Master of Arts in Jewish Studies

Degree Overview		Requirements
Current Offerings:
FALL 2009		SPRING 2010 - TENTATIVE
Course Descriptions (All)
NOTE!!! Courses other than REL are offered through the College of Arts and Science and require the completion of the "Request for Permission to Receive Graduate Credit for an Undergraduate Level or Professional Course" form. There must be one form per course, signed by all appropriate parties, and returned to the Jewish Studies Office (140 Buttrick Hall) no later than the tenth (10th) day of classes (end of the "Change-of-Course" period). Download form here

 

The Program in Jewish Studies offers a Master of Arts degree through the Graduate Department of Religion, a division of the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University.

(Click here for application)

The Masters degree requires 24 hours and may be pursued via various interdisciplinary programs such as the human sciences, historical and literary studies, philosophical descriptions and analyses, and theological and ethical interpretations. The course of study includes two (2) tracks:

1. General M.A. in Jewish Studies provides an opportunity for an individually crafted study of Judaism based on personal interest and goal. This is a fine vehicle through which to gain a studied understanding of Judaism as a religious and cultural phenomenon as well as to develop insight on its role in human life and experience. Aside from permitting exploration of personal interests, this degree will strengthen credentials for those wishing to acquire degrees enhancing their teaching skills.
   
2. M.A. in Jewish Studies addresses those who wish to sample graduate work in Jewish Studies, with the expectation that they might matriculate elsewhere in a doctoral degree. Students who apply for this degree can expect to deepen their preparation in Jewish studies and to strengthen their credentials for application to other programs.

DEGREE OVERVIEW

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MASTER OF ARTS IN JEWISH STUDIES
All Courses (by area)

JEWISH STUDIES

*JS 245. Major Themes in Jewish Studies. Critical and comparative study of Jewish culture using evolving models and paradigms for Jewish beliefs, identity, and history. For majors and potential majors. [3] Urban

*JS 294. Special Topics. Topics to be announced. May be repeated if there is no duplication of material. [3]

LANGUAGES

REL 2500–2501. Elementary Biblical Hebrew. A two-semester course of study leading to a reading knowledge of the Hebrew Bible. Open for credit to M.A. students only. [3] Staff.

REL 2514–2515. Elementary Modern Hebrew. Introduction to alphabet, the basics of grammar, and elementary conversation. Spring: greater emphasis on conversation and grammar. Open for credit to M.A. students only. [3–3] Staff.

REL 3102–3103. Intermediate Modern Hebrew. Modern Hebrew reading, conversation, and advanced grammar. Spring: greater emphasis on reading and writing. Prerequisite: one year of Modern Hebrew or its equivalent. [3–3] Staff.

REL 3814. Intermediate Biblical Hebrew. Grammar and Composition. Prerequisite: REL 3103. [3] Halachmi.

REL 3816. Advanced Hebrew. Reading of selections from the Hebrew Bible, with emphasis on syntax and text criticism. Prerequisite: Elementary Biblical Hebrew. [3] Knight.

REL 3818. Aramaic. Vocabulary, forms, and syntax of Aramaic through reading of the Aramaic sections of Daniel and Ezra and of specimens of material from the Elephantine papyri, the Targums, etc. Prerequisite: 3816. [3] Azzoni.

BIBLICAL STUDIES

ENG 282. The Bible in Literature. An examination of ways in which the Bible and biblical imagery have functioned in literature and fine arts, in both “high culture” and popular culture, from Old English poems to modern poetry, drama, fiction, cartoons, and political rhetoric. Readings include influential biblical texts and a broad selection of literary texts drawn from all genres and periods of English literature. [3] Plummer.

REL 2503. The Hebrew Bible. The life and thought of ancient Israel, with emphasis on the community’s understanding of itself and of its role in history. Concentrates both on problems of historical and literary introduction and on Israelite religious practice and faith. Not available for Ph.D. credit in biblical studies. [3].

REL 2513. Biblical Criticism: History and Traditions. Introduction to the resources, methods, and practice of biblical interpretation, with exercises on selected texts from the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. Knowledge of biblical languages is not required. [3] Staff.

