Jewish Studies (JST)

This course seeks to help students better understand the Bible and appreciate its role as an authoritative collection of sacred texts for Jews and Christians. The Bible is a difficult book, one that is demanding on many levels. In order to read the Bible intelligently, it is important to understand the historical and cultural backgrounds of the biblical writings. This course explores the history and geography of ancient Near Eastern civilizations that shaped the experience of ancient Israel and, later, the Greek and Roman imperial contexts that shaped Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity. The focus of the course, however, is on the biblical narrative itself and the particular ways that the story of Israel and its covenant with God was represented in scripture: in tales, poems, hymns, dialogues, and genealogies. A basic goal of the course, then, is to promote intelligent, well-informed reading of the Bible. Also important is the willingness to read the Bible closely and critically, with a view toward larger questions raised by biblical texts: how is God to be known and understood? What is the purpose of human life in the world? What moral obligations ought to structure our common life? Does human history have direction and purpose? What is the good and how do we follow it? The Bible takes up these questions and many more. Though an ancient anthology shaped by the succession of Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman empires, the Bible is not merely a product of its original contexts. Millennia of transmission and interpretation have made it a product of history in a much more extended and dynamic sense. In this course, we will examine larger questions raised by the biblical writers and consider the ways that the Bible has shaped, informed, and guided Jewish and Christian ways of life.

This course explores the life of the Jewish people from Biblical times on, emphasizing cultural, religious, and institutional developments. HEBR 10 / HST 10 Jewish Civilization (3) (GH;IL)(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. Jewish tradition goes back thousands of years, and Jews have resided in many different lands. They have become an integral part of many different cultures, yet have often retained (or been forced to retain) a certain degree of separateness or difference. In this course we will trace continuity and change in Jewish traditions from ancient to modern times, and across different regions. Taking into account inter-cultural contact and historical events -- ranging in place from the Middle East to Muslim Spain to Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas, and in time from the ancient world to the medieval era, the Holocaust, and contemporary Israel and the U.S. -- we will explore developments in Jewish history, literature, and culture. The course considers topics such as the attitudes other groups have had toward Jews (and vice-versa), the question of whether Jewish identity is a race, a religion, or an ethnicity, the dilemmas Jews face today, and the ways that Jews in many diverse settings have balanced change and continuity. We will explore the factors that shape Jewish experience in different times and places, the diversities within and among Jewish lifestyles, and the ways in which events and interactions with other peoples have influenced the development of Jewish civilization. Finally, we will consider the dilemmas Jews face today in terms of the preservation of their identity and traditions. The course includes class discussion. Students are evaluated on the basis of, essay exams, quizzes, in-class discussion and commentaries, and group projects.

Utilizing the textual and archaeological evidence, this course introduces students to the lands, cultures, and peoples associated with the Hebrew Bible, New Testament, and Qur'an. Geographically, the lands of the Bible encompass what is often referred to as the Cradle of Civilization or Fertile Crescent - an arc-shaped region defined by the Nile, Jordan, Tigris and Euphrates river valleys. Today this crescent includes the modern countries and regions of Egypt, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Syria, southeastern Turkey, and Iraq. Spanning ten millennia of history (ca. 9000 BCE-750 CE), this course explores a series of landmarks in the history of human development, which are considered together with Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions. These include the birth of religion and the agricultural revolution (Garden of Eden), the first cities and the invention of writing (Tower of Babel; Patriarchal/Matriarch traditions), Egyptian imperial rule in Canaan (Exodus), the collapse of the Bronze Age (Emergence of Israel), impact of empire (united and divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah), Alexander the Great and the Roman imperial expansion to the east (world of Jesus and development of rabbinic Judaism), Byzantine Palestine (expansion of Christianity), and the Islamic conquest of the Holy Land. Through an integration of numerous disciplines, including historical geography, archaeology, ancient history, biblical studies, epigraphy, and anthropology, students will investigate the interaction between the cultures of the ancient Near East and the religious traditions that developed in the lands associated with the Bible, a relationship that continues to shape the region and the world until today.

Israel is often portrayed in media and popular society in incomplete or distorted terms. In some cases, it is presented as a troubled, violent, dangerous place, as a place permeated by long-standing hatred between Jews and Muslims, Israelis and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians. In others, the focus is on the state's role as the center of Judsiam--a home of the "chosen people" and the source of inspiration for one of the world's great monotheistic religions. Some present it as a model for how a democracy can succeed under trying demographic, historic, and geopolitical circumstances. Others frame Israel as a place of conflagration (armageddon) that will usher in a messianic period or as a nation-state with a discriminatory regime that privileges its majority population over its minority and administers oppressive policies over Palestinians in the occupied territories it captured in the 1967 War. While there are elements of truth in each of these presentations, the full picture of Israeli society is much richer and more complex. This course teaches students to cut through the mythology, and develop a more accurate understanding of what Israel is in the 21st century. Since Israel is a culturally, ethnically, and religiously diverse society, it is only possible to understand the true nature of modern Israel through exploring the many sub-groups that comprise the Israeli citizenry. The course looks at Ashkenazi and Mizrahi Jews (both religious and secular), Muslim and Christian Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel, Ethiopian-Israelis, Russian-Israelis, Bedouins, and Druze. For each group, it looks at demographics, background histories, migration patterns, institutions, cultural norms, values, and practices. We will look at what is important to each group, how they see and organize themselves, and how they understand and experience the world around them. The course aims to convey an understanding of the geographic, demographic, and social-historical context in which Israelis live as well as the diversity of Israeli culture. Students will be challenged to be critical readers of Israeli society and the way it is represented and to strive for measured, evidence-based analyses.

This course will introduce students to the prophetic traditions of the Bible and the Ancient Near East. The course will explore the development of prophetic circles in the ancient Near East (including Egypt, Syria-Palestine, and Mesopotamia), and then focus on the major prophetic traditions of the Hebrew Bible (e.g., the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Hosea, Micah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Daniel). It will also look at how these traditions were understood in early Judaism and nascent Christianity. Special attention will be paid to the roles of priests, kings, and prophets in ancient Israel to better understand Israelite and Judaean prophetic traditions in ancient Israelite society. The course will then examine the rise of apocalypticism and its medieval and modern manifestations including a brief look at Islam. Additional emphasis will be placed on the religious and political interactions which manifest themselves in prophetic movements - then and now - including the rhetoric of ideology and propaganda. Important figures and events illustrate these cultural and political trends.

Critical approaches to the history, sociology, and literature of Jewish Studies. JST 83 First-Year Seminar in Jewish Studies (3) (GH;FYS;IL)(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. Through a combination of readings, lectures, discussions, and research projects, students will learn to master the subject material of the course and acquire basic skills important to the study of humanities. Students will learn to read academic books, as well as original documents, to formulate arguments, and to write analytical essays and papers. Analyses of this type will provide students with techniques for formulating, identifying, and judging academic arguments and presentations in many fields of learning other than Jewish Studies. The topics chosen for these seminars will introduce students to some of the major figures, historical, literary, religious, and sociological developments in Jewish Studies. By concentrating on these topics, the students will better understand the cultural assumptions of different groups and societies. Although the course will focus on a specific topic, the instructor will aid the student in seeing the larger implications of the issues and controversies discussed in the class. The international and intercultural aspects of the topic will consistently be considered. The course will require students to express their ideas as well as to gather information through research, discussion, and writing. It will consistently challenge students to consider social behavior, the nature of the community, and the value of scholarly work as these relate to the particular topic of the seminar. The course fulfills the first-year requirement, as well as one of the humanities requirements in general education or a Bachelor of Arts humanities requirement. The first-year seminar will be offered twice per year with an enrollment limit of 20 per section.

