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100 Level Courses (Top)
JWST 121 Jewish Civilization (3) Also offered as HIST126. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: JWST121 or HIST126. Jewish history, culture and society from Biblical times to the present.
JWST 141 American Jewish Experience (3) Also offered as HIST106. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: JWST141 or HIST106. History of the Jews in America from Colonial times to the present. Emphasis on the waves of migration from Germany and Eastern Europe; the changing nature of the American Jewish community and its participation in American social, economic, and political life.
200 Level Courses (Top)
JWST 219 Special Topics in Jewish Studies (3) Repeatable to 9 credits if content differs.
JWST 227 Reconstructing the Civilization of Ancient Mesopotamia (3) Also offered as HIST280. Not open to students who have completed HEBR440. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: JWST227 or HIST280. Formerly HEBR440. History and culture of Ancient Mesopotamia, as reconstructed from archeology, language, and texts of the region. Emphasis on culture, literature, religion, and institutions.
JWST 230 Introduction to the Rabbinic Movement: History and Culture (3) Also offered as HIST281. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: JWST230 or HIST281. The emergence of the Rabbinic movement after the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE through the 7th Century CE. The essential texts of ancient rabbinic literature.
JWST 231 Jewish Texts and Cultures of the Second Temple Period (3) Credit will be granted for only one of the following: JWST231, JWST219C (Fall 2005), JWST219F (Fall 1998), HIST219C (Fall 2005), or HIST219D (Fall 1998). An introduction to the literature, history, and culture of Jews in the period between the sixth century BCE and the second century CE. Special topics may include the rise of the formation of the biblical canon, scriptural interpretation, sectarian and revolutionary movements, and growth of the diaspora.
JWST 234 History of the Jewish People I (3) Also offered as HIST282. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: JWST234 or HIST282. Political, economic, social, and cultural development within Jewish history from the Biblical period to the late Middle Ages. Special attention to the emergence of Rabbinic Judaism and its subsequent encounter with medieval Christian and Islamic civilizations.
JWST 235 History of the Jewish People II (3) Credit will be granted for only one of the following: HIST283, HIST283H, JWST235, or JWST235H. Political, economic, social and cultural development within Jewish history from the end of the Middle Ages to the present. Special attention to the twentieth century developments including the Nazi Holocaust and its aftermath, the Zionist movement and the creation of the State of Israel, and the rise of the contemporary American-Jewish community.
JWST 250 Fundamental Concepts of Judaism (3) Also offered as PHIL234. Not open to students who have completed PHIL234. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: JWST250 or PHIL234. A conceptional introduction to Judaism, analyzing its fundamental concepts from both analytical and historical perspectives. Discussion of "normative" Judaism as well as other conceptions of Judaism. Topics include: God, the Jewish people, authority, ethics, the sacred and the profane, particularism and universalism.
JWST 251 Authority, Faith, and Reason in Judaism (3) Also offered as PHIL235. Not open to students who have completed PHIL235 or HEBR298J. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: JWST251 or PHIL235. A broad survey of the concepts of authority, faith, and reason in Jewish tradition from the Bible to the modern period, and their interrelationships.
JWST 260 Introduction to Classical Hebrew I (3) Prerequisite: HEBR111 or equivalent. Also offered as HEBR298A. Not open to students who have completed HEBR401. Formerly HEBR401. Readings of the Bible and other classical texts in original Hebrew. Emphasis on classical grammar and vocabulary, and reading of textual passages.
JWST 261 Introduction to Classical Hebrew II (3) Prerequisite: JWST260 or permission of department. Also offered as HEBR298B. Not open to students who have completed HEBR402. Formerly HEBR402. Continuation of JWST 260. Readings in the Bible and other classical texts in original Hebrew. Emphasis on classical grammar and vocabulary, and reading of textual passages.
JWST 262 The Hebrew Bible: Narrative (3) Also offered as ENGL262. Not open to students who have completed HEBR223. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: JWST262 or ENGL262. Formerly HEBR223. Selected readings from narrative sections of the Hebrew Bible stressing the new literary approaches to the biblical text. In English; no knowledge of Hebrew required.
JWST 263 Hebrew Bible: Poetry and Prophecy (3) Also offered as ENGL263. Not open to students who have completed HEBR224. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: JWST263 or ENGL263. Formerly HEBR224. Readings of poetic and prophetic selections from the Hebrew Bible. Analysis of devices and their rhetorical effect. Comparison of biblical poetry with other poetry of the ancient Near East. In English; no Hebrew required.