REL 2756. The Dead Sea Scrolls. The materials from Qumran and other locations in the Judean Desert and Jordan Valley, with reference to their contributions to the understanding of Judaism in the period 200 B.C.E. to 100 C.E. and of earliest Christianity. Open to graduate and advanced Divinity students. Prerequisite: Hebrew. [3] Hunt.

REL 3101. Readings in Biblical Hebrew. A reading course in selected texts of the Hebrew Bible for students who have taken 2500–2501 or its equivalent. [1] Staff.

REL 3108. Eighth-Century Prophecy. A study of the prophetic literature against its ancient Near Eastern background; emphasis placed on the eighth-century B.C.E. prophets and on the contemporary significance of their message. [3]

REL 3109. Exilic Prophecy. A study of Hebrew prophecy from the seventh and sixth centuries B.C.E., with emphasis on the prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Deutero-Isaiah. The work, literature, and thought associated with these great prophets are studied against the background of the events surrounding the Babylonian exile. [3] Knight.

REL 3111. The Pentateuch. A study of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible as the key for understanding Israelite history and theology and as the base point for some of the most critical questions in the study of biblical literature. [3]

REL 3113. The Wisdom Literature in the Ancient Near East. Israel’s wisdom corpus (Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, Sirach, Wisdom of Solomon) in light of comparable literature from Egypt and Mesopotamia. Attention to the structure of wisdom thought, to literary forms, and to traditions. [3] Azzoni.

REL 3115. The Psalms. A study of the Book of Psalms in general, along with readings of selected Psalms in Hebrew. The course will include an analysis of the types and setting of the Psalms in the life of Israel, a discussion of the religion of the poems and their poetic form, and a survey of modern scholarship in the area. [3].

REL 3116. Law in the Hebrew Bible. Legal materials in the Pentateuch, their relation to the prophetic movement, and the role of law in ancient Israel's thought and society against the ancient Near Eastern background. [3] Knight.

REL 3123. The Book of Exodus. General exegesis of the Book of Exodus, concentrating on the definition of its major themes and purposes. If necessary, additional time may be allotted for those requiring extra work in Hebrew or in textual criticism. [3] Staff.

REL 3124. Esther and Ruth. Explores the two books in the Hebrew Bible named for women. Examines Hebrew narrative technique and feminist and postmodern criticism. [3] Staff.

REL 3125. Book of Genesis. General exegesis of the Book of Genesis, concentrating on the definition of its major themes and purposes. Hebrew language not required. [3] Sasson.

REL 3128. Jewish Messianism. A study of messianism and messianic movements in Jewish history in the common era, including contemporary manifestations in Europe, Israel, and North America. [3] Sasson.

REL 3129. Book of Judges. General exegesis of the Book of Judges, concentrating on its major themes, purpose, and narrative techniques. If necessary, additional time may be allotted for those requiring extra work in Hebrew. [3] Sasson.

REL 3133. Book of Job. A study of the book of Job, attending to its literary features, religious themes, internal disputes regarding theodicy, and its relation to other texts from the region. [3] Knight.

REL 3135. Sexuality in the Hebrew Bible and ANE. Explores how various sexual practices (prostitution, homosexuality, heterosexuality, rape, sodomy, incest) are dealt with in the Hebrew Bible and in the larger context of the ANE. [3] Azzoni.

REL 3136. Major Prophets of the Hebrew Bible. Study of Isaiah (1st and 2nd Isaiah), Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. Emphasis on historical context in which the Prophets lived and wrote, basic themes developed in their books, and on their relevance for our times. [3]

REL 3166. The Problem of Biblical Authority. Past and present controversies over the authority of scripture. Comparisons of doctrinal statements about scripture with actual uses of it by believers, both in history and today's churches and synagogues. [3] Patte.

REL 3169. Feminist Interpretations of Scripture. Examination of the representations of women, religious and ethnic “others,” and sexuality in biblical and contemporary noncanonical (ANE, Pseudepigrapha, Gnosticism) texts, utilizing various approaches (literary, historical, anthropological, ideological, Womanist, Mujerista). [3] Levine.

REL 3179. Jesus the Jew. The Jewishness of Jesus. Religious and political thought of Jesus’ day. Origins of the Jewish sect that became Christianity. Jesus in early Judaism; rabbinic Judaism; Pharisiasm. Political Rome in the shaping of Judaism and Christianity. [3] Davis.

