1001. Elementary Modern Hebrew I
4.00 credits
Prerequisites: Not open for credit to students who have had three of more years of Hebrew in high school. May not be taken out of sequence after passing HEJS 1002, 1003, or 1004.
Grading Basis: Graded
Phonetic reading, cursive script, basic conjugations, simple syntax, and vocabulary. Oral and written expression through videos, songs, and exposure to Israeli culture.
View Classes »1002. Elementary Modern Hebrew II
4.00 credits
Prerequisites: HEJS 1001 or equivalent. Not open to students who have had three or more years of Hebrew in high school. May not be taken out of sequence after passing HEJS 1003 or 1004.
Grading Basis: Graded
More complex grammatical structures including the construct state, verb patterns, and more advanced vocabulary. Oral and written expression through study of videos and popular culture.
View Classes »1003. Intermediate Modern Hebrew I
4.00 credits
Prerequisites: HEJS 1002 or the equivalent. May not be taken out of sequence after passing HEJS 1004. May not be taken for credit after passing HEJS 3251.
Grading Basis: Graded
Building on first-year skills, more advanced grammar, vocabulary, and conversation. Examples from popular media and culture along with short readings continue to enhance students' language acquisition.
View Classes »1004. Intermediate Modern Hebrew II
4.00 credits
Prerequisites: HEJS 1003. Not open for credit to students who have passed HEJS 3251.
Grading Basis: Graded
More advanced communicative proficiency using readings and examples from media and popular culture. Focus on grammar, vocabulary, and conversation with more context from the history, culture, and religious traditions of the Jewish people.
View Classes »1103. Who Are the Jews? Jewish Identity through the Ages
3.00 credits
Prerequisites: None.
Grading Basis: Graded
The major concepts, personalities and literary works that inform Jewish identity from the Biblical and Talmudic periods to the present. Taught in English.CA 1. CA 4.
View Classes »1193. Foreign Study
1.00 - 6.00 credits | May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisites: None.
Grading Basis: Graded
Special topics taken in a foreign study program. Consent of Department Head required, normally before the student's departure.
View Classes »2104. Modern Jewish Thought
3.00 credits
Prerequisites: Recommended preparation: HEJS 1103. Not open for credit for students who have passed HEJS 1104.
Grading Basis: Graded
Nationalism, culture, ethics and philosophy in the writings of the major Jewish thinkers from Spinoza to the present. Emphasis will be placed on the work of Moses Mendelssohn, Hermann Cohen, Franz Rosenzweig, Martin Buber, Mordecai Kaplan, Judith Plaskow, and others. CA 1. CA 4-INT.
View Classes »2200. Israel: History and Society
3.00 credits
Prerequisites: None.
Grading Basis: Graded
Major themes in Zionist and Israeli history and the development of Israeli art, literature, film, popular music, dance, theater, and popular culture, with a focus on the central questions that have both unified and divided Israeli society and politics. CA 1. CA 4-INT.
View Classes »2201. Diversity and Inclusion in Israeli Society: A Cinematic View
3.00 credits
Prerequisites: None.
Grading Basis: Graded
Overview of Israeli films with a particular focus on contemporary cultural, social, and political tensions. Topics may include the uneasy relationship between an ancient patriarchal conservative religion and modern western secular society; Jerusalem as a holy city for three monotheistic regions, as a modern metropolis, and as a tourist attraction; the culture of masculinity promoted by the Israeli military; the status of women; attitudes toward the LGBTQ+ community; the treatment of minoritized groups in general, including those based on race or religion; and questions of citizenship and immigration, both legal and illegal. Taught in English.
View Classes »2203. The Holocaust in Print, Theater, and Film
Representations of the Holocaust, including first-hand accounts and documentaries; artistic choices in genre, structure, imagery, point of view, and the limits of representation. CA 1. CA 4-INT.
View Classes »2204. Jewish Culture in American Film
Representations of the diversity of Jewish culture (historical, religious, secular) in American film. Introduction to film analysis and interpretation. CA 1. CA 4.
View Classes »2301. Jewish Humor
Also offered as: CLCS 2301
3.00 credits
Prerequisites: Not open to students who have passed HEJS 3295 when taught as this topic.
Grading Basis: Graded
The history of Jewish humor in modern times with attention given to its various forms, including oral traditions, fiction and humor writing, stand-up comedy, live performance, television, film, and music. CA 1. CA 4.
View Classes »3050. Anthropology of Jews and Jewishness
Also offered as: ANTH 3050
3.00 credits
Prerequisites: Recommended preparation: ANTH 1000 or 1006; ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011.
Grading Basis: Graded
Survey of the rich and growing ethnographic literature on Jews and Jewishness around the globe. Course materials include ethnographic texts, music, and videos/films.
View Classes »3050W. Anthropology of Jews and Jewishness
Also offered as: ANTH 3050W
3.00 credits
Prerequisites: ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011. Recommended preparation: ANTH 1000 or 1006.
Grading Basis: Graded
Survey of the rich and growing ethnographic literature on Jews and Jewishness around the globe. Course materials include ethnographic texts, music, and videos/films.
View Classes »3201. Selected Books of the Hebrew Bible
3.00 credits | May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisites: INTD 3260 or HIST 3301 or HEJS 1103, which may be taken concurrrently, or instructor consent.