JWST 270 Fantasy and Supernatural in Jewish Literature (3) Two hours of lecture and one hour of discussion/recitation per week. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: HONR219O, JWST219O, or JWST270. Formerly JWST219O. An examination of Jewish fantastical and supernatural literature from ancient to modern times, tracing how such stories have addressed essential questions of good and evil, power and powerlessness within a Jewish framework. Topics include intersections of Jewish and non-Jewish cultures.
JWST 272 Introduction to Jewish Literature (3) Not open to students who have completed HEBR231. Formerly HEBR231. A survey of Jewish literature and introduction to methods of reading literature in general and Jewish literature in particular. Concern with what makes a literary corpus Jewish and other issues of canonicity. All texts in English translation.
JWST 275 The Jew and the City through the Centuries (3) Also offered as HIST286. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: HIST286 or JWST275. Jewish urban experience from ancient times to the present. Public space and private. The city and the sacred. Jewish ghettos and quarters. The struggle over modern Jerusalem.
JWST 281 Yiddish I (3) Also offered as GERM148Y. Not open to students who have completed GERM148Y. Introduction to the Yiddish language, with emphasis on speaking, reading, and writing skills. Students will also learn the history of the language, its significance to Jewish culture, its origins and basic structure.
JWST 282 Elementary Yiddish II (3) Prerequisite: JWST281 or GERM148Y or permission of department. Also offered as GERM149Y. Not open to students who have completed GERM149Y. Continuation of JWST281.
JWST 283 Intensive Elementary Yiddish I (4) Not open to students who have completed GERM149Y or JWST282. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: GERM149y, JWST282 or JWST283. An intensive introduction to the Yiddish language. Course covers one year of language instruction in one semester.
JWST 298 Elementary/Introductory Language Module for Jewish Studies (1-3) Prerequisite: HEBR212, JWST282 or permission of department. Repeatable to 9 credits if content differs. A supplementary language module for students enrolled in designated Jewish Studies classes. Language of instruction English, texts in original language.
300 Level Courses (Top)
JWST 304 Critical Approaches to Israeli Culture (3) Formerly:JWST419B and JWST419K. Also offered as HEBR498L. An examination of the intersections of literature, society, philosophy, and politics in the making of modern Israeli culture. Special attention will be paid to the Zionist emphasis on making "new" Jews and its implications when expressed in literature and society.
JWST 319 Special Topics in Jewish Studies (1-6) May be repeated to a maximum of 12 credits. Topics in Jewish Studies.
JWST 324 Biblical History and Culture (3) Also offered as HIST321. Not open to students who have completed HEBR333 or HIST321. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: JWST324 or HEBR333 or HIST321. Formerly HEBR333. Study of the political, social, and religious development of the Jewish nation from its inception to its return from exile in Babylonia around 536 C.E. Focus on biblical texts, archeological finds, and source materials from neighboring cultures to reconstruct political history and the development of religious concepts.
JWST 325 Jews and Judaism in Antiquity I: Sixth Century BCE through thenFirst Century CE (3) Also offered as HIST370. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: JWST325 or HIST370. Political, social, and religious history of the Jews from the Persian Period to the Judean Revolt of 66-70CE. Special attention to the rise of sectarian and revolutionary movements.
JWST 326 Jews and Judaism in Antiquity II: First through Seventh Centuries (3) Also offered as HIST371. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: JWST326 or HIST371. Political, social, and religious history of the Jews from the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE to the Muslim conquests. Special attention to the political transformations in Judaism under late Roman Christianity, and the rise of the Rabbinic movement.
JWST 331 Early Christianity: Jesus to Constantine (3) Also offered as HIST320. Not open to students who have completed HIST320. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: JWST331 or HIST320. Social and religious history of early Christianity from its origin in the first century to the reign of Constantine.
JWST 333 Jews in Early Modern Times 1450-1750 (3) Recommended: HIST282/JWST234. Also offered as HIST373. Not open to students who have completed HIST418C/JWST419C (Fall 2006, Fall 2004) or HIST419C/JWST419Y (Spring 2001). Credit will be granted for only one of the following: JWST333, HIST373, HIST418C/JWST419C (Fall 2006, Fall 2004) or HIST419C/JWST419Y (Spring 2001). Formerly JWST419C. Emergence of new powerful population centers, religious and cultural creativity, new forms of community, and radical messianic movements.