REL 3218. The Bible in American Religious History. Why and to what effect have Americans produced so many kinds of bibles; not just different translations, but different versions of the same translation or same bible story? In asking such questions, this course considers the broad themes of American religious history, such as race, gender, nationalism, millennialism, and science, and applies such theories as narrative criticism and material Christianity. [3] Flake.

REL 3304. Rabbinic Thought and Theology. The Hebrew Bible, though foundational to traditional Judaism, is not central. Traditional Judaism is the heir of Rabbinic Judaism, which emerged from the academies of the Land of Israel and of Babylonia in the first through seventh centuries of the Common Era. We will focus on the Rabbinic texts which helped define Judaism for over a thousand years in the post-Temple environment. Rabbinic Judaism constitutes a revolution in religiosity, and the weapon of the revolution was the midrash, or the creative Rabbinic rereadings of the Torah. Together we will explore both the messages and the methods of Rabbinic Judaism. [3] Cherry.

REL 3801. The Megillot. Five scrolls, each a different genre of literature, are customarily read in synagogues throughout the year: Esther (Purim), Song of Songs (Passover), Ruth (Shavuot), Ecclesiastes (Sukkot), and Lamentations (Ninth of Av). We sample them and discuss them within the context of ancient Near Eastern literature. For students with at least one year of Hebrew. [3] J. Sasson.

REL 3802. Exegesis of the Bible. Study of the principles, methods, and tools used in the critical study of the Hebrew Bible, including textual, historical-critical, ideological, literary, and other exegetical methods. [3] Knight; Hunt.

REL 3803. Ben Sira with Introduction to Mishnaic Hebrew. Introduction into grammar and vocabulary of Mishnaic Hebrew, with practice in reading and guidance for further study. Reading of selected portions of the Hebrew text of Ben Sira. Emphasis on the experience in reading unpointed Hebrew text of this period, relevance for textual criticism, use of the Greek version, and the place of the book and its theology in the development of Israelite wisdom in general. [3] Azzoni.

REL 3805. Job and Qoheleth. Israelite skepticism, with emphasis on the literary form, thematic coherence, and religious viewpoint of Job and Qoheleth, interpreted within the broad spectrum of Israelite wisdom and consideration of Greek influence. [3] Staff.

REL 3806. The Song of Songs. The Song of Songs text, analysis of the literature, study of the religious significance and social background of the book, and its place in the theology of the Hebrew Bible. Prerequisite: knowledge of biblical Hebrew. [3] Staff.

REL 3807. Proverbs. Analysis of the Book of Proverbs, with emphasis upon translation, themes, and literary features and the function of aphorisms and instructions in the ancient Near East. [3]

REL 3808. Seminar: Hebrew Bible: Book of Samuel with critical reflection on their significance for clarifying the Hebrew Bible. Knowledge of Hebrew required. [3] J. Sasson.

REL 3819. The Targums. An introduction to the Jewish Aramaic translations and interpretations of the Hebrew Bible. The course will aim at familiarizing the students with Jewish Literary Aramaic as reflected by the various Targums. Furthermore, by examining different translations of the same biblical passage, different interpretative approaches will be highlighted. [3] Azzoni.

REL 3828. Book of Daniel. An in-depth analysis of the Book of Daniel, with particular attention the text, its historical background and literary from. The place of the Book of Daniel within Prophetic and Apocalyptic literature will also be discussed. [3] Azzoni.

REL 3829. The Book of Joshua. An exegesis of the book of Joshua, with special attention paid to literary features, issues of historiography and archeological evidence, ideological and religious concerns and relation to other texts of the Hebrew Bible, especially the Deuteronomistic History. [3] Knight

REL 3881. Historiography and Ancient Israel: Chronicles. This course will examine issues of historiography as they relate to Ancient Israel with a particular focus on the Book of Chronicles. The course will focus on the content of Chronicles as well as socio-historical contexts and methodological issues. PhD students will do an extra session with the Hebrew text. [3] Hunt.