Jerusalem, a city sacred to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, is often depicted as the spiritual and physical center of the world. Throughout its 5000-year history, Jerusalem has attracted diverse cultures, empires, and peoples who have vied for control of this holy city. Jerusalem: Past, Present, and Future surveys the cultural, religious, political, archaeological, and historical record of Jerusalem, beginning with its earliest settlement during the third millennia BCE; through its expansion as a second millennium Canaanite urban center; its role as the capital of Israel and Judah during the first millennium BCE biblical periods; the influence of the Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Crusader, Mamluk, and Ottoman empires; and its development under Jewish, Christian, and Islamic control. The significance of Jerusalem's past, its impact on contemporary society and politics in the modern Middle East, and differing visions for this contested city's future are examined in light of various interpretations of the textual and archaeological evidence.

Formal courses given infrequently to explore, in depth, a comparatively narrow subject that may be topical or of special interest.

This course is an overview of the ancient history and cultures of Canaan (the Mediterranean Levant of Syria-Palestine) and the emergence of Israel. It involves a critical view of biblical texts (especially the Hebrew Bible, aka Old Testament) in light of other ancient texts, archaeology, and historical methods, in order to explain the nature and the evolution of society, religion, and thought in the prebiblical and biblical era. We will be especially interested in the period from the end of the Late Bronze Age (c. 1200 BCE) to the Persian period (539-332 BCE), and will examine ongoing debates about the Bible and history, as well as the development of Israelite religion from polytheism toward monotheism and a distinctive worldview.

This course examines the literature of the Bible. Throughout this course, students will study the language, thought, images, and structures of the book that has arguably proved the central text of Western literature. Students will also actively explore the ways in which the Bible has shaped the literature of English-speaking cultures around the world. Students will read substantial portions of the Old and New Testaments, learning to read critically and to interpret the Bible as they would any other literary text. They will also learn about the historical construction of the Bible, some history of its translation, and contemplate the competing versions of existing Biblical texts. Accordingly, reading the Bible as literature by necessity requires critical engagement with different international cultures from different historical periods.

A survey of the history, philosphy, and cultural impact of various mystical traditions in relation to world religions.

The Old Testament (or, Hebrew Bible) is the record of the interaction between the people of ancient Israel and their God. As a religious text, the Bible is inextricably intertwined with the cultures of Israel's neighbors, including the Canaanites, Syrians, Greeks, Assyrians, Babylonians, Arabs, Egyptians, and the peoples of the eastern desert. To study the Hebrew Bible and its development during the first millennium BCE is to study the history, culture, and literature of the entire region. This course introduces students to the literature of ancient Israel, its rituals, the stories which established a people's identity, and which defined their moral behavior. Great figures of the texts, such as Moses, David, Solomon, Bathsheba, Ruth, Jeremiah, Daniel, and Ezra, teach us important lessons about life and how people of faith attempted to relate to one another, to God, and to people outside their ethnic group. Students will read from the biblical text, as well as from secondary source readings which contains scholarly opinion from a variety of sources. Recent archaeological and epigraphical studies will be incorporated into the course to enhance our work. The ultimate goal will be to assess the meaning of the texts in their ancient Near Eastern environment; to understand the development of Hebrew religion and the beginnings of Rabbinic Judaism; and to understand the connection between biblical studies and other fields of study, such as History, Religious Studies, Archeology, Linguistics, and Comparative Literature.

Early Judaism will introduce students to the history of Judaism as reflected in Jewish literature from the period of the Babylonian exile (587/6 BCE) to the closure of the Babylonian Talmud (ca. 600 CE). This course will analyze the development of Judaism from its emergence out of the ancient Israelite religion through the formative period of rabbinic Judaism. Attention will be given to the diversity of ideas and practices that characterized early Judaism and the influence the larger Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman worlds had on Judaism's development. We will examine selections from the Hebrew Bible, and from other literature, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Apocrypha, the New Testament, the Mishnah, and the Talmudim.

Although Jesus of Nazareth is the object of Christian devotion, he was not a Christian himself, but a pious Jew. What can be known about the historical figure of Jesus the Palestinian Jew? How would his teachings and actions have fit in the context of Judaism of his day, in the Greco-Roman world? What did he mean when he proclaimed the coming kingdom of God? Because almost all of our source material espouses Jesus as the Christ of Christian faith, the first step is to understand the aims and perspectives of these Christian sources, including the canonical Gospels as well as non-canonical Gospels. Through careful examination of these sources in light of critical scholarship and the social and historical context of Judaism in the Greco-Roman world, we will consider how much the historian is able to reconstruct of Jesus using historical method, what the limits of this investigation are, and how relevant the task is. We will consider and evaluate a few of the different scholarly reconstructions of the historical Jesus. Major emphases will include the historical, social, religious, political, and cultural contexts of Jesus, including important precursors; the political, institutional, and cultural history of the teachings and actions of Jesus in their Jewish setting, and how these are reinterpreted by his followers after his death. Attention will be paid to the development of variant Christian traditions about Jesus including Jesus as Messiah, his death as a saving event, the resurrection as exaltation of Jesus as Lord, the memorialization of Jesus in Christian ritual practice, and the cultural and religious impact of Jesus throughout history. In addition to the early Christian sources on Jesus (especially the canonical Gospels, but also other New Testament texts and non-canonical writings), on each topic students will read selections from early Jewish writings in order to illuminate the cultural context. These include the Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo, Josephus, Jewish texts among the so-called Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, early rabbinic texts, and epigraphical writings. Relevant archeological evidence and Greco-Roman sources will also be considered. Broader issues of historical, cultural, linguistic, political and geographical context will be covered in lectures and secondary readings.

Comparative study of diverse interpretations of stories from the Bible in Judaism and Christianity. CMLIT 113 / JST 113 / CAMS 113 / RLST 113 Myths and Legends of the Jews (3) (GH;IL) The impact of the Bible on Western Culture is immense. Beyond its religious importance, the motifs and images from its myths and stories permeate literature and art, providing a basic frame of reference that for much of history could be taken for granted. A degree of familiarity with these motifs so as to be truly fluent is no longer common, and so it requires special effort to discern allusions to biblical traditions. Moreover, these traditions are not static: religious communities continually re-interpret them and appropriate them in very different contexts. Many prominent traditions in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam do not appear explicitly anywhere in the Hebrew Bible, but are the product of imaginative and ingenious interpretation and re-tellings. Why, for example, is Noah an example of a righteous person in Christian tradition, but in rabbinic tradition is more often portrayed as a profane, earthly-minded man who was saved only because he was the least bad of an evil generation? Why is Moses commonly portrayed with horns in medieval art? Underlying such different traditions are centuries of debate and reflection on these texts as sacred scripture, and competing religious communities often authorized their distinctive beliefs and practices by reading them into scripture. The differences are often too subtle to discern apart from careful comparison. This course will explore the boundaries between Scripture and tradition by means of a close examination of the myths and stories in the Hebrew Bible and their subsequent interpretation and re-tellings in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Using methods from comparative mythology and folklore, as well as comparative midrash, our procedure will be to compare these traditions closely with the biblical text, asking: What are the main motifs in the mythology of Judaism? Does Judaism have a coherent mythology? How do their myths compare with the myths of their neighbors? Where did these myths come from? How do these traditions relate to the Bible? What was the function of these myths? Why are there competing myths? How is it possible that Judaism affirms belief in only one God, but has myths that include other divine beings? We will also compare with later interpretive traditions (Jewish, Christian, Islamic). Can we trace trajectories of interpretation? Can we discern particular interpretive methods in operation? We will seek to answer: what do these re-workings of the traditions tell us about the development and function of Scripture, and the social circumstances of the communities? Finally, we will seek to detect reflections of these interpretive traditions in literature and art from the medieval to the modern periods. The course is organized around major topics in the Jewish Scriptures: God, creation, heaven and hell, Torah, Sabbath, Abraham and other ancestors, Israel and holy land, exile, and Messiah. Throughout we will consider how sacred stories function to form ethical perspectives and values.