Grading Basis: Graded
Literary structure and content of biblical book(s) using modern approaches as well as midrashic and medieval exegesis. Historical and archaeological material. With a change in content, may be repeated for credit and consent of instructor. A knowledge of Hebrew is not required. Taught in English. May not be used to meet the foreign language requirement. CA 1.
View Classes »3202. Sects and Movements in Judaism
3.00 credits
Prerequisites: None.
Grading Basis: Graded
Varieties of Jewish expression and belief from Biblical times to the present. Topics include: the Dead Sea Sect, Pharisees, Sadducees, Karaites, Marranos, Hasidism and the Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and Reconstructionist movements of the modern era. Taught in English. May not be used to meet the foreign language requirement.
View Classes »3203. The Holocaust
Origins, development, and legacy of the Holocaust. Topics include the history of modern European anti-Semitism, the creation of the Nazi state, the catalytic role of the Second World War, the actions and attitudes of the perpetrators, victims, and bystanders, and the diverse ways in which scholars and societies have dealt with the legacy of the Holocaust. Taught in English. May not be used to meet the foreign language requirement.
View Classes »3205. Introduction to Holocaust Studies
This course provides students with an introduction to the study of the Holocaust. It examines the political, cultural, and religious contexts in which the mass murder of European Jews and others unfolded, considers the conditions under which the Holocaust became possible, the possibilities for resistance and dissent, and the impact of the Holocaust on contemporary culture and understanding of human rights.
View Classes »3241. Jewish Magic: from Late Antiquity through the Early Modern Period
3.00 credits
Prerequisites: None.
Grading Basis: Graded
Jewish magical beliefs and practices from the rabbinic period through the early modern period. Texts include spells, kabbalistic lore, magical books, incantations, legends, prayers, medical texts, exempla.
View Classes »3251. Advanced Hebrew
3.00 credits | May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisites: HEJS 1004 or instructor consent.
Grading Basis: Graded
Further grammar study. Practice in composition involving the use of everyday vocabulary and idiomatic expressions. Readings and films relevant to Israeli culture and history.
View Classes »3252. Advanced Hebrew
3.00 credits | May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisites: HEJS 3251.
Grading Basis: Graded
Further grammar study. Practice in composition involving the use of everyday vocabulary and idiomatic expressions. Readings and films relevant to Israeli culture and history.
View Classes »3260. The Bible, the Holy Land, and History
3.00 credits
Prerequisites: None.
Grading Basis: Graded
The historical, literary, and archaeological investigation of the Old and New Testaments. Formerly offered as INTD 3260. CA 1.
View Classes »3293. Foreign Study
1.00 - 6.00 credits | May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisites: None.
Grading Basis: Graded
Special topics taken in a foreign study program. Consent of Department Head required, normally granted prior to the student's departure. May count toward the major with consent of the advisor.
View Classes »3295. Special Topics
1.00 - 6.00 credits | May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisites: Prerequisites and recommended preparation vary.
Grading Basis: Graded
3298. Variable Topics
3.00 credits | May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisites: Prerequisites and recommended preparation vary.
Grading Basis: Graded
3299. Independent Study
1.00 - 6.00 credits | May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisites: None.
Grading Basis: Graded
3301. The Jewish Middle Ages
3.00 credits
Prerequisites: None.
Grading Basis: Graded
Survey of sacred and secular literature in a wide variety of genres produced by Jews in the medieval period from major centers of European settlement. CA 1. CA 4.
View Classes »3330. Palestine Under the Greeks and Romans
The political, historical and religious currents in Greco-Roman Palestine. Includes the Jewish Revolts, sectarian developments, the rise of Christianity and the Talmudic academies. May not be used to meet the foreign language requirement. Taught in English.
View Classes »3362. The Black Death: Medieval and Modern Responses to Catastrophe
Also offered as: HIST 3362
3.00 credits
Prerequisites: Not open to students who have passed HEJS 3295 when offered as The Black Death: Medieval Responses.
Grading Basis: Graded
The Black Death (1346-50) from its origins in China through Europe. Institutional, medical, religious, literary, and social responses to the plague; how modern scholars reconstruct medieval experience; and new findings by historians and scientists that shed light on the challenges of past, present and future pandemics. CA 1. CA 4-INT.
View Classes »3401. Jewish American Literature and Culture
Also offered as: ENGL 3220
3.00 credits
Prerequisites: ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011.
Grading Basis: Graded
Interdisciplinary study of literary and artistic productions by and about Jews in the United States. CA 1. CA 4.
View Classes »3401W. Jewish American Literature and Culture
Also offered as: ENGL 3220W
3.00 credits
Prerequisites: ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011.
Grading Basis: Graded
Interdisciplinary study of literary and artistic productions by and about Jews in the United States. CA 1. CA 4.
View Classes »3419. Jewish Responses to the Holocaust
Interdisciplinary exploration of Jewish responses to the Holocaust. Examines social, religious, theological, political, cultural, psychological, and literary responses both during and after the Second World War. CA 1. CA 4-INT.
View Classes »3629. Holocaust Memoir
Also offered as: ENGL 3629
3.00 credits
Prerequisites: ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011; open to sophomores or higher.
Grading Basis: Graded
Literature of the Holocaust focusing on memoir in various genres and forms. CA 1. CA 4-INT.
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