Departments & Programs

Jewish Studies

Course Descriptions

Biblical Hebrew
  • JSTU–B 200 Intermediate Biblical Hebrew I (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or higher in B150 or equivalent proficiency. A continuation of B150. Advances student’s skill to read and understand biblical narrative, law, prophecy, and poetry. I Sem.
  • JSTU–B 250 Intermediate Biblical Hebrew II (3 cr.) P: Grade of C in B200 or equivalent proficiency. Continues to build the skills necessary for reading various literary genres in the Bible while training the student to do formal textual exegesis. Introduction to scholarly tools necessary for translating and interpreting biblical text. II Sem.
Israeli Culture
  • JSTU–C 240 Contemporary Israeli Culture (3 cr.) A & H, CSA Through literature and other media (essay, film, music), this course examines a number of Israeli cultural, social, and political phenomena: the Holocaust in the Israeli imagination, Labor and the Israeli body, Jewish ethnicity, the Israeli Arab, and the creation of new national holidays. Students develop methods of “reading” these artifacts of Israeli culture with the help of approaches from the fields of literary and cultural studies.
  • JSTU–C 340 The Kibbutz in Fact and Fiction (3 cr.) A & H, CSA A survey of the representation of kibbutz ideology and community in Hebrew fiction and anthropological and sociological studies. Compares early representations of the kibbutz with its recent transformations to acquaint students with the impact of this unique social system in Israeli society and culture.
  • JSTU–C 360 Israeli Film and Fiction (3 cr.) A & H, CSA A sampling of Israeli novels and stories in English translation whose texts were made into film. All readings and discussions conducted in English. Subjects covered pertain to the representation of Israeli culture, values, and experience, including individualism and the collective, war and peace, the self and the nation.
Modern Hebrew
  • JSTU–H 100 Elementary Hebrew I (4 cr.) Introductory course that lays groundwork for the study and use of modern (Israeli) Hebrew—reading, writing and conversing. No previous knowledge of Hebrew required. I Sem.
  • JSTU–H 150 Elementary Hebrew II (4 cr.) P: Grade of C or higher in H100 or equivalent proficiency. Continuation of H100. Development of basic reading, writing, and conversing in modern Hebrew. II Sem.
  • JSTU–H 190 Intensive Elementary Hebrew (6 cr.) Intensive course in elementary modern Hebrew, combining ulpan with standard language instruction techniques. The course covers the equivalent of one full year of elementary Hebrew in one term, and is open to those desiring to acquire all facets of language communication, morphology, phonology, and syntax. Credit given for only one of JSTU H190, or JSTU H100-H150.
  • JSTU–H 196 Foreign Study in Hebrew (1–6 cr.) P: Acceptance into an overseas study program. Credit for foreign study in Hebrew language or literature when no specific equivalent is available among departmental offerings. Does not count toward credit for major, certificate, or minor.
  • JSTU–H 200 Intermediate Hebrew I (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or higher in H150 or equivalent proficiency. Continuation of H150; second year of modern Hebrew. Development of skills of reading, writing, and conversing in modern Hebrew on an intermediate level.
  • JSTU–H 250 Intermediate Hebrew II (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or higher in H200 or equivalent proficiency. Continuation of H200. Development of the skills of reading, writing, and conversing in modern Hebrew on an intermediate level. II Sem.
  • JSTU–H 296 Foreign Study in Hebrew (1–6 cr.) P: Acceptance into an overseas study program. Credit for foreign study in Hebrew language or literature when no specific equivalent is available among departmental offerings. Does not count toward credit for major, certificate, or minor.
  • JSTU–H 300 Advanced Hebrew I (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or higher in H250 or equivalent proficiency. In this third-year course in the modern Hebrew language sequence, students will further develop reading, writing, and speaking skills. Emphasis on reading comprehension and conversation, as well as grammar and syntactical structures. The language of instruction and discussion is Hebrew. I Sem.
  • JSTU–H 350 Advanced Hebrew II (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or higher in H300 or equivalent proficiency. Continuation of H300. Further development of advanced reading, writing, and conversing skills in modern Hebrew. II Sem.