This course will explore the developments in Judaism since the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. Major changes have come to the world since 1700-changes represented by terms such as the Enlightenment, Emancipation, Industrialization, Nationalism, Urbanization, Immigration, and Egalitarianism/Feminism. These broad social changes led to the break-up of traditional communities and, among other things, reformulations of Jewish Life and Jewish Religion. The effects can be seen in a number of Jewish responses-Assimilation, Hassidism, Self-Defense and Nationalism, Denominationalism, and Egalitarianism/Feminism-which we shall study in this class. In particular, we shall look at Jewish spirituality-its historical and theological development, its many historical and modern manifestations, and how it works.

Chronological and topical survey of the story of Jewish life in America. We will trace the social, religious, cultural, and political developments in the Jewish community from the Colonial Period to the present. Topics to be covered include immigration, acculturation, ethnicity, gender, politics, and communal and religious innovation. While "knowing the facts" is obviously important to historical understanding, this course helps students develop critical thinking skills. These skills include: close and thoughtful reading and analysis of primary and secondary sources; looking for a broader coherence or "order" to the material; independent analysis and effective articulation (both in writing and in class discussion) of well-reasoned, well-crafted conclusions and interpretations and arguments (conclusions/interpretations/arguments which are supported by specific factual evidence derived from a variety of sources). The three specific course objectives underscore its scholarly dimensions: (1) Students will gain a knowledge and understanding of the relationship between the experiences of members of the American Jewish community and United States history as a whole. (2) Students will gain an understanding and knowledge of the political, economic, and social processes that shaped the American Jewish experience. (3) Students will learn how to "think historically" by placing documents written in the past in their historical contexts, and to consider the relationship of the past to the present. By the end of the course students will: Demonstrate an understanding of the chronology of American Jewish history. Demonstrate an understanding of the diverse experiences of different groups of Americans. Demonstrate an understanding of the social, political, and ideological structures that shaped the American Jewish experience and continue to shape the modern United States.

Historical and cultural survey of key texts of the Jewish Tradition, from The Bible to the present. CMLIT (J ST) 116 Jewish Great Books (3) (GH;IL)(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. This course will introduce students to the rich and diverse expanse of the Jewish tradition through a survey of that tradition's most important texts. Starting from the Bible, moving up through the contemporary world, and spanning the globe, the course will examine religious, cultural, folkloric, philosophical, national, and literary traditions, and attention will be paid to both breadth emphasizing the vast range and diversity of Jewish thought and writing and depth emphasizing the complexity and subtlety of particular texts in examining the material. Students will learn methods and practices of textual, cultural, and historical criticism as they engage in analysis of Jewish textual traditions, of the relationship between representation and history, and of the productive interchanges between representation, history, and identity.

Modern Jewish history is a complex and fascinating story. Some scholars depicted it as a long period of suffering and isolation that culminated in the Holocaust and only ended with the founding of the state of Israel. In recent decades a more balanced perspective has found wide acceptance. Today scholars highlight Jewish agency and different conditions in the various places Jews settled without downplaying anti-Jewish prejudice and violence. A recurring theme in this course concerns the relationship between individual Jews and Jewish communities, and on a broader level, the perception and treatment of Jews by societies and states. As Jews in Western and Central Europe "left the Ghetto" around 1800 and became citizens of states, they redefined their relationship to Jewish communities in strikingly different ways. Some Jewish women and men emerged as agents of change, others resisted change. We will explore Jewish "responses to modernity," ranging from assimilation, Zionism, and socialism to migration. While many Jews in Western Europe and the United States prospered, the lives of Jews (and their neighbors) in Eastern Europe and the Ottoman Empire were shaped by social and economic crisis (albeit not constantly and not everywhere). For the twentieth century the course will concentrate on three major events that had a dramatic impact on Jews, especially in Europe: the First World War and the collapse of the large multiethnic Empires in Eastern Europe, the Holocaust and the founding of the first modern Jewish state, Israel.

CAMS 120 / JST 120 / RLST 120 New Testament (3) (GH)(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. This course provides an introduction to the collection of early Christian writings that make up the New Testament. It begins with an examination of the first-century context in which these writings took shape-one overshadowed by the Roman empire, influenced by Hellenistic culture, and based, above all, on varieties of Judaism. From there, the course takes up a few guiding questions. How, in this ancient context, did the first Christians understand and portray the figure at the center of their communities, Jesus of Nazareth? What do the New Testament writings reveal about the beliefs and aspirations of these communities as they advanced a movement that would, in time, become among the most consequential in world history? By the end of the course, students will have gained knowledge of the historical context of New Testament writings and an understanding of why the New Testament has been such an important and influential collection of writings.

This course focuses on the history and historiography of the Holocaust from 1933-1945. In addition to cultivating intellectual skills, such as critical analysis and concise presentation, the primary purpose of this course is to provide an in-depth overview of the Holocaust. The course will touch on various aspects of the Holocaust, including the function of the "Ghettos", the role of the mobile killing units, extermination camps, Jewish resistance, the role of the Allies, Holocaust trials, and the question how the Holocaust can be compared with other genocides. The course will analyze the Holocaust using historical, literary, and philosophical approaches.

Apocalypse and Beyond is a topic (and title) meant to suggest that apocalyptic imagination about the end of the world, first begun in the Ancient Near East with certain Jewish and Christian writings, is constantly re-envisioned for each new age. Apocalyptic literature and world views are frequently produced by marginalized groups who perceive themselves to be persecuted, and who envision a violent (often divine) intervention, which alone will bring justice. In Part One of the course, we will examine the ancient literary genre of apocalypse, which was popular in the Ancient Near East from around 200 BCE to 200 CE, especially in Jewish and Christian writings both in the Bible (e.g., Daniel and Revelation) and outside of it (e.g., First Enoch, the Apocalypse of Peter, and the Apocalypse of Paul). The authors of these apocalypses expected the evil age in which they were living to dramatically end in their lifetimes; although that did not happen, apocalyptic thinking became foundational to the three world religions stemming from the Near East Judaism, Christianity, and Islam to varying degrees. In Part Two, we will examine the ideology, sociological underpinnings and some historical examples of apocalyptic groups and movements in medieval to modern times, and look at the impact that apocalyptic world views have had on the secular world, including philosophy, political movements, and popular culture, such as movies.