JWST 342 History of Zionism and the State of Israel (3) Also offered as HIST376. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: JWST342 or HIST376. Ideological and political factors leading to the establishment of a secular Jewish state in 1948; Zionist thought of Herzl, Ahad Haam, the socialist and religious Zionists, and the revisionists; diplomatic activities; Arab-Israel conflict; post-1948 Israeli society.
JWST 343 Modern Jewish History I: The Road to Emancipation, 1650-1870 (3) Also offered as HIST374. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: JWST343 or HIST374. Social, political, economic, and cultural change in the Jewish world since 1650. Emphasis on emancipation, assimilation, and new forms of Jewish identity in Western and Eastern European Jewry from the 17th to the 20th centuries.
JWST 344 Modern Jewish History II: World Jewry Since 1870 (3) Also offered as HIST375. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: JWST344 or HIST375. Continuation of JWST343: Social, political, economic, and cultural change in the Jewish world since 1870. Emphasis on emancipation, assimilation, and new forms of Jewish identity in Western and Eastern European Jewry from the 19th Century to the present.
JWST 345 The Holocaust of European Jewry (3) Also offered as HIST307. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: JWST345 or HIST307. Roots of Nazi Jewish policy in the 1930s and during World War II: the process of destruction and the implementation of the "final solution of the Jewish problem" in Europe, and the responses made by the Jews to their concentration and annihilation.
JWST 376 Literature of the Holocaust (3) An exploration of the primary texts of the literary canon of the Holocaust: Night by Elie Wiesel, The Diary of Anne Frank, Maus by Art Spiegelman, and other lesser known works. Exploration of the strategies used by authors of Holocaust narratives to depict a subject matter that has long been considered impossible, and to some extent, unethical to render in a work of art.
JWST 381 Introduction to Hebrew Cultural Studies (3) Prerequisite: HEBR314 or permission of instructor. Not open to students who have completed HEBR381. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: HEBR381 or JWST381. Critical study of Israeli culture with special emphasis or literature film, and art as sites of struggle over political and social meaning during times of cultural transformation in Israel. Topics will focus on the historical development of Israeli identity and gender, in particular within the military and Zionist youth movements. Taught in Hebrew.
JWST 382 Israeli Media (3) Prerequisite: HEBR314 or permission of instructor. Also offered as HEBR382. Not open to students who have completed HEBR382. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: HEBR382 or JWST382. Examines various media genres in Israeli today: print news, magazines, television and radio news, print and video advertising, the internet, popular music on CD and the radio, video art and film and the self-representation of Israeli society and the interaction between media and society and culture. Taught in Hebrew.
400 Level Courses (Top)
JWST 408 Honors Seminar in Jewish Studies (3) Prerequisite: permission of department. Junior standing. An in-depth exploration of a theme in Jewish history, literature, culture or thought. Course subject and readings will vary from year to year, but will generally cut across periods, locations, or disciplines. Students are expected to engage the course material critically and to use the seminar as an opportunity to develop an independent research agenda.
JWST 409 Research Seminar in Jewish Studies (3-4) Prerequisite: two upper-level courses in an appropriate area of Jewish Studies or permission of department. Repeatable to 9 credits if content differs. Formerly JWST309. A capstone course for Jewish Studies. Guides students through advanced source material and subject matter, research skills, and presentation techniques. A substantive paper based on independent research and analysis is one expected outcome.
JWST 419 Special Topics in Jewish Studies (3) Repeatable to 9 credits if content differs.
JWST 451 Issues in Jewish Ethics and Law (3) Prerequisite: three credits in philosophy or Jewish studies (excluding Hebrew language), or permission of department. Also offered as PHIL433. Not open to students who have completed PHIL433 or HEBR451. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: PHIL433 or JWST451 or HEBR451. Formerly HEBR451. Philosophical and meta-legal questions concerning the nature of Jewish law and its relation to morality.
JWST 452 The Golden Age of Jewish Philosophy (3) Prerequisite: three credits in philosophy or permission of department. Also offered as PHIL417. Not open to students who have completed PHIL417. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: JWST452 or PHIL417. Jewish philosophy from Maimonides in the 12th Century to the expulsion of the Jews from Spain at the end of the 15th Century. Topics include the limitations of human knowledge, creation of the world, foreknowledge and free will, and the existence of God.