  • JSTU–H 365 Advanced Hebrew Conversation and Composition (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or higher in H350 or equivalent proficiency. A full summation of modern Hebrew, with review of grammar and vocabulary. The course aims to enrich students’ vocabulary, reading and writing skills, comprehension, and free expression. Emphasis will be on vocabulary, usage, and pronunciation. Writing practice and review of grammar will be integrated with conversation and readings of selections from literary and nonliterary texts.
  • JSTU–H 375 Introductory Readings in Hebrew Literature (in Hebrew) (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or higher in H350 or equivalent proficiency. A & H Reading, in the original Hebrew, of selected poetry and prose from among the chief writers of modern Hebrew literature. Emphasis on familiarization with the diverse styles, forms, and themes of modern Hebrew literature. Discussion and analysis in Hebrew.
  • JSTU–H 396 Foreign Study in Hebrew (1–6 cr.) P: Acceptance into an overseas study program. Credit for foreign study in Hebrew language or literature when no specific equivalent is available among departmental offerings. Does not count toward credit for major, certificate, or minor.
  • JSTU–H 460 Israeli Film and Fiction in Hebrew (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or higher in H350 or equivalent proficiency. A & H, CSA A sampling of Israeli novels and stories whose texts were made into film. Subjects covered pertain to the representation of Israeli culture, values, and experience, including individualism and collective, war and peace, the self and the nation. Readings, assignments, and discussion in Hebrew.
  • JSTU–H 480 Modern Hebrew Literature in Hebrew (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or higher in any Hebrew course above H350 (such as H365, H375, H485, or H497), or equivalent. A & H, CSA A survey of nineteenth- and twentieth-century fiction, poetry, essays in the original Hebrew under such headings as assimilation, ghetto, and world; secularism versus tradition; ethnicity, land, and universalism; nation, religion, state; utopia and revolution; nostalgia, self-hate, rejuvenation; portrayal of anti-Semitism in literature.
  • JSTU–H 485 Recent Hebrew Literature in Hebrew (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or higher in H350 or equivalent proficiency. A & H, CSA Extensive readings of Hebrew texts and scholarly works grouped according to periods or specific themes in language, literature, or intellectual movements adapted to specific individual programs. Readings, assignments, and discussions in Hebrew.
  • JSTU–H 496 Foreign Study in Hebrew (1–6 cr.) P: Acceptance into an overseas study program. Credit for foreign study in Hebrew language or literature when no specific equivalent is available among departmental offerings. Does not count for major, certificate, or minor.
  • JSTU–H 497 Individual Readings in Hebrew (1–4 cr.) P: Grade of C or higher in H350 or equivalent proficiency. Extensive readings of Hebrew texts and scholarly works grouped according to periods or specific themes in language, literature, or intellectual movements adapted to specific individual programs. Readings, assignments, and discussion in Hebrew. May be repeated for a maximum of 9 credit hours.
Jewish Studies
  • JSTU–J 251 Introduction to Jewish History: From the Bible to Spanish Expulsion (3 cr.) S & H, CSA Topics include the origins of Judaism, Jewish life in ancient Israel and the Diaspora, Judaism and the origins of Christianity, Jewish society and culture under Christian and Muslim rule in the Middle Ages. Credit given for only one of J251 or HIST H251.
  • JSTU–J 252 Introduction to Jewish History: From Spanish Expulsion to the Present (3 cr.) S & H, CSA Jewish history from early modern times to the present. Topics include Jewish daily life in early modern Europe and Ottoman Turkey, Jewish mysticism, Hasidism, Jewish emancipation, modern Judaism, anti-Semitism, the Holocaust, Zionism, the State of Israel, and the history of American Jewry. Credit given for only one of J252 or HIST H252.
  • JSTU–J 203 Arts and Humanities Topics in Jewish Studies (3 cr.) A & H Selected arts and humanities topics and issues in Jewish studies. May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of 9 credit hours.
  • JSTU–J 204 Social and Historical Topics in Jewish Studies (3 cr.) S & H Selected social and historical topics and issues in Jewish studies. May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of 9 credit hours.
  • JSTU–J 303 Arts and Humanities Topics in Jewish Studies (3 cr.) A & H Selected arts and humanities topics and issues in Jewish studies. May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of 9 credit hours.