This course examines the early history of God; that is, the concept of the divine as a single supreme being. In particular, it focuses on the origins of monotheism and the development of its three major traditions in the Near East: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, from their respective beginnings to around 1000 C.E. The course will begin with an analysis of the polytheistic religious milieu of the Ancient Near East in the second and first millennia B.C.E., and will consider the question of how, when, and why belief in one God first appeared in ancient Israel. Various modern theories about the origins of Israel's national God (Hebrew Yhwh/Yahweh and Aramaic Yhw/Yaho) will be analyzed, with careful attention to the evidence of ancient texts and archaeology. Following a discussion of the nature of the religion(s) of early Israel, the course will then turn to the development of Judaism as the world's first monotheism. It will then examine the subsequent emergence of Christianity in Roman-era Palestine and Islam in Late Antique Arabia, with a brief glance at the Persian religion of Zoroastrianism, which shares some commonalities. Finally, the course will compare and contrast some of the major beliefs, practices, and significant historical trends and movements within the first centuries of the three major monotheisms.

This course provides an introduction to the history of Christianity. It traces, specifically, the development of the Christian movement from its beginnings as a small Jewish sect in Jerusalem to its unlikely emergence as the religion of the Roman Empire and, finally, its subsequent spread and development in Europe, Asia, and Africa. In form and structure, the course is historical, following figures and events in a more or less chronological sequence and taking up questions of causality, influence, and social identity. Yet the course is also concerned with the ideas, concepts, and philosophical viewpoints that have shaped Christianity and given it a certain intellectual coherence over time. The course begins with first-century construals of messianic identity and also with the figure of Jesus, as he was portrayed in the New Testament gospels. It then follows the first generations of the Christian movement, considering it within the context of first-century Judaism and the early Roman empire. Topics include persecution, martyrdom, and the important contributions of Origen. The middle section of the course looks at the second, third, and fourth centuries through three lenses, as it were: the office of bishop, the rise of monasticism, and the realities of empire. Bishops, monks, and emperors all shaped Christianity in essential ways, creating a rich and complicated spiritual, moral, theological, intellectual, and geo-political legacy for generations to come. The final third of the course looks at the development of Christianity beyond the fourth century in geographical groupings including churches in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, western Europe, Byzantium, and the Slavic lands. It is hoped, in all of this, that students will gain an understanding not only of Christian history but also of what made - and what makes - Christianity a distinctive and influential religion.

This class studies how art, literature, film, and other media can help us to gain a perspective on one of the most horrific events in human history, the Holocaust: the genocidal murder of more than six million men, women, and children (mostly Jewish) under the Nazi regime during World War II. We will also examine the theoretical questions involved in any attempt to capture what appears to be beyond our comprehension, in terms of moral outrage and the sheer scale, inhumanity, and bureaucratic efficiency. To this end we will study literary works, such as Primo Levi's Survival in Auschwitz, films such as Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List, Roman Polanski's The Pianist, and Roberto Benigni's Life is Beautiful, as well as photographs, poems, artworks, installations, museum architecture, the design of monuments and other artifacts. We will also examine questions of memorialization (Holocaust museums and memorials), national guilt, survivor's guilt, stigmatization, and the ethics of historical representation.

Literature of the Jewish tradition in various cultures and contexts, such as Europe, Israel, Islamic countries, and the Americas. J ST 131 (CMLIT 110) Jewish Literature: An International Perspective (3) (GH;US;IL) (BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. CMLIT 110 (JST 131) will provide an introduction to the multiple worlds of Jewish experience and the different literatures they continue to inspire. Jewish literary creativity has varied widely with the personal and communal experience of writers in many parts of the world, and in many different time periods. Readings usually range from the first Jewish literary text, the Hebrew Bible, to twentieth- and twentieth-century works, including writings about the Holocaust. The course typically includes units such as Jewish writing and culture in Eastern Europe, in the Americas, in Spain during the Middle Ages, and in Israel and the Middle East today. The material may be organized chronologically, thematically, or by regions or languages. Texts that critique or apparently suppress Jewish identity, as well as texts with representations of Jews by writers of other heritages, may be included for comparative purposes. We will include writings by Jewish authors who have written in languages usually associated with Jewish tradition (such as Hebrew and Yiddish) and in other languages (such as Spanish, Arabic, German, English, etc.). Topics discussed in the literature may focus on questions of Jewish identity and continuity, the situation of Jews as a minority people, the immigrant and diasporic experience, representations of the Holocaust, and the establishment of Israeli culture as a mixture of several traditions. We will question generalizations about the meaning of "Jewish" by showing the wide range of characteristics associated with Jewish literary productions, and the great diversity of depictions of Jews and Jewish lifestyles, in different times and places. In addition to our primary focus on literary texts, we may include examples of other cultural productions (film, music, the visual arts, philosophy, etc.). CMLIT 110 (JST 131) counts towards the Comparative Literature major and the World Literature minor. No prior knowledge of Jewish tradition is required, and General Education students are welcome. This course also fulfills the General Education Humanities requirement, the Bachelor of Arts Humanities requirement, and the United States and International Cultures requirement.

This course will provide an introduction to Jewish American literature through a historical survey of the tradition's key texts, figures, and themes. The course will focus on the defining aspects of the literature and on what the literature "thinks" about Jewish American culture and identity. But rather than assuming a unity to Jewish-American culture, this course will use Jewish literature to seek ways of articulating and representing both the points of cohesion and the points of divergence that characterize Jewish life in America. The United States has absorbed large numbers of Jewish immigrants hailing from many parts of the world, holding many different ideas about Jewish practice, and affiliating themselves with many different political, social, and cultural traditions. Moreover, Jews have settled and made homes in a wide variety of American communities. This course aims to explore Jewish American culture's marked diversity by offering a literary window onto the major fault-lines running through Jewish American culture: lines demarcated by gender, by political affiliation, by geography, by pre-immigration community by religious practice, by attitude toward world Jewry, by national allegiance, and by minhag (or custom), to name just a few. The class therefore provides an opportunity to consider the constitution, origin, and development of Jewish American's identity and social formations by looking at how that identity and those social formations exist and what they "do" in literature written by and about Jews in America. Materials will consist predominantly of primary texts, including prose fiction and nonfiction, poetry, drama, and film. Course methodology will emphasize the close reading of these texts. The course complements offerings in Jewish Studies and English, and it will satisfy the GH and US requirements. Most obviously, the course will offer students of Jewish literature, world literature, and American literature an opportunity for contextualization. It enables students in Jewish Studies to study the rich literature of American Jews, and it adds to courses covering Jewish American history, religion, and culture. The course offers students in English a valuable, sustained introduction to an important U.S. and world sub-culture.

This course takes as its starting point the idea that modern ethical frameworks are deeply rooted in the soil of older traditions. By examining the development of Jewish intellectual traditions and their roots in the Bible, it provides students with an opportunity to study ethics in a philosophically textured, culturally rich, and historically informed way. And by focusing on Jewish engagement with the Bible, the course illuminates other traditions that derive from biblical monotheism: for example, those associated with Christianity, Islam, and the Enlightenment. The first part of the course takes up the idea of tradition and includes a study of biblical texts that serve as the foundation for key moral concepts. Following the traditional division of the scriptures, it examines questions of human identity and responsibility in the Torah, social ethics in the Prophets, and the quest for wisdom in the Writings. The final topic in this unit is the development of ethical tradition among the great sages of Jewish antiquity. The second unit shifts focus to the appropriation of tradition in modern Jewish thought. After reviewing important developments in Jewish thought in the medieval and early modern periods, it turns attention to the ways that some recent figures have addressed perennial concerns in light of commitments and ways of being that are integral to Jewish identity. By reading closely the works of such seminal thinkers as James Kugel, Joseph Soloveitchik, and Abraham Heschel, we will gain a deep acquaintance not only with important vocabulary but also with the ways that traditional words and concepts may be used dynamically to produce fresh ways of looking at questions in moral philosophy.

