INTRODUCTORY COURSES
4. Religion of Israel: The Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) (Identical to, and described under, Religion 4)
09F: 2
Dist: TMV; WCult: W. Ackerman.
6. Introduction to Judaism (Identical to, and described under, Religion 6)
11W: 10
Dist: TMV; WCult: W. Benor.
7. First-Year Seminars in Jewish Studies
Consult special listings
10. History and Culture of the Jews I: The Classical Period (Identical to History 94.8)
Not offered in the period from 09F through 11S
Dist: SOC; WCult: W. Heschel.
11. History and Culture of the Jews II: The Modern Period (Identical to History 94.9)
11W: 11
A continuation of Jewish Studies 10, but may be taken independently. This course provides a survey of Jewish history and culture from the European enlightenment to the establishment of the State of Israel. Dist: SOC; WCult: CI. Heschel.
16. Introduction to Hebraic and Israeli Culture (Identical to Hebrew 10 and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies 17; described under Hebrew 10)
10S, 11S: 10A
Dist: LIT; WCult: NW. Glinert.
LITERATURE, LANGUAGE, AND CULTURE OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE
21. Jewish American Literature (Identical to English 67.6)
10S: 2A
The content of Jewish American Literature reflects that of many literatures including the broad variety of historical, political, social, and cultural experiences that Jews from very different places and backgrounds have brought to the United States. The course introduces students to the central topics, motives, and literary strategies from the beginnings of a tangible Jewish American literature in the late nineteenth century to the present. Dist: LIT; WCult: CI. Milich.
21.2 Modern Jewish American Women Writers (Identical to English 67 and Women’s and Gender Studies 51)
Not offered in the period from 09F to 11S
This course will explore the literature of Jewish American women from the late nineteenth century to the present; topics for discussion will include feminism, sexuality, identity politics, activism, and literary transmission. Among the readings will be poetry, fiction, memoir, and essays by such writers as Lazarus, Antin, Yezierska, Stock, Stein, Olsen, Rukeyser, Paley, Ozick, Rich, Piercy, Levertov, Gluck, Goldstein, Wasserstein, Goodman, Klepfisz, Feinberg, Chernin. Dist: LIT, WCult: CI. Zeiger.
22. Jews and Hollywood (Identical to Film Studies 47)
09F: 10A
This course will look at the complex, rich tradition of Jewish artists as well as the history of representations of Jews in film. We will focus on American films and examine how Jews became American and how American culture became Jewish. Topics will include: the role of Jews in the creation of the product and myth of Hollywood, how anti-Semitism shaped images of Jews in film, and how mainstream film has shaped contemporary Jewish identity. Dist: ART; WCult: W. Bronski.
22.2 Jews in American Culture: The New York Intellectuals (Identical to English 72.1)
10W: 2A
No other group of Jewish critics has been so influential in American literary and cultural politics as the New York Intellectuals, who came to prominence with the foundation of the Partisan Review (1937-2003). Starting from the assumption of what Russel Jacoby has identified as a Jewish-gentile split among the NYI, this course shall focus on how the political and cultural debates informed their notions of Jewish-American identity, particularly with respect to other minorities. Dist: LIT; WCult: W. Milich.
22.3 From Fanny to the Nanny: Jewish Women and Humor (Identical to Women’s and Gender Studies 56.7)
10F: 2A
Examining the traditions of humor in Jewish women’s writing and performance, we will look at questions such as: What is Jewish humor? What is feminist humor? How have Jewish women influenced American popular culture? What is the relationship between Jewish male humor and Jewish female humor? How do cultural stereotypes function? And we will discuss how Jewish humor, and specifically Jewish women’s humor, is the basis for much of what we call “American humor” today. Dist: LIT; WCult: CI. Bronski.
24.1 The Hebrew of the Bible (Identical to, and described under, Hebrew 51)
10S, 11S: Arrange
Ben-Yehuda.
24.2 Jewish Humor and Its Roots: Rabbis, Rogues, and Schlemiels (Identical to Hebrew 63 and Comparative Literature 41; described under Hebrew 63)
Not offered in the period from 09F through 11S
Dist: LIT; WCult: W. Glinert.
24.3 Midrash: How the Rabbis Interpreted the Bible (Identical to Hebrew 62)
10F: 2A
Midrash is the ancient Jewish term for Biblical interpretation. We examine how the Bible was interpreted by the Rabbis 1500 to 2000 years ago, at the crucial juncture in history when the Bible was being canonized in the form it now has. We focus on powerful motifs such as the Creation, the Flood, Jacob and Esau, the Sacrifice of Isaac, and the Exodus, and view them through two prisms: through a wide range of ancient Midrashic texts themselves; and through one influential modern Jewish literary reading of the Midrashic themes of Genesis. Dist: LIT; WCult: NW. Glinert.