JWST 453 Philosophy of Spinoza (3) Prerequisite: six credits in philosophy or permission of department. Also offered as PHIL424. Not open to students who have completed PHIL424. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: JWST453 or PHIL424. An investigation of the metaphysical, ethical, and political thought of the 17th century philosopher Benedict Spinoza.
JWST 459 Readings in Medieval Hebrew (3-4) Prerequisite: HEBR313 or permission of instructor. Repeatable to 9 credits if content differs. Not open to students who have completed JWST466. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: JWST459_ or JWST466. Formerly JWST466. Readings and analysis of Hebrew texts and literature from the Middle Ages. Language of instruction in English; all texts in Hebrew.
JWST 468 Readings in the Hebrew Bible (3-4) Prerequisite: HEBR313 or permission of instructor. Formerly HEBR441 and HEBR442. Repeatable to 9 credits if content differs. Readings in the Hebrew text of the Bible. Emphasis in close reading, grammar analysis, and modern interpretations of the Bible. Language of instruction English; all texts in Hebrew.
JWST 469 Readings in Rabbinic Hebrew (3-4) Prerequisite: HEBR313 or permission of instructor. Repeatable to 9 credits if content differs. Readings in classical rabbinic texts and related corpora. Emphasis on grammar and reading skills as well as critical analysis of the material. Language of instruction: English; all texts in original language.
JWST 471 Modern Hebrew Literature in Translation (3) An exploration of modern Hebrew prose, poetry, and literary essays written from the 1880s through the present in Europe, Palestine, and Israel. An investigation of the challenges confronting authors such as Mendele Mokher Sforim, Avraham Mapu, Chaim Nahman Bialik, Dvorah Baron, S.Y. Agnon, and David Fogel as they tried to create a contemporary secular literature out of an ancient sacred language. All texts in English translation.
JWST 478 Readings in Modern Hebrew (3) Prerequisite: HEBR313 or permission of instructor. Junior standing. Repeatable to 12 credits if content differs. Variable topics in Modern Hebrew Literature.
JWST 491 Judaism and the Construction of Gender (3) Also offered as WMST491. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: JWST419X, JWST491 or WMST491. Formerly JWST419X. The study of Jewish culture, religious practice, communal authority, and literature through the frame of such critical categories of analysis as gender, sexuality, masculinity, power, ethics, and the feminine.
JWST 493 Jewish Women in International Perspective (3) Prerequisite: one course in Women's Studies, preferably WMST200 or WMST250. Also offered as WMST493. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: JWST493 or WMST493. Using memoirs, essays, poetry, short stories, films, music and the visual arts, course will interrogate what it means/has meant to define oneself as a Jewish woman across lines of difference. Focus is largely on the secular dimensions of Jewish women's lives but will also explore the implications of Jewish law and religious practices for Jewish women. Our perspective will be international, including Ashkenazi and Sephardi women.
JWST 498 Advanced Language Module for Jewish Studies (1-3) Prerequisite: HEBR212, JWST282, or permission of department. A supplementary language module for students enrolled in designated Jewish Studies classes. Language of instruction English, texts in original language.
JWST 499 Independent Study in Jewish Studies (1-3) Prerequisite: permission of department. Repeatable to 6 credits if content differs.
Graduate Level Courses (Top)
JWST 600 General Seminar in Jewish Studies (3 credits)
Introduce graduate students to the fields, problems, and basic methods of research in the comtemporary practice of Jewish Studies. Consideration of chronological and historiographical problems, questions of the development of Jewish thought and literature and Jewish religious and cultural history in four rough chronological periods: Biblical Israel, Judaism in Antiquity, Judaism in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period, and Modern Judaism.
JWST 609 Supervised Instruction-Practicum in Jewish Studies (1 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of department.
Supervised instruction or supervised practicum in Jewish Studies. Intended for graduate students whose course work includes field work or classroom teaching.
JWST 619 Directed Readings in Jewish Studies (3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of department. Repeatable to 12 credits if content differs.
Independent Study in Jewish Studies. Readings and papers.
JWST 648 Readings in Jewish History (3 credits)
Repeatable to 09 credits if content differs.
Focus on the central issues in Jewish history as well as the key historiographical debates on those issues.
JWST 658 Readings in Jewish Thought and Culture (3 credits)
Repeatable to 09 credits if content differs.
Examines key issues in the development of Jewish thought and culture.