This course covers the origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and how the issues at stake changed over time, up to the present day. The course situates the conflict in the history of the Middle East and the larger context of international relations, including the Cold War and the end of the Cold War. Topics include regional warfare and its significance, efforts at peacemaking, and social, economic, and cultural developments among Israelis and Palestinians.

This course studies the developments of right-wing totalitarianism in the twentieth century with special emphasis on Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, which provided the roots for fascist developments in the modern world. The course concerns itself with understanding the social, political, and economic contexts of fascism, its governing assumptions, ideals, and values, how it worked in practice, and its consequences and historical implications. Another focus will be on the question of why these illiberal, anti-democratic, and ultimately murderous regimes appear to have appealed to many groups during the 1930s and 1940s, not only within Italy and Germany, but also within broader European society.

Fundamentals of Biblical Hebrew grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. J ST (CAMS/HEBR) 151 Introductory Biblical Hebrew (3) The aim of CAMS/J ST/HEBR 151 is to introduce students to the fundamentals of Biblical Hebrew as quickly and thoroughly as possible. Biblical Hebrew is the language in which the Old Testament was written, between the period of approximately 1200-200 B.C.E. This focuses primarily on the morphology and syntax of Biblical Hebrew. Drills on each point of grammar, as well as translation of sentences from Hebrew to English and English to Hebrew, and brief passages taken from the Bible are the basis of the student's homework throughout the semester. By the end of the semester, the students will be prepared to read short, unmodified passages of the Bible. The course will focus primarily on reading and writing, though students will read aloud in class regularly in order to ensure correct pronunciation and understanding. CAMS/J ST/HEBR 151 will prepare students to continue with CAMS/J ST/HEBR 152 and then 400-level courses.The course goals, in addition to providing the students with a firm grounding in Hebrew grammar and vocabulary, include giving the students a basic understanding of the history of the Biblical text. The primary focus will be on mastering paradigms and syntax, but the students will also be introduced to the Biblical texts themselves, which together from such an important piece of literature.

Intermediate study of Biblical Hebrew grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. CAMS (JST/HEBR) 152 Intermediate Biblical Hebrew (3)(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. CAMS/JST/HEBR 152 continues from CAMS/J ST/HEBR 151, which is a prerequisite for enrollment. After a brief review of key grammar and morphology from the first semester, the course will complete the process of providing students with a sufficient grasp of Hebrew vocabulary, morphology, and syntax to enable them to read unadapted passages from Biblical Hebrew texts (with the aid of a lexicon) by the end of the course. Class sessions will focus on grammar drills, sentences, and similar exercises as homework to supplement class work. As the semester progresses, students will read more and more from actual Hebrew texts, rather than composed sentences by the textbook author, so that when the students enter more advanced classes, they will find the transition to reading Hebrew as smooth as possible.In tandem with the increasing emphasis on Hebrew written by ancient Hebrews, the course will continue to focus on the linguistic and cultural background for the texts that the students read. Students will be evaluated on a combination of written work, including frequent quizzes, tests, homework completion, and course attendance and participation. CAMS/J ST/HEBR 152 will prepare students to continue with courses at the 400-level.

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls was one the most important archeological discoveries of the 20th century. This collection of over 900 scrolls found in caves by the Dead Sea includes the oldest manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and hundreds of other Jewish writings dating from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE, many of which were previously unknown. In this course we will examine select examples of the Dead Sea Scrolls in order to understand how these writings have revolutionized our understanding of the formation of the Bible, Jewish groups in the Greco-Roman period, and the origins of Christianity and rabbinic Judaism, and why there is so much scholarly debate around them. We will consider such issues as Jewish law, biblical interpretation, messianism, apocalypticism, prayer and rituals. The course will include discussion of the archaeology of the Qumran settlement and caves, scribal practices and the production of scrolls, and scholarly methods in reconstructing and interpreting ancient texts. We will study this one sectarian movement as a microcosm of the issues related to Jewish identity in this critical period that birthed both rabbinic Judaism and Christianity. We will focus on the beliefs and practices by which this movement constructed their particular community identity and worked out their place in the world.

Sacrifice (from Latin sacer "holy + facere "to make") is one of the most prevalent yet troubling aspects of religion. Its destruction and violence is often at odds with other rituals and core understandings within a religion, so why is it done and what good does it do? For the sacrificer, does it represent a gift to the gods, a renunciation, an exchange, a surrogate, or something else? This course will examine some competing definitions and theories of sacrifice, as well as its manifestations in the cultures and religions of the ancient Mediterranean world, especially those of Greece, Rome, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Hatti, Israel, and Phoenicia. A brief look at religious sacrifice elsewhere, such as ancient Mesoamerica and India, will conclude the course.

The course offers a survey of the history of the Middle East from the rise of Islam to the present day. The course introduces students to structures of power, society, and economy in three distinctive periods: 1) the rise of Islam and the caliphal era; 2) the pre-modern Ottoman era; 3) the modern era. The course also introduces students to some of the art, architecture, and literature of each period. Students will thus gain some depth in each period of history and acquire a broad view of change over time.

Taking cross-cultural communication and connectivity as its central themes, this course explores the central role that the silk roads and Indian Ocean maritime routes have played throughout Eurasian history. The course provides a historical survey of the land and sea routes and networks connecting Europe and Asia, the peoples and cultures that flourished along these routes, and a variety of exchanges that took place by way of these routes.The course develops insight into trends and patterns over a long period of history, from ancient to modern times; the course also focuses on distinctive periods of history when patterns were disrupted and reformed, and when relationships changed among the peoples and states involved in the silk roads and maritime routes.

This course introduces students to the peoples and places of the contemporary Middle East. The course engages students in discussion of themes that are pertinent to the region and to contemporary issues, including demographic change, youth culture and university life, human rights issues and activism, the trauma of war, effects of globalization, ecology, and the environment. Exploring the Middle East in the present with attention to historical context, students will examine a variety of sources, including news media, novels, stories, poetry, films, soap operas, blogs and vlogs.

This course covers the history of modern Iran from the late nineteenth century to the present day. The course examines significant events and historical trends with attention to local, regional, and global contexts, and examines causes and consequences of policies, protests, and revolutions from a variety of sources and perspectives. Through class lectures and discussions, and reading and written assignments, students will learn important terms, concepts, contexts, individuals, and events. They will learn to identify and analyze trends and patterns in Iran¿s history, make meaningful comparisons, locate specific events in meaningful context, and explain their significance. By the end of the course students will be able to explain current events in terms of Iran¿s long history of revolution as well as in terms of the more immediate history of the Islamic republic. Students will be able to discuss how the modern history of Iran is an example of larger historical trends of the twentieth century.