ANTIQUITY AND THE MEDIEVAL WORLD

ANTH 226. Myth, Ritual, Belief: The Anthropology of Religion. Crosscultural survey of religious and ritual beliefs in the light of theories of religion. Topics include sacrifice, myth, witchcraft, divination, religious change, and millenarian movements. [3] Staff.

ANTH 263. Myth and Legend: The Anthology of Oral Tradition. Narrative traditions and folklore of Western and non-Western cultures. Myths of world creation, human origins, and transformation. Relationship of myth to dream, historical narrative, and social organization. Myth telling and performance. The structure and theory of myth. [3] Staff.

ANTH 265. Psychological Anthropology. How personality and culture affect each other. Socialization and the life cycle, the definition of sex roles, individual psychology and group aggression, religion and group personality, and the nature of mental illness and normalcy in non-Western societies. [3] Gregor.

ANTH 284. Problems in Anthropological Theory. An advanced seminar in anthropological theory: cultural evolution, cultural history, ethnic relations, cultural ecology, archaeological method and theory, social structure, political organizations, religious institutions. [3] Janusek.

ANTH 315. Seminar in Anthropological Theory: History, Themes, and Current Issues. An advanced consideration of the history of anthropological theory and recent issues and controversies. Emphasis on theories of cultural evolution and development of complex societies. Dialectical exploration of ideas requires each student to argue contrasting perspectives. [3] Demarest.

ANTH 322. Culture, Structure, Personality. Integrative anthropological approaches to human behavior examining symbolism, values, the organization of the group, interaction and psychology. [3] Gregor.

CLAS 208. Greece and the Near East from Alexander to Theodosius. From Alexander’s conquest of the Persian Empire to the ascendancy of Christianity in the late fourth century. Emphasis on social, cultural and religious transformations, within the framework of political history. [3] Drews.

HIST 207. History of the Ancient Near East. From the neolithic period to the conquests of Alexander the Great, in the geographical area from Persia to Troy and Egypt. Special attention to the history of Israel. [3] Drews.

HIST 237. Russia: Tsardom to Empire. Russian history from fifteenth-century Muscovite state, society, and economy; orthodox Russian culture and religion; Peter the Great and Catherine the Great; eighteenth century absolutism, empire, serfdom, and intellectual life. [3] Wcislo.

HIST 257. The Birth of Islam: Muhammad and the Evolution of Muslim Society. Many elements fed into the birth of Islam in the early seventh century, prominent among them Judaism and Christianity. In this course we shall look at how Islam developed from the religion of a small desert tribe into the culture of a major world empire. [3] Wasserstein.

PHIL 211. Medieval Philosophy. Comparative study of key figures in Islamic, Jewish, and Christian philosophy as they struggle with the philosophy of logic, metaphysics, language, culture, politics, ethics, and nature. [3] Dobbs-Weinstein.

REL 3112. Apocalyptic. A study of the early Jewish and Christian apocalyptic movements and literature. [3] Knight, Levine.

REL 3127. Cultures of Ancient Near East. A consideration of the cultural and religious milieus of the third and second millennia B.C.E., as they shed light on Biblical origins. [3] Sasson.

REL 3131. Voices of Women in the Ancient Near East. An introductory examination of the place and portrayal of women in Near Eastern antiquity and in contemporary scholarship, with special consideration of the role genre plays in their representations. [3] Azzoni.

REL 3156. Jewish and Christian Self-Definition. A study of the various options (social, theological, scriptural, practical) facing Jews and Christians in the first three centuries C.E. and of the processes by which the various communities narrowed those options in their attempts to establish a normative identity. [3] Levine.

REL 3225. The Ancient Origins of Religious Conflict in the Middle East. Religious oppositions in the eastern Mediterranean world from the Maccabean revolt to the Muslim conquests of the seventh century; beginnings of religious militancy; challenges of monotheism to Greco-Roman civilization; conversion, persecution, and concepts of heresy and holy war in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. [3] Drews

REL 3501. Judaism in New Testament Times. The varieties of Judaism that emerged from 200 B.C.E. to approximately 200 C.E. Discussions of the Maccabees, the politics and religion of the Hasmonean dynasty, the Dead Sea Scroll community at Qumran, the Sadducees, Pharisees, and Essenes, Philo, the early church and early rabbinic Judaism all placed in their Hellenistic and Roman contexts. Major themes in the development of messianism and apocalypticism. [3].