24.4 Struggle and Rebirth in Hebrew and Yiddish Literature (Identical to, and described under, Hebrew 61 )
Not offered in the period from 09F through 11S
Dist: LIT; WCult: NW. Glinert.
26 European Jewish Intellectuals (Identical to, and described under, Comparative Literature 70)
09F: 2A
Dist: LIT; WCult: W. Kritzman.
27. The Jewish Family (Identical to, and described under, Comparative Literature 46)
Not offered in the period from 09F through 11S
Dist: LIT. Kritzman.
27.3 Islam and Judaism: Europe’s Orientalist Visions (Identical to English 60)
Not offered in the period from 09F through 11S
Studying representations of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism in the arts, history, theology and racial discourse in nineteenth century Britain, France, and Germany, this course will examine the rise of Islamic and Judaic Studies and Orientalist themes in the arts, including poetry, novels, travel writing, and briefly, music and painting. Readings will include: Goethe, Flaubert, Eliot, Said, Behdad, Ben-Yosef, and others. Dist: LIT; WCult: CI. Heschel, McKee.
TOPICS IN THE HISTORY OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE
33. American Jewish History (Identical to, and described under, History 6)
Not offered in the period from 09F through 11S
Dist: SOC; WCult: CI. Orleck
37.1 History of the Holocaust (Identical to History 58)
11W: 2
The focus of this course will be on the history of the murder of European Jews and the destruction of European Judaism at the hands of the Nazis. After surveying the history of racism in European society from the 18th to 20th century, the course investigates, from perspectives of history, psychology, literature, philosophy, and religion, how bureaucracy could exterminate six million Jews. Dist: SOC; WCult: W. Heschel.
37.2 Burden of the Nazi Past: World War, Genocide, Population Transfer, and Firebombing (Identical to Comparative Literature 64 and German 45; described under Comparative Literature 64 and German 45)
Not offered in the period 09F through 11S
Dist: LIT; WCult: CI. Kacandes.
37.3 Representing the Holocaust: History, Memory, and Survival (Identical to Comparative Literature 64 and History 6)
10S: 10A
Half a century later, the Holocaust is viewed as the central, traumatic, event of modern Western experience and history. But the struggle between the desire to forget and efface it, and the impulse to remember, uncover, and record the minute details of its reality, has engendered a challenge to the limits of representation—to the very possibility of recalling, describing, and depicting what many judge to be the unrepresentable. This course explores the history and memory of the Holocaust as presented in the historical documents, survivor/perpetrator testimonies, memoirs, fictions, and in cinematic and visual images. Dist: INT; WCult: W. Spitzer.
TOPICS IN THE POLITICS AND CULTURE OF ISRAEL
41. The Archaeology of Israel: From Prehistory to the Roman period (Identical to Art History 17.2)
11S: 12
This course will examine the archeology of Israel from prehistory through the early Roman period, with emphasis on cultural interactions and their material manifestations. Ancient Israel was a crossroads where many different cultures met. Home to Canaanites and Israelites, Israel successively experienced the cultural and artistic impact of Egyptians, Assyrians, Greeks, and Romans, who either invaded this region or came into contact with it through a variety of more peaceful processes. Dist: ART; WCult: NW. Kangas.
41.2 Synagogue and Church: Archaeology of Roman Palestine (Identical to Art History 16.2)
Not offered in the period from 09F through 11S
The Greco-Roman era in the ancient Near East is crucial for understanding the evolution of Judaism and the emergence of Christianity. This course will examine the archeological, historical, and art historical evidence for the development of Judaism and Christianity beginning with the First Century B.C.E. Topics will include the study of Jerusalem and its Temple, the archeological evidence surrounding the life and death of Jesus, and the art and architecture of the first synagogues and churches. Dist: ART; WCult: W. Kangas.
42. Film, Fiction and the Arab-Israeli Conflict (Identical to, and described under, Hebrew 61)
09F: 2A
Dist: LIT; WCult: W. Glinert.
JUDAISM, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY
51. Freud: Psychoanalysis, Jews, and Gender (Identical to Women’s and Gender Studies 67.1 and German 42)
Not offered in the period from 09F through 11S
This course will examine how Freud’s own writings, his biography, and his biographers have shaped the perceptions of psychoanalysis as a specifically Jewish theory and practice. Through a reading of Freud’s texts on gender, sexuality, and religion, we will trace the connections between psychoanalysis, Jewishness, and gender that have impacted theoretical discussion. We will explore critique, including Horney, Reich, and Marcuse, and recent debate on the status of Freud in the U.S. Dist: SOC; WCult: CI. Fuechtner.