Jerusalem, a city sacred to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, is often depicted as the spiritual and physical center of the world. Throughout its 5000-year history, Jerusalem has attracted diverse cultures, empires, and peoples who have vied for control of this city that is both religiously significant and a very ordinary site of urban life. Jerusalem: Sacred and Profane surveys the archaeological, religious, cultural, political, social, and historical record of Jerusalem in the ancient, medieval, and modern periods. We will explore a series of themes in the city¿s history: the built urban environment, political power in and over the city, sacred sites and pilgrimage, the everyday experiences of Jerusalemites, the changing cultural meanings of the city across various religious and national traditions, and war, violence, and memory in the urban landscape. The significance of Jerusalem's past, its impact on contemporary society and politics in the modern Middle East, and differing visions for this contested city's future are examined in light of various interpretations of the historical evidence.

The history and memory of the Holocaust, the Armenian, Cambodian and other forms of genocide are often taught separately in different disciplines. This course will examine them together through the various ways different societies dealt with, experienced and understood these. Using the extensive literature on the history of genocide this course further suggests ways in which these tragic events affected and were entangled by each other's. Specific content will vary according to individual instructor, but topics may include victim cultures, ethnic cleansing, trauma, human rights, dark tourism, memorials, architecture as well as the general impact of these tragedies on global politics, or the way the memories of the tragedies were entangled with the civil rights and other struggles in American and global history.

Formal courses given infrequently to explore, in depth, a comparatively narrow subject that may be topical or of special interest.

Formal courses given infrequently to explore, in depth, a comparatively narrow subject that may be topical or of special interest.

Courses offered in foreign countries by individual or group instruction.

Examination of the relationship between Western church and the Jews from the First Century to Enlightenment. HIST 235HIST 235 The Church and the Jews (3) (US;IL)(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. This course will examine a key aspect of western history - the complex relationship between the Western (Roman Catholic) Church and the Jews, from the first century to the present. We will analyze ideas and policies regarding Jews as expressed in different realms, from theology and canon law to church art and popular preaching. We will also examine how changing conditions led to striking changes in church attitudes and policy, and how church policy was often at odds with popular sentiments about Jews.The course will be designed to enable students to grasp the fluidity of attitudes over time, and the interplay of economic, social, political, and theological factors; to grasp of essential elements of a key area of conflict in western culture; and to develop their skills in the close reading of primary texts.Students will be evaluated on the basis of three quizzes and a final exam.The course would offer a chance for students to develop perspectives previously gained in a number of courses, particularly HIST 001 and 002 (The Western Heritage), RL ST 001 (Introduction to World Religions), RL ST 101 (Comparative Religion), HIST 107 (Medieval Europe), HIST 407 (Early Medieval Society), and J ST 010 (Jewish Civilization). It would complement such courses as HIST 108 (The Crusades), HIST 408 (Church and State in the High Middle Ages), HIST 412 (Intellectual History of the Middle Ages), HIST 414 (Renaissance and Reformation), J ST 111 (Early Judaism), J ST 110 (Hebrew Bible), RL ST 120 (New Testament), and RL ST l24 (Early and Medieval Christianity).The course will count for 3 credits toward a) the 22 credits required for the minor in Jewish Studies, b) the 33 credits required for the major in Jewish Studies, c) the 30 credits required for the major in Religious Studies, and d) the 36 credits required for the History major.

Through the medium of film, HIST/JST 260 examines the contemporary and historical transformation of the Middle East from the Ottoman period, through the British and French mandates, and the eventual establishment of the modern nation-states. This course analyzes the political-religious-social tensions of this region, and through film illuminates many of the conflicts in a different light. This course engages in specific film define certain moments in the contemporary history of the Middle East. The films reveal the culture perception of politics, the Arab-Israeli conflict, views on and of religious and ethic minorities, women and gender issues, carious elements of political Islam, and the generational shift in politics and culture. The course will watch, analyze and engage in films (with subtitles) from - among other states - Iran before and after the revolution, Turkey, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, and Tunisia.

Creative projects, including research and design, that are supervised on an individual basis and that fall outside the scope of formal courses.

Formal courses given infrequently to explore, in depth, a comparatively narrow subject that may be topical or of special interest.

Courses offered in foreign countries by individual or group instruction.

The course is a research seminar for undergraduates majoring in Middle East Studies and for students interested in pursuing a sustained research project on a topic related to the Middle East. Course topics on the Middle East will vary according to the interests of the instructor. This course is writing-intensive with attention to developing, drafting, and producing a quality research paper over the course of the semester.

Formal courses given infrequently to explore, in depth, a comparatively narrow subject that may be topical or of special interest.

Courses offered in foreign countries by individual or group instruction.

Social and intellectual development in the Ancient Levant as they affected and were affected by technological development.

Surveys the history of anti-Semitism from antiquity through the Middle Ages to the present. HIST (J ST) 409Y (RL ST 407Y) European Anti-Semitism from Antiquity to the Present (3) (IL)(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. This course analyzes major episodes in the history of anti-Semitism and tries to clarify the motives and dynamics involved. It seeks to understand what these episodes have in common and what is unique in each case--is there a single universal, eternal antisemitism? Or are there rather 'anti-Semitisms' each belonging to a unique historical context? Is there a single continuous line of development in anti-Semitism? What is the relationship of a particular anti-Semitism to the national culture in which it originates?We will be reading the major original texts of anti-Semitism from Roman and ancient writers, through early Christian texts and medieval Christian Blood Libels against the Jews, documents of the Spanish expulsion, Lutheran tracts, Voltaire's essays, German philosophical texts from Kant to Marx, Wagner's racial essays, the Protocols of Zion, and documents of Nazi anti-Semitism by Hitler and Streicher. The major part of the grade will depend on a short research paper which will be presented in various drafts, so that the final version represents the culmination of discussion and constructive criticism and advice. This course is a parallel course to J ST/HIST 416 (Zionist History) and J ST/HIST 118 (Modern Jewish History). This course will count toward the Religious Studies, Jewish Studies, and History majors and minors in the 400-level category.

Trends in medieval Jewish society under Islam and Western Christendom. HIST 410HIST 410 Jews in the Medieval World (3) (US;IL)(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. The Jews lived in widely scattered communities under Christian and Islamic rule in the medieval period. This course will examine how Jews adapted the traditions they developed in Palestine and Babylonia in the early centuries C.E. to the new conditions they encountered in Europe and the Mediterranean region from the ninth to the fifteenth centuries. It will focus on the general problem of how traditional societies survive in rapidly changing circumstances, particularly when their members are a minority population. The course will aim at developing students' skills in comparative analysis as they compare the adaptive strategies of Jews in different cultural spheres (the Franco-German region versus Spain, for example). They will also be asked to compare the different polemical stances Jews adopted vis-a-vis Christianity, on the one hand, and Islam, on the other. They will be encouraged to understand the ways in which Jews internalized certain aspects of the majority culture and rejected others. It is hoped that they will come to see how deeply Jewish history was intertwined with medieval Christian and Islamic history, despite inter-religious hostilities and the frequent need for Jews to defend against majority aggression.Students will be evaluated on the basis of two mid-term exams (the first after the survey of the Muslim world, the second after the examination of the Franco-German region) and a comprehensive final exam.The course will be linked to most of the courses taught in the field of Jewish Studies, especially J ST 111 (Early Judaism), J ST 114 (Modern Judaism), and J ST 118 (Modem Jewish History from 1492). It will also be linked to offerings in Religious Studies: RL ST 001 (Introduction to World Religions), RL ST 101 (Comparative Religion), RL ST 107 (Introduction to Islam), RL ST 124 (Early and Medieval Christianity), and RL ST 165 (Introduction to Islamic Civilization). Further, it would complement HIST 001 and 002 (The Western Heritage), HIST 107 (Medieval Europe), HIST 108 (The Crusades), HIST 407 (Early Medieval Society), HIST 408 (Church and State in the High Middle Ages), HIST 412 (Intellectual History of the Middle Ages), and HIST 471W (Classical Islamic Civilization, 600-1258).The course will count for 3 credits toward: a) the 22 credits required for the minor in Jewish Studies, b) the 33 credits required for the major in Jewish Studies, c) the 30 credits required for the major in Religious Studies, and d) the 36 credits required for the History major. It will be offered once a year with an enrollment of approximately 60 students.