REL 3503. The Jewish Heritage. A survey of Jewish history and literature for a better understanding of Jesus’ Jewish roots and its important foundation of both Christianity and Islam. Sponsored by the Jewish Chautauqua Society. [3]

REL 3517. Mysticism in Islam. A survey of the origins and development of Islamic mysticism, the rise of asceticism, the development of the Sufi orders, the gradual systematization of Sufi teachings, and modern forms of Sufism. The spread of Islamic mysticism was primarily due to the teachings of great thinkers such as Ibn Arabi, Rabi’a, al-Hallaj, Rumi, al-Ghazali and others. No prior knowledge of Islam is required. [3] McGregor.

REL 3518. The Qur'an and the Tradition of Interpretation. The Qur'an and the Islamic tradition of interpretation. The treatment of Biblical prophets, Jesus and Satan. Interpretations will be drawn from all time periods including rationalist, dogmatic, Shi'i and mystical schools of interpretation. Prerequisite: one course in Religious Studies. [3] McGregor.

REL 3522. Myth, Ritual, and Symbol. Various theories concerning myth and symbol. The specifically religious and humanistic content is sought through the study of a wide variety of myths and symbols in primitive and modern religions. [3] Geller.

REL 3811. Modern Interpreters of Ancient Israel. Characteristic approaches to the history and religion of ancient Israel, as seen in selected writings by prominent scholars since the Enlightenment. Attention to the presuppositions of each scholar and to the view of Israel afforded in each study. Reading ability in German desired. Consent of instructor needed for non-PhD students. SPRING. [3] Knight.

REL 3812. Postexilic Literature and Theology. The literary heritage of ancient Israel from about 538 B.C.E. to 165 B.C.E. Attention to postexilic portions of the book of Isaiah; Haggai; Zechariah; Malachi; I and II Chronicles; Ezra-Nehemiah; Ruth; Esther; Song of Songs; Daniel. The variety of theological perspectives found in this period of Israel’s history and the character of religious thought prior to the Maccabean period. [3]

REL 3813. History of Ancient Israel. Examination of the major areas of debate in the reconstruction of the history of ancient Israel. Analysis of important extra-biblical material that may help shed light upon this topic. Special attention given to the major role that some of its ancient Near Eastern neighbors played in shaping ancient Israel’s history. [3] (Azzoni, Knight or Sasson, J)

MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY EXPERIENCE

GER 270. German Film. A survey of the German film with special attention to its sociocultural context and to pertinent theories of photography and of cinematic narration. No knowledge of German required. [3] Sevin.

GER 273. Nazi Cinema: The Manipulation of Mass Culture. Nazi manipulation of mass culture through film (propaganda, musicals, westerns). Some comparison with American film of the era, additional examination of “fascist” aesthetic legacy in American culture today. No German required. [3] Eigen.

HIST 220. Europe in the Nineteenth Century. Major political, social, economic, and cultural developments from 1815 to 1914. [3] Ramsey.

HIST 225. Europe From World War I to World War II. Political, socioeconomic, cultural, and colonial history of Europe from 1914 to the fall of Hitler. [3] Schulz.

HIST 226. Europe since 1945. Origins of the Cold War; political and social transformations, East and West; the breakup of colonial empires; ideological and military tensions; intellectual and cultural trends. [3] Schulz.

HIST 231. History of Germany in the Twentieth Century. The turbulent history of Germany, as it went from authoritarian state to volatile democracy, to National Socialist dictatorship, to divided country, and to reunification. Special emphasis placed on the Nazi dictatorship, its origins and legacy. No credit for students who have completed 230b. [3] Smith.

HIST 235. Modern France. From the French Revolution of 1789 to the present. Emphasis on politics, with some attention to the major economic, social, cultural, and intellectual developments. [3] Ramsey.

HIST 245. Victorian England. Cultural values, liberal reform; urbanization; women and gender; imperialism. [3] Epstein.

HIST 256. Nationalism and Islam in the Middle East since 1798. Secular nationalism and the changing nature of Islamic identification in the Middle East with emphasis on Egypt, Turkey, Iran, and Palestine/Israel. [3] Longwell.

