| JWST 213 |
| O My America!: The United States in Modern Jewish Literature |
| To generations of Jews, America has been not just a place to live, but also a powerful symbol. To different Jews, the country has represented promise, opportunity, refuge, oppression, or confusion. In this course, we will read novels, poems, short stories, and comics to explore the ways Jewish writers have envisioned the United States, paying attention to the ways that the country and its Jewish population have been transformed by real and imagined encounters. Readings will include works composed in English, Yiddish, German, and Hebrew (all of which will be made available to students in English translation), by writers such as Nathan Mayer, Mary Antin, Franz Kafka, I.J. Schwartz, Allen Ginsberg, Reuben Wallenrod, Grace Paley, Philip Roth, Tony Kushner, Ben Katchor, and Lara Vapnyar. |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| JWST 220 |
| Modern Israeli Literature and Jewish Heritage |
| Artists, and especially writers and poets, are the seismographs and mirrors of society, anticipating and reflecting its many forces and movements. During the past two hundred years Jewish life has been profoundly affected by such forces and movements as emancipation, the Enlightenment, assimilation, Zionism, and the Holocaust. A primary focus of modern Israeli writers is the birth of the State of Israel and its ongoing struggles, internally as well as with its Arab neighbors. One of the main ways Hebrew literature captures these significant changes is through the use of biblical themes, images and archetypes which resonate through the generations.
This course will examine the ways in which modern Hebrew literature enriches and brings deeper understanding of collective Jewish experiences and detects and shapes the reality of modern Israel. |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| JWST 221 |
| The Re/Invention of the Jewish Bible: Explorations in the History of Jewish Exegesis |
| An exploration of the ingenious ways in which Jewish interpreters refashioned Biblical narrative. In Judaism, the Bible is a seemingly limitless source for deriving and discovering new meaning. Ancient and medieval Jews were the inheritors and - in a significant sense - the next authors who would supplement and reshape the Bible through interpretation. Close reading in English translation of ancient and medieval interpreters will open up this central aspect of Jewish creativity.
Knowledge of Hebrew is not required. |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| JWST 225 |
| Modern Israeli Culture |
| As a dynamic young society with a multifaceted culture, modern Israel is distinguished by complex social relationships, evolving challenges and constant restlessness. With immigrants from all over the world, Israel is celebrating its extraordinary achievements while struggling with its history of constant external conflicts and intensifying divisions within its ethnic, religious and political groups. These cross currents will be examined using prose and poetry, films, plays, and currents from the internet. Additional topics will include physical features of the land, historical background, and the impact of the legal and political system on the daily lives of people. |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| JWST 235 |
| Jewish Issues in Western Music |
| This course surveys music by well-known and lesser-known Jewish composers, as well as non-Jewish composers inspired by Jewish sources, with some attention to musical form and historical context. Special attention is paid to philosophical and historical issues, such as the problem of the portrayal of God in music, music in ancient temple, and music during and related to the Holocaust. [A background in music is not required.] |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| JWST 251 |
| Exotic Exiles: Jewish Women and Memory in the Mediterranean World |
| In this course we will explore the uniqueness of Sephardic Jewish women's identity as we read their stories of childhoods, adolescence and adulthood in places like Iran, Algeria, Israel, Latin America, France and the United States. The course is designed to expose the student to the discourse of the "other" Jew, both woman and Sephardic, to expand the notion of what it means to be Jewish in a post-colonial, post-WWII, postmodern world. We will explore how the tendency of history to be narrated by "white" (male) Europeans has also influenced and shaped the narrative of Jewish modern history, and we will challenge this view as well as seek to understand how this trend has affected various Sephardic/Mizrahi communities. |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| JWST 263 |
| Jews Among the Greeks & Romans |
| This course examines the Jewish Diaspora in the Greco-Roman world from Alexander the Great to the early Roman Empire. Focusing on both Jewish and pagan sources, we will assess and contextualize literary and archaeological evidence relating to the Jewish communities outside the land of Israel. Particular atttention will be directed toward the Jewish Diaspora in Rome. Readings will include selections from Josephus, Philo, Strabo, Cicero, Tacitus, Juvenal, and other ancient writers, as well as Jewish papyri and funeral inscriptions, all in translation. |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| JWST 270 |
| Sects and Texts |
| This course will examine the proliferation of Jewish sects during the Hellenistic era (4th c bce-2nd c.ce) in an effort to understand the formation of early Judaism and Christianity. We shall look at the historical factors that formed this era and gave rise to these sectarian movements. Primary historical readings will include the Dead Sea Scrolls and the historian Josephus. We will also examine key archeological finds related to sects. |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| JWST 275 |
| The Making of American Jews |
| This course will explore the Jewish experience in America through art and artifacts. By looking at the material culture of Judaism, we will engage in the study of everyday life. We will focus on aspets of Jewish American culture such as food, clothing, ritual objects, and museums and discuss the ways in which visual culture expresses religious beliefs and shape ethnic identity. The course will introduce students to a variety of sources and consider theoretical ways of understanding them. |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| JWST 283 |
| Gender and Identity in Jewish Experience |
| From circumcision to the nose job, this course will explore constructions of gender, sexuality, and the body of Judaism. We will look at the changing roles of men and women throughout Jewish history as formulated in both classic texts and their modern interpretations. By discussing topics such as God's body, purity laws, ideals of masculinity, gender stereotypes, and feminist theology, we will study the multiple meanings of gender sexuality, and the body for Jewish religion and culture. |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| JWST 284 |
| Anti-Semitism in the Ancient World |
| The long and seemingly never-ending history of anti-Semitism has its roots in the ancient world. In this course we will study the literary evidence of ancient anti-Semitism in Greco-Roman society as well as anti-Jewish polemics in early Christian literature. We will place the phenomenon of ancient hatred of Jews in its historical context and also take a close look at Jewish responses to these polemics. Accordingly, the course also serves as a general introduction to Judaism in the ancient world. All texts will be in English translation. |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| JWST 399 |
| Independent Study |
| Submission of the special registration form, available in the Registrar’s Office, and the approval of the instructor and director are required for enrollment. |
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0.50 units min / 1.00 units max, Independent Study
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| JWST 466 |
| Teaching Assistant |
| Submission of the special registration form, available in the Registrar’s Office, and the approval of the instructor and director are required for enrollment. |
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0.50 units min / 1.00 units max, Independent Study
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| JWST 497 |
| Senior Thesis |
| Submission of the special registration form, available in the Registrar’s Office, and the approval of the instructor and director are required for enrollment in this single-semester thesis. |
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1.00 units, Independent Study
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| JWST 498 |
| Senior Thesis Part 1 |
| Submission of the special registration form, available in the Registrar’s Office, and the approval of the instructor and director are required for enrollment in this single-semester thesis. |
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2.00 units, Independent Study
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| JWST 499 |
| Senior Thesis Part 2 |
| The thesis is a year-long research project sponsored by a member of the Jewish Studies Department. Prerequisite: Submission of the special registration form, available in the Registrar's Office, and the approval of the instructor and chairperson are required for each semester. (2 course credits are considered pending in the first semester; 2 course credits will be awarded for completion in the second semester) |
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2.00 units, Independent Study
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