Study of the life and thought of a particular period or movement in the history of Judaism.

History of Zionist thought and politics to the foundation of Israel 1948.

Culture of the Near East and India from Paleolithic times through the Bronze Age.

Fundamentals of Aramaic grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. CAMS 420 Introductory Targumic Aramaic (3) The aim of CAMS 420 is to introduce students to the fundamentals of Targumic Aramaic as quickly and thoroughly as possible. Targumic Aramaic, is the dialect used by Jews in the last few centuries BCE in their translations of the Bible into Aramaic. Targumic Aramaic texts remain vital within Judaism and Biblical study. This course focuses primarily on the morphology and syntax of Aramaic. Drills on each point of grammar, as well as translation of sentences from Aramaic to English and English to Aramaic, and brief passages taken from the native texts are the basis of the student's homework throughout the semester. By the end of the semester, the students will be prepared to read short, unmodified passages of actual Aramaic. The course will focus primarily on reading and writing, though students will read aloud in class regularly in order to ensure correct pronunciation and understanding. CAMS will prepare students to work with Aramaic in related courses in CAMS, in particular those dealing with other Aramaic dialects, the Bible, and other related ancient languages. The course goals, in addition to providing the students a basic understanding of the history of the Aramaic literary tradition. The primary focus will be on mastering paradigms and syntax, but the students will also be introduced to real Targumic Aramaic texts, which are of great importance to understanding the history of Biblical textual transmission.

Study of a biblical book/topic in terms of literary, historical, and cultural contexts, history of interpretation, and critical scholarship. CAMS (J ST/RL ST) 425W Books of the Bible: Readings and Interpretation (3 per semester/maximum of 12) The Bible is a diverse collection of writings sacred to Jews and Christians written over about 1000 years, in a variety of different genres and historical circumstances. This course allows students the opportunity to study in depth a particular book of the Bible, from either the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament or the New Testament. We will explore the literary, historical and cultural context of the book in question. A literary analysis of the book will include consideration of genre and literary devices, and a close reading of the text. A historical analysis will consider the date of composition, its source materials, comparative traditions in other cultures, and relevant historical and cultural factors relevant to understanding the text. The course will introduce students to various other approaches to interpretation of the Bible in modern scholarship, including feminist and post-colonial critiques. We will also explore the varied interpretations and uses of the book in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam throughout history, and its influences in Western culture, including art and literature. The course will be offered once a year with varying content, and students may repeat it when taught with different content.

This course is an in-depth study of the history of the Holocaust in Europe that puts special emphasis on primary sources. HIST 426 / JST 426 Holocaust (3) (IL)(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. The Holocaust stands out as the most terrible and challenging phenomenon of the 20th Century. Societies and the scholarship struggled for decades to fully grasp how much the Holocaust has questioned widely shared assumptions about modernity and progress. This course pursues the overarching question how the Holocaust could have taken place. Who were the perpetrators, victims and bystanders? How much agency did they have? How was the Holocaust organized? The course will encourage students to critically engage with the Holocaust, and will consider a variety of different kinds of sources and means of representation, including oral testimony, film and fiction, as well as more conventional documentation. After discussing some of the most important studies about the Holocaust and identifying the main historiographical debates, students will look at the origins and the evolution of the "Final Solution." The class will touch on the function of the "Ghettos," the role of the mobile killing units, the extermination camps, and Jewish resistance. The course will also deal with Jewish responses to the Holocaust, notably with attempts to enable Jews to emigrate to safe countries; with efforts to alert the public to the systematic killing after 1940; and the support especially of American Jews for Jewish survivors and DPs. Apart from discussing the historiography, students will work mostly with primary sources. Students are expected to do extensive reading for this class and prepare oral presentations on their respective paper topic. The research paper for this course will be based largely on primary sources. Apart from discussing the historiography, the sessions will concentrate on the interpretation of primary sources: - documents created by the perpetrators, bystanders, and victims; - files relating to postwar trials of perpetrators; - photographs; - representations of objects relating to the Holocaust; - memoirs by survivors; - interviews with survivors and bystanders.

An in-depth examination of important themes, writers, and/or historical developments in Jewish Literature of the United States. ENGL (J ST) 427 Topics in Jewish American Literature (3) This course will provide sustained examination of major themes, texts, and figures in the Jewish American literary tradition. The course will focus on depth rather than breadth in its analysis of the defining aspects of the literature and on what the literature reveals about Jewish American culture and identity. The United States has absorbed large numbers of Jewish immigrants from many parts of the world, holding many different ideas about Jewish practice, and affiliating themselves with many different political, social, and cultural traditions, and moreover Jews have settled and made homes in a wide variety of American communities. Close analysis of literature will therefore provide an opportunity to consider the constitution, origin, and development of Jewish America's wider cultural, political, and social contexts. Materials will consist predominantly of primary texts, including prose fiction and nonfiction, poetry, drama, and film, and the methodology will emphasize the close reading of these texts. The course complements offerings in Jewish Studies, English, and Comparative Literature. Most obviously, the course will offer students of Jewish literature, world literature, and American literature an opportunity for contextualization. It enables students in Jewish Studies to study the rich literature of American Jews, and it adds to courses covering Jewish American history, religion, and culture. The course offers students in English and Comparative Literature a valuable, sustained introduction to an important U.S. and world sub-culture and -literature.

This writing intensive course will examine issues of gender and sexuality in the Bible, including the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, the Deuterocanon, and the New Testament. It will introduce students to a variety of academic approaches to the Bible with respect to a broad range of topics. These topics include: gender identity, sexual orientation, sex, marriage and divorce, adultery, monogamy and polygyny, same-sex relations, chastity and celibacy, prostitution, gender violence, pornography, fertility, procreation, abortion, divine gender and sex, incest, and many others. In covering these themes, the course will deal with some of the most challenging and often disturbing stories and passages in the Bible, the ancient library of books that is sacred to Jews and Christians and which has otherwise greatly influenced civilization for more-or-less two thousand years. Alongside a close reading of the text (philology), this course will employ historical and literary criticism, investigations into ancient material culture (archaeology), modern theoretical interpretive approaches, reception theory, and other methodologies to examine not only the biblical writings in their ancient contexts, but their interpretation and use throughout history to construct social norms.

