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Catalog HOME General Information College of Arts and Sciences   General guidelines   Degree Programs   Graduation Requirements   Major and Minor Study   Advising & Academic Standing   Grading   Transfer of Credit   Miscellaneous Information   Abbreviations Conservatory of Music Double-Degree Program Registrar's Office Jewish Studies The Program in Jewish Studies seeks to foster knowledge of the history, religion, and culture of the Jews. Interdisciplinary in nature, the program offers courses employing a variety of methodologies to examine a history of more than 3,000 years in the land of Israel and in diaspora communities around the world. It offers survey and specialized courses to provide students with broad knowledge of the field and immersion in greater depth in selected areas, with emphasis on the critical skills required to analyze Jewish experience (individual, family, community, society, relations with non-Jews), and Jewish expression (religious texts, thought, 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 select a two-semester Hebrew language sequence (either Classical or Modern Hebrew), and two additional courses from the four 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 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. Thus, 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 a second semester of the required religion survey (JWST 150/151), if that was not taken to satisfy the core requirement, and at least one 300-level seminar. The Program Director must approve these three additional courses, insuring that the major attains both breadth and depth of study. Elective Courses. In addition, majors select three elective JWST courses, in consultation with their JWST advisor, to complete the required 30 hours. The program especially encourages use of Hebrew in more advanced courses and recommends that majors live in Johnson House, the Program House of Jewish Studies, where non-credit Hebrew language and Hebrew text study and/or cultural programming is offered. The program encourages students to pursue intensive study of Jewish languages (Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, Judeo-Arabic) in approved programs elsewhere, subject to the approval of the Program Director. Minor. A minor in Jewish Studies consists of a minimum of 15 credit hours in JWST courses. 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 Director of the Program in their sixth semester and submit a statement of the proposed topic and its methodology (7-10 pp.), as well as a bibliography (2 pp.), by spring break of the student's sixth semester. Admission to the program and actual award of Honors will be determined by JWST faculty based on the student's level of proficiency and academic record in JWST and overall, and the strength and suitability of the proposal and of 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 and at the discretion of the Director of the Program. 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. FYSP 131. How Early Jews and Christians Rewrote the Bible 3 hours 3HU, CD, WRi First Semester. For description, please see "First-Year Seminar Program" in this catalog. Enrollment Limit: 14. Mr. Socher FYSP 167. Who Was a Jew: Boundaries of Identity 3 hours 3SS, CD, WRi Next offered 2005-2006. 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. Notes: Registration open. Level 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. Notes: Registration open. Admission and placement determined by the instructor. Enrollment Limit: 20. Ms. Schafer 131. Jewish History from Biblical Antiquity to 1492 3 hours 3SS, CD, WR First Semester. Survey of Jewish history from biblical origins through the medieval period in Christian and Islamic realms until 1492. Covers biblical society and its literary expression; Hellenistic and Roman rule; the emergence and development of rabbinic Judaism; Jewish sects, including early Christianity; religious and political attitudes and behavior toward non-Jews; the Jewish community and family; the Crusades; the Spanish and other expulsions; medieval Jew-hatred; and Jewish responses. Identical to HIST 131. Enrollment Limit: 45. Ms. Magnus 132. Jewish History from the Spanish Expulsion to the Present 3 hours 3SS, CD, WR Second Semester. Survey of Jewish history from 1492 to the present, focusing on the challenges of modernity and Jewish responses. Covers the shattering of traditional society and the emergence of Jewish modernity in the experience of Marranos, mystics, messiahs, secular Jews and religious reformers; Hasidism and neo-traditionalists; the struggle for 'emancipation;' socio-economic transformation; assimilation and cultural revival; modern antisemitism and Jewish responses; Zionism and other forms of Jewish nationalism, Jewish socialism; the Shoah; the State of Israel; and American Jewry. Identical to HIST 132. Enrollment Limit: 45. Ms. Magnus 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 Second Semester. An interpretive study of key figures and movements in modern Jewish thought, from the 17th to the 20th century. Central topics to be examined include the ideologies of the modern movements (Reform, Conservative, Orthodox), challenges to the veracity of biblical texts, authority of rabbinic tradition, and the place of the Jew and Judaism in an enlightened secular society. Thinkers to be studied include Spinoza, Mendelssohn, the Baal Shem Tov, Marx, Herzl, Kook, Buber, Soloveitchik, and Heschel. Identical to RELG 251. Enrollment Limit: 40. Mr. Socher 202. The Nature of Suffering: The Book of Job and its History of Interpretation 3 hours 3HU, CD, WR Second Semester. This course will focus on the biblical book of Job as a piece of ancient religious literature that has fostered centuries of theological and existential questioning on the nature of divine justice and activity in the world, the meaning of suffering, and the existence of evil. The course will first consider Job in its ancient Israelite context as it spoke to a conquered and exiled "people of God." Secondarily, the course will introduce Jewish and Christian interpretations of the book as these interpretations evolved through history addressing different contexts of human alienation and suffering. Identical to RELG 202. Enrollment Limit: 35. Ms. Chapman 205. Hebrew Bible and 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 234. Good and Evil: Ethics and Decision Making in the Holocaust 3-4 hours 3-4SS, CD, WR Second Semester. This course focuses on the decision making of five groups: German civilians, Jews, allies, churches, rescuers, and bystanders during the Nazi era; on the often unconscious value judgments that we bring to the study of this subject; and the basis for expectation that individuals, groups, or governments behave ethically in extreme situations. Aside from readings, some films and possible lectures by outside specialists will be required. Previous historical study of the Holocaust strongly recommended. Identical to HIST 234. Enrollment Limit: 25. Ms. Magnus 237. Women in Jewish Society, Antiquity to Modernity 3 hours 3SS, CD, WR Next offered 2005-2006. 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 Next offered 2005-2006. 306. Germans and Jews 3 hours 3SS, CD, WR Next offered 2005-2006. 307. Seminar: Jewish Memoirs and Memory: Writing the Self in Jewish Society 3-4 hours 3-4SS, CD, WR First Semester. Explores cultivation of memory in Jewish tradition and the emergence of a genre of writing about the self in a culture that emphasizes the collectivity. Readings about memory and writing and selected memoirs from early Jewish modernity to the present, looking at motivation for writing; intended and actual audience; the role of gender and class in memory and writing; the relationship between personal and collective identity and experience; and memoirs as sources of Jewish history. Note: Some prior study of Jewish history (HIST 131 or 132 or equivalent) recommended. Identical to HIST 307. Consent of the instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 15. Ms. Magnus 338. Seminar: Biblical History and Historiography: The Book of Isaiah, its Canonical Legacy and the Shaping of National Memory 3 hours 3HU, WR Second Semester. Identical to RELG 338. For description, please see "Religion" in this catalog. Enrollment Limit: 15. Ms. Chapman 353. Seminar: Moses Maimonides: Philosophy and Law 3 hours 3HU, CD, WRi Next offered in 2005-2006. 354. Seminar: Spinoza: Heresy and Modern Judaism 3 hours 3HU, WR Second Semester. The great modern philosopher and bible critic Baruch Spinoza (1632-77) was excommunicated by the Jewish community of Amsterdam and is often described as the first modern or secular Jew. This seminar will examine Spinoza's writings, especially the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus, and writings about Spinoza. It will focus not only on Spinoza's life and thought but the way in which he anticipated some of the central issues of Jewish modernity, such as the authority of religious tradition and the question of Jewish identity in the modern state. Identical to RELG 354. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 15. Mr. Socher 500. Honors Project 1-3 hours 1-3HU, CD Students 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.