor. Enrollment Limit: 20.
Ms. Schafer
131. Jewish History from Biblical Antiquity to 1492:
Assertion, Perpetuation, and Survival
3 hours, 3SS, CD, WR
Next offered 2006-2007.
132. Jewish History from the Spanish Expulsion to the Present:
Shifting Paradigms of Existence and Identity
3 hours, 3SS, CD, WR
Next offered 2006-2007.
150. Introduction to Judaism
3 hours, 3HU, CD, WR
First Semester.
A theoretical introduction to Judaism as a religious system. Special attention will be paid to the historical development of the religion through interpretation of traditional texts and ritual practices. Identical to RELG 250. Enrollment Limit: 40.
Mr. Socher
151. Modern Jewish Thought
3 hours, 3HU, CD
Next offered in 2006-2007.
152. Medieval Jewish Thought: Law, Mysticism, and Philosophy
3 hours, 3HU, CD, WR
Second Semester.
An interpretive study of main trends in Jewish thought, from the 9th through the 16th centuries. The course will cover post-talmudic developments in Halacha (Jewish law); biblical exegesis; the competing theological systems of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) and philosophical rationalism; and inter-religious influence and polemics. Special attention will be paid throughout the course to the interpretation of ritual. Identical to RELG 252. Enrollment Limit: 35.
Mr. Socher
205. Hebrew Bible in its Ancient Near Eastern Context
3 hours, 3HU, CD
First Semester.
Identical to RELG 205. For description, please see "Religion" in this catalog. Enrollment Limit: 40.
Ms. Chapman
208. New Testament and Christian Origins
3 hours, 3HU, WR
Second Semester.
Identical to RELG 208. For description, please see " Religion" in this catalog. Enrollment Limit: 40.
Ms. Chapman
234. Good and Evil: Ethics and Decision Making in the Holocaust
3-4 hours, 3-4SS, CD, WR
Next offered 2006-2007.
235. East European Jewry: 1772-1939: Adaptation, Innovation, and Crisis
3 hours, 3SS, CD, WR
First Semester.
This course explores the transformation of East European Jewry from the partitions of Poland through the rise of the Soviet Union and the facsist regimes of interwar Poland. Studies include: the Musar and Jewish enlightenment movements; government Jewry policies and Jewish responses; economic and demographic change; Jewish nationalism, Jewish socialism; Jewish political parties and strategies; the birth of modern Hebrew and Yiddish literature; massive emigration; and Jewish strategies under overtly anti-Jewish regimes in the interwar period. Identical to HIST 235. Enrollment Limit: 40.
Ms. Magnus
237. Women in Jewish Society, Antiquity to Modernity
3 hours, 3SS, CD, WR
Second Semester.
Topics in Jewish women's history from antiquity to the 20th century, examining "normative" constructions of women's roles as well as social and cultural realities. Using biblical and rabbinic materials, medieval communal and personal documents, and women's letters, memoirs and rituals, this course explores gender roles and power relations between Jewish women and men; women's economic functions and power; women and traditional and modernized religion; responses to persecution; feminism. Identical to HIST 237. Enrollment Limit: 40.
Ms. Magnus
255. Theology, Science, and the Secularization of Europe: 1200-1800
3 hours, 1.5HU, 1.5SS, CD, WR This course examines claims about the secularization of Europe and European thought. We will also explore the impact of theology and science on conceptions of law, civil society and state power in the medieval and early modern periods. The course will be held in a mixed lecture-discussion format. Readings will include landmark historical reinterpretations of the period as well as primary historical sources. Identical to HIST 205 and RELG 255. Enrollment Limit: 45.
Mr. Miller, Mr. Socher
258. Introduction to the Talmud: Argument and Interpretation
3 hours, 3HU, CD, WR
Second Semester.
The Talmud is a sprawling multi-volume compendium of rigorous legal argument, ingenious and fanciful biblical interpretations, rabbinic anecdotes, jokes, and deep moral and theological investigations. Compiled between 200 and 600 CE, it has been the most important generative force in Jewish religion and culture for the following two millennia. Exemplary texts will be studied (in English translation) with an emphasis on developing students' skills in close reading and critical discussion. Identical to RELG 258. Enrollment Limit: 25.
Mr. Socher
303. Seminar: Anthropological Approaches to the Study of the
Bible Kinship and the Family in Ancient Israel
3 hours, 3HU, WR
Second Semester.
Identical to RELG 303. For description, please see "Religion" in this catalog. Enrollment Limit: 15.
Ms. Chapman
306. Germans and Jews
3-4 hours, 3-4SS, CD, WR
Second Semester.
This seminar focuses on how Jews in Germany, beginning in the late 18th century, constructed an identity that was both Jewish and German and on the tensions, creativity, hope—and some would argue—delusion, embodied in that stance. It looks at economic, political, religious, secular, social, family and intellectual trends, and the ways in which the case of the conspicuous Jewish minority sheds light on the history of modern Germany. Identical to HIST 306. Consent of the instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 15.
Ms. Magnus
307. Seminar: Jewish Memoirs and Memory: Writing Self and Society
3-4 hours, 3-4SS, CD, WR
Next offered 2006-2007.
353. Seminar: Moses Maimonides: Philosophy and Law
3 hours, 3HU, CD, WRi
Second Semester.
Moses Maimonides (1135-1204) is the pivotal thinker of the Jewish middle ages. He is the author of the most influential work of Jewish philosophy, The Guide of the Perplexed, and the most comprehensive code of Jewish law, the MishnehTorah. These works have engendered both controversy and commentary from the 12th century through the 20th century. This seminar will focus on selected Maimonidean texts together with classical commentaries and modern scholarship. All readings in English. Identical to RELG 353. Enrollment Limit: 12.
Mr. Socher
354. Seminar: Spinoza: Heresy and Modern Judaism
3 hours, 3HU, WR
Next offered 2006-2007.
500. Honors Project
1-3 hours, 1-3HU, CD
Majors who wish to pursue Honors in Jewish Studies during their final year should consult their Major Advisor and the Chair of the Jewish Studies Program; see further details regarding Honors Projects at the beginning of this section of the catalog. Projects sponsored by Ms. Magnus, Mr. Socher, or Ms. Chapman. Consent of instructor required.
995. Private Reading
1-3 hours, 1-3HU, CD
Projects sponsored by Ms. Magnus, Mr. Socher, or Ms. Chapman. Consent of instructor required.