  • JSTU–J 304 Social and Historical Topics in Jewish Studies (3 cr.) S & H Selected social and historical topics and issues in Jewish studies. May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of 9 credit hours.
  • JSTU–J 403 Arts and Humanities Topics in Jewish Studies (3 cr.) A & H Selected arts and humanities topics and issues in Jewish studies. May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of 9 credit hours.
  • JSTU–J 404 Social and Historical Topics in Jewish Studies (3 cr.) S & H Selected social and historical topics and issues in Jewish studies. May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of 9 credit hours.
  • JSTU–J 498 Internship in Jewish Studies (1–6 cr.) Through internships, students make particular use of their skills, learn new skills, and start to build professional contacts in the field of their interest. Students who wish to receive credit through Jewish Studies for their internship need to have a Jewish Studies faculty sponsor and are responsible for finding and securing their own internships. S/F grading. May be repeated for a maximum of 12 credit hours.
  • JSTU–P 180 Leadership in Jewish Studies (1 cr.) Variable topic course, designed to be practical in nature. Allows students to study and apply leadership skills through obtaining leadership roles in the community. Graded. May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of 3 credit hours.
  • JSTU–P 300 Professional Leadership and the Jewish Community (3 cr.) Designed to introduce students to the demography, sociology, and structure of contemporary American Jewry, and to the wide range of agencies serving the community, as well as the most effective steps to begin a career within them. Through guest presentations by professional and lay-leaders in the field, along with a practicum experience, students learn about current challenges and trends in Jewish studies-related professions.
Hebrew Literature
  • JSTU–L 380 Modern Hebrew Literature in English (3 cr.) A & H, CSA Nineteenth- and twentieth-century fiction, poetry, essays, under such headings as assimilation (ideal or aberration?); ghetto and world; secularism versus tradition; ethnicity, land, and universalism; nation, religion, state; utopias and revolutions; nostalgia, self-hate, rejuvenation; portrayal of anti-Semitism in literature. No knowledge of Hebrew necessary. Readings and lectures in English.
  • JSTU–L 385 Recent Hebrew Literature in English (3 cr.) A & H, CSA Fiction, poetry, and essays with relevance to contemporary issues, such as the past (burden or asset?); the meeting of Europe and Near East; the kibbutz; ideal and reality; Jews, Arabs, Canaanites; diaspora and center; the personal and the collective; inwardness or realism; wars, holocausts, peace. No knowledge of Hebrew necessary. Readings and lectures in English.
  • JSTU–L 390 Biblical Themes in Modern Hebrew Literature (3 cr.) A & H An examination of how modern Hebrew literature, read in English translation, has perceived and reinterpreted narratives of the Hebrew Bible. Among the issues to be examined are the contemporary individual, social, and historical factors contributing to the process of “rewriting” the Bible in the image of our times. No knowledge of Hebrew necessary. Readings and lectures in English.
  • JSTU–L 395 S. Y. Agnon and the Jewish Experience (3 cr.) A & H, CSA Intensive study of the fictional work (in English translation) of S. Y. Agnon. Among the themes explored are religion and secularism; tradition versus modernity and change; love, marriage, and divorce; nostalgia for the past and life in the present; Israel and the diaspora. No knowledge of Hebrew necessary. Readings and lectures in English.
Special Topics
  • JSTU–H 495 Individual Readings in Jewish Studies (1–3 cr.) P: Consent of instructor. Designed for advanced Jewish Studies students who wish to concentrate on a particular area of Judaica previously introduced to them in other courses. Arrangements are made between the student and professor prior to registration. A student must have course authorization with the Jewish Studies advisor prior to registration. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credit hours.
Honors
  • JSTU–H 399 Readings for Honors in Jewish Studies (3 cr.) P: Approval of instructor and honors advisor. Independent guided readings in preparation for the honors thesis (H499) in Jewish Studies.
  • JSTU–H 499 Honors Thesis (3–6 cr.) P: Approval of program honors committee. Guided research culminating in an honors thesis written under the direction of a faculty member and reviewed in oral examination by three faculty members.