JWST 678 Readings in Jewish Literature (3 credits)
Repeatable to 09 credits if content differs.
Examines selected themes or literatures in the development of Jewish literary traditions.
JWST 699 Independent Graduate Readings in Jewish Studies (1-3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of department. Repeatable to 12 credits if content differs.
Independent readings or guided research in a field of Jewish Studies with a member of the Jewish Studies graduate faculty.
JWST 719 Readings in Jewish Studies (3 credits)
Repeatable to any number of credits if content differs.
Course exposes students to significant primary and secondary material on selected topics as well as the major methodological problems covered by professional scholars working on these topics.
JWST 799 Masters Thesis Research (1-6 credits)
Repeatable to 6 credits.
Research and Writing the Masters Thesis in Jewish Studies.
Hebrew Courses (Top)
HEBR 111 Elementary Hebrew I (6) Six hours of discussion/recitation per week. Modern Israeli Hebrew. Emphasis on conversation. Study of linguistic structure and development of audio-lingual, writing and reading ability.
HEBR 112 Elementary Hebrew II (6) Six hours of discussion/recitation per week. Prerequisite: HEBR111 or equivalent. Continuation of HEBR 111.
HEBR 199 Special Topics in Hebrew (3) Prerequisite: permission of department. Repeatable to 9 credits if content differs. Topics in language, literature, and culture. Varies by semester and instructor.
HEBR 211 Intermediate Hebrew I (6) Six hours of discussion/recitation per week. Prerequisite: HEBR112 or equivalent. Study of linguistic structure, further development of audio-lingual, reading, writing, and speaking skills. Reading of texts and newspapers designed to give some knowledge of Hebrew life, thought and culture.
HEBR 212 Intermediate Hebrew II (6) Six hours of discussion/recitation per week. Prerequisite: HEBR211 or permission of department. Continuation of HEBR211.
HEBR 298 Special Topics in Jewish Studies (3) Repeatable to 6 credits if content differs.
HEBR 313 Conversation and Composition I (3) Prerequisite: HEBR212 or equivalent. A practical language course recommended for all students continuing with Hebrew. Review of grammar and composition. Selected readings. Oral and written exercises.
HEBR 314 Conversation and Composition II (3) Prerequisite: HEBR313 or equivalent. A practical language course recommended for all students continuing with Hebrew. Review of grammar and composition. Selected readings. Oral and written exercises.
HEBR 381 Introduction to Hebrew Cultural Studies (3) Prerequisite: HEBR314 or permission of instructor. Also offered as JWST381. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: HEBR381 or JWST381. Critical study of Israeli culture with emphasis on literature, film, and art as sites of struggle over political and social meaning during times of cultural transformation. Focus on the historical development of Israeli identity and gender, in particular within the military and Zionist youth movements. Taught in Hebrew.
HEBR 382 Israeli Media (3) Prerequisite: HEBR314 or permission of instructor. Also offered as JWST382. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: HEBR382 or JWST382. Examination of traditional and new media genres in Israel today. Focus on the self-representation of Israeli society and the interaction between media, society, and culture. Taught in Hebrew.
HEBR 386 Experiential Learning (3-6) Prerequisite: Learning Proposal approved by the Office of Experiential Learning Programs, faculty sponsor, and student's internship sponsor. Junior standing.
HEBR 388 Language House Colloquium (1) Prerequisite: Residence in Language House. Repeatable to 8 credits. For students residing in the Language House Immersion Program. Focuses on the development of skills in the target language and acquiring the cultural knowledge of the countries that speak the target language.
HEBR 498 Special Topics in Hebrew (3) Repeatable to 6 credits if content differs.
HEBR 499 Independent Study in Hebrew (1-3) Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Repeatable to 6 credits if content differs. Independent study under faculty supervision.
Religious Studies Courses (Top)
RELS 216 Introduction to the Study of World Religions (3) Credit will be granted for only one of the following: HIST216 or RELS216. Formerly HIST216. Introduction to the texts, culture, history, and traditions of a range of world religions including African religions, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism among others. A variety of modern academic methods and approaches to religion such as those provided by the disciplines of sociology, psychology, ethnography, and feminist criticism are examined.
RELS 419 Advanced Topics in Religious Studies (3) Recommended: HIST216 or RELS216. Repeatable to 9 credits if content differs. The contemporary study of religion in which topics may address specific religious traditions, regional or historical developments, or methodological and theoretical issues. |