Study of Jewish American Film and Popular Culture. COMM (J ST) 434 Movies, Media, and the Jewish American Experience (3) The course examines film and other popular media, including theater, radio, and television, as important sources for understanding the Jewish experience and its impact on and relationship with American culture more generally since the late 19th century. Topics to be considered include US film and popular media as representations of Jewish history, culture, and experience; the role of Jews as prominent directors, producers, actors, and writers in their social-historical context; and the history and function of the representational modes and techniques used in these texts. A major emphasis of the course will be on analyzing film and other media texts as lenses to reflect, refract, and focus on Jewish American identity. By way of analyzing the interrelationships between filmic and other media texts and Jewish American experience, the course will attend to a number of key themes in Jewish cultural history, including Jewish life in late 19th-early 20th century Europe; immigrant life in turn of the century America and questions such as assimilation, preservation of tradition, family life, social mobility, and male/female relations; Jews in show business, organized crime, and sports; American Jews and the Holocaust; American Jews and Israel; Jews in the modern age; generational and denominational differences among Jews; and Jews and anti-Semitism.

Analysis of women's experience in the Holocaust and exploration of the role of gender in Holocaust Studies. J ST (HIST/WMNST) 439 Women and the Holocaust (3) Most of the early study of the Holocaust focused almost exclusively on the experiences of Jewish men. It was men who wrote the first and most widely read Holocaust memoirs and men who produced the first studies of the Holocaust. The first question motivating this class is thus what we can learn from examining women's experiences. Is it possible that the ghetto, the camp, and the forest look different from women's perspectives? Are there factors we miss when we read primary documents written by only half of the participants in these historical events? Beyond this, however, our exploration will also lead us to look more broadly at gender as a category of analysis. What do we gain by bringing questions of gender to bear on our study of the Holocaust? Are there any ethical concerns that should inform our approach?

Jews have been part of Middle Eastern societies for thousands of years. They flourished at times and endured hardships at others, but they have been part of every significant social and cultural transformation of the Middle East. In this class, students will discuss the significant contribution of the Jewish community to the development of various Middle Eastern societies throughout the centuries. Students will critically read and analyze primary sources and secondary literature. We will delve into national historiographies of places such as Morocco, Egypt, and Iran-to name a few-and seek to discover a nuanced narrative of Jewish histories of the region. We will also analyze popular culture products, such as documentaries, television, and literature. The course will follow a chronological and thematic order, and will examine Jewish history in conjunction with global and interregional processes in the Middle East and beyond, such as colonialism, imperialism, nationalism, relations with the West, the formation of the modern nation states of the Middle East, and the Israeli-Arab conflict.

This course focuses on the conceptualization and socio-political determinants of genocide and tyrannical regimes, with an emphasis on the Holocaust.

Examines the global array of smaller Jewish communities that have flourished outside the main urban centers of Jewish settlement. JST 457 / ANTH 457 / SOC 457 Jewish Communities: Identity, Survival, and Transformation in Unexpected Places (3) (US;IL) This course addresses an understudied aspect of Jewish experience. It aims to expand our understanding of Jewish communities by focusing on those that are, alternatively, small, situated in out-of-the-way places, culturally outside the Jewish urban mainstream, or embedded in a larger society with markedly different values and traditions. These communities often constitute the points-of-contact between Jews and non-Jews, and in so doing sometimes transform Jews, non-Jews, and the relationships among them. Other such communities constitute experiments in Jewish lifeways and provide mainstream Jews with pilot projects for potential social and cultural change. This course will explore the significance of small, little-known, idiosyncratic, and anomalous Jewish communities on Jewish history and culture, and draw on them to instruct students on the social and cultural processes of small or unusual communities generally. The communities studied will be located both in the U.S. and elsewhere in which Jews have lived as a minority community during modern times. The course will look at the founding, growth, and decline of such communities and at their social processes and institutions. It will explore how to understand and analyze such communities, which vary from one part of the world to another. The social world of Jewish communities, large and small, is a core interest of Penn State's Jewish Studies Program. This course will complement the current offerings in Jewish Studies, strengthening the social, cultural, and contemporary perspectives available in the Program. It will provide students with an opportunity to explore individual experience and micro-level processes among Jews, and to study the dynamics of identity and survival. It will complement the current offerings in Sociology and Anthropology by affording an opportunity to focus on community-level social processes and by adding a course on contemporary Jewry. The course will integrate knowledge from a variety of sources and fields, promote intercultural understanding, and meet US and IL requirements. Materials will be interdisciplinary, and will include ethnographies, sociological studies, population studies, histories, and personal narratives. They will include primary texts, creative works, and scholarly analyses. The assignments will be structured to facilitate preliminary experience in independent analysis, library research, or field research. The course will be offered approximately once a year. Enrollment will be limited to 30 students in order to promote active, engaged learning. Evaluations will be based on short papers and outlines that will prepare students for their final, term papers.

Explores major figures and trends in Jewish philosophy and their influences on other philosophical traditions. J ST (PHIL) 468 Modern Jewish Philosophy (3) The primary objective of this course is to encourage students to have a reflective stance on Jewish thought. Students will learn what comprises Jewish thought and how it is distinguished from theology. They will learn what role religion plays in philosophical thought and what is at stake for a philosophy that emerges from a particular religion. This course will give students perspective on how Judaism links to other philosophical movements, for example, the enlightenment of the modern period. It will enable to think about Judaism from a theoretical perspective, adding a new dimension to what they might study from historical, sociological, or literary viewpoints. Some questions we will consider include: In what ways does it converge/diverge, with the philosophical strains that influence it? In what ways have particular events in history shaped Judaic thinking? Does Judaism, or Judaic thinking, have an essence? If so, what is it? What does Judaism mean for the Jews, and what does it mean for others? And finally, what role does mysticism have in the play between religion and philosophy? Students will be evaluated by written work (short papers and a longer seminar paper) and a class presentation.

Political, economic, and social changes in Turkey, Iran, Israel, and the Arab countries in the twentieth century; Arab-Israeli conflict.

The history and memory of the Holocaust and Hiroshima and Nagasaki are often taught separately in different disciplines. This course will examine them together through the various ways different societies remembered, understood and commemorated these. Using the extensive literature on the history of memory, this course further suggests ways in which these memories and histories affected and were entangled by each other. Specific content will vary according to individual instructor, but topics may include victim cultures, cold war nuclear history, trauma, human rights, dark tourism, memorials, architecture as well as the general impact of these tragedies on the fraught politics of memory in East Asia and the Middle East, or the way the memories of the tragedies were entangled with the civil rights and other struggles in American and global history.

The aim of this course is to explore various ways in which philosophers have responded to Auschwitz (a signifier, or name, which is in turn not without controversy and complexity). It will examine, in particular, the promise and failure of post-Holocaust ethical theory, with attention to evil, suffering, goodness, witnessing, testimony, trauma, and human rights. Authors include Levi, Agamben, Arendt, Adorno, Levinas, Jonas, and Jankelevitch. Through reading and discussion of primary sources, this course introduces students to these philosophers' leading questions, methods, and conclusions, with reference to their historical context and their impact on later philosophy. The course will make these writings accessible to students without unduly presupposing prior knowledge, while also encouraging students to rise to the challenge with their own critical analysis and creative interpretations.

Development and achievements of the Achaemenid kingdom; relationships between Persians and Greeks.

Supervised student activities on research projects identified on an individual or small-group basis.

Supervised student activities on research projects identified on an individual or small-group basis.

Supervised off-campus, nongroup instruction including field experiences, practica, or internships. Written and oral critique of activity required.

Creative projects, including research and design, that are supervised on an individual basis and that fall outside the scope of formal courses.

Formal courses given infrequently to explore, in depth, a comparatively narrow subject that may be topical or of special interest.

Courses offered in foreign countries by individual or group instruction.