52. Judaism, Sexuality, and Queerness (Identical to Women’s and Gender Studies 65.1)
Not offered in the period from 09F through 11S
The intersections between gender formation, sexual identity, sexual practice, religious practice, cultural identity, and personal belief will be examined. Drawing from contemporary gender theory, religious texts, and current interpretations of Jewish thought and culture in the works of Judith Halberstam, Marilyn Halter, Rachel Adler, Sander Gilman, Miriam Peskowitz, Laura Levitt, and David Beale, we will examine the construction of Jewish identity as well as gender and sexual orientation through a feminist/queer lens. Dist: TMV; WCult: CI. Bronski.
53. Gender and Judaism (Identical to Women’s and Gender Studies 33.3)
10W: 10A
Examining the intersections between gender, religious practice, cultural identity, and personal belief, this class will draw upon contemporary gender theory, religious texts, and contemporary interpretations of Jewish thought and culture to examine the construction of Jewish identity through a feminist lens. Authors will include Adler, Boyarin, Heschel, Gilman, Peskowitz, Levitt, and Biale. The class will also investigate questions of race, ethnicity, assimilation, and Jewish gender issues in popular culture, including films and the work of performers Cantor, Benny, Berg, Midler, and Sandler. Dist: TMV; WCult: CI. Bronski.
JEWS, ETHNICITY, AND RACE
55. Performing National Identities: Representations of Blacks and Jews in U.S. Culture (Identical to English 67 and African and African American Studies 84)
Not offered in the period from 09F through 11S
Dist: LIT; WCult: CI. Schweitzer.
56. The Arab-Israeli Conflict in Middle Eastern Literature and Film (Identical to Comparative Literature 64 and Arabic 61)
Not offered in the period from 09F through 11S
Dist: INT; WCult: CI.
TOPICS IN JEWISH RELIGION
60. Judaism in Late Antiquity: The Rabbinic Revolution (Identical to, and described under, Religion 21)
Not offered in the period from 09F through 11S
Dist: TMV; WCult: W. Benor.
61. Modern Judaism (Identical to, and described under, Religion 22)
Not offered in the period from 09F through 11S
Dist: TMV; WCult: W. Heschel.
62. Jewish Mysticism (Identical to, and described under, Religion 23)
Not offered in the period from 09F through 11S
Dist: TMV; WCult: W. Benor.
63. Jewish Philosophers of Religion (Identical to, and described under, Religion 24)
10W: 2
Dist: TMV; WCult: W. Benor.
SPECIAL TOPICS COURSES IN JEWISH STUDIES
70. The Jew in the Protestant Imagination: The Merchant of Venice (Identical to English 65 and Religion 74)
11S: 10A
This course will offer a close examination of Shakespeare’s construction of “Jewishness,” in the context of a larger review of Jewish history in medieval and early modern Europe. Dist: LIT, WCult: W. Heschel, McKee.
SEMINAR IN JEWISH STUDIES
80. History of Holocaust Historiography (Identical to History 95)
11S: 2A
This seminar will examine several key issues in recent holocaust historiography with particular attention to the center-periphery debate concerning the extent to which genocidal policy was controlled by Berlin, or by German forces occupying regions in Eastern Europe. Additional issues concern feminist debates over Nazi natalist policies; consent or coercion as characterizing German civilian responses; application of social theory to concentration camps; the role of the churches; comparison of the Wehrmacht and the Italian army. Prerequisite for this seminar is prior knowledge of the history of the Holocaust and of Nazi Germany. Dist: SOC; WCult: W. Heschel.
82 The Voice of the Witness: History, Literature, Law (Identical to History 6)
10S: 2A
Using a comparative and interdisciplinary approach, this seminar examines the emergence of testimony as genre and source in the 20th century history, jurisprudence, and collective memory. Focusing on three key sites illuminating different theoretical dimensions of testimony—World War II and the Holocaust, the Vietnam war, and South African apartheid—we will study the act of witness in oral, literary, cinematic/video texts, and in trials and truth commissions. Dist: INT and SOC; WCult: CI. Spitzer.
85. Independent Study and Research
All terms: Arrange
This course offers qualified students of Jewish Studies the opportunity to pursue work on a topic of special interest through an individually designed program. Requires permission of the instructor and the Chair.