HIST 277. The New South. The aftermath of war and emancipation and the era of Reconstruction; social change and dislocation in the late nineteenth century; the Populist Revolt; the origins of segregation and one-party politics; twentieth-century efforts to modernize the region; the economic, political, and Civil Rights revolutions of the mid-twentieth century; the South in modern American society and politics. [3] Carlton.

HIST 321. Topics in European History: "Interdependence and Internationalism since 1648". It focuses on Europe, the European expansion, and the gradual interweaving of societies, economies, and polities in Europe and the world since 1648. The course comprises three modules with heavy reading emphasis on: 1) the 'human web' (cultural, financial, commercial, associational, migration, flow of energy), 2) the culture of nationalism and internationalism, mainly in the 19th century, and 3) the rise and historical significance of international institutions in the 19th and 20th centuries. [3] Schulz.

*JS 252. Social Movements and the Jewish Polity. How social movements shape contemporary American Jewish culture and politics. Explores movements internal to Judaism and those bringing religion into the public sphere. [3] Kelner.

PSCI 246. Religion and Politics in the United States. The historical and contemporary impact of religion on the political culture, coalitions, and behavior in the United States. The vitality of religion in American society and its political consequences. The evolution of church-state relationships. [3] Layman.

PSCI 286. Seminar: Theory: Religion and Democracy. This course will examine classical and contemporary debates on the place of religion in democratic political life. Topics will include tolerance, diversity and the debate over the public role of faith. [3] Booth.

REL 2709. Bible in Visual Art. TBA. [3] Jensen.

REL 3128. Jewish Messianism. A study of messianism and messianic movements in Jewish history in the common era, including contemporary manifestations in Europe, Israel, and North America. [3] Sasson.

REL 3217. Church and State in American History. A study of the complex historical relationship between church and state in the United States. Particular attention is given to Colonial notions of biblical covenant and social contract; definitions of “religion” employed in American constitutional history; the design of nineteenth-century denominationalism and its influence on religious liberty; and the effects of pluralism on the shape and public expression of religion in the twentieth century. [3] Flake.

REL 3225. Ancient Origins of Religious Conflict in the Middle East. Religious oppositions in the eastern Mediterranean world from the Maccabean revolt to the Muslim conquests of the seventh century; beginnings of religious militancy; challenges of monotheism to Greco-Roman civilization; conversion, persecution, and concepts of heresy and holy war in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. [3] Drews, Wiltshire.

REL 3502. Antisemitism and Jewish Identity. A historical and cultural analysis of the dilemmas Jewish emancipation presented to both Jews and non-Jews, examined through the study of a variety of popular and elite cultural representations of Jews. How antisemitism became entangled with the problems of gender, sexual, racial, class, and self-identity. [3] Geller.

REL 3524. The Holocaust: Its Meanings and Implications. The systematic destruction of the European Jewish communities during World War II. Historical, social, political, and cultural developments that led to it. Psychological and sociological dimensions of its aftermath. Philosophical and theological problems it raises for both Jews and Christians. [3] Geller.

REL 3537. The Holocaust: Representation and Reflection. Explores fundamental questions about the nature of history and representation, the nature of the human and the divine, that the Holocaust raises. Prerequisite: 3524 or its equivalent. [3] Geller.

REL 3880.01. Zionism:  Politics, Religion and Ethnicity. Zionism has often been labeled as colonialism or even racism. How does this go together with the Zionist vision to create a new society of universal value? This course will review the history of the Zionist idea and grapple with the ongoing tension between religion and ethnicity which is distinctive of Jewish nationalism. We will trace the evolution of Zionism from religious longing to political vision and power politics. Beginning with its messianic forerunners, we shall examine the various camps within the movement; consider competing visions of national renewal and anti-Zionism opposition in the pre-state period and beyond. We shall investigate how the founding of the State of Israel in 1948 rallied Christian Zionists and their support for Greater Israel. The Holocaust (Shoah), the policy of ‘ingathering the exiles,’ the displacement of Palestinian Arabs, and the Arab-Israeli wars, questioned the moral foundations of the Zionist idea. The second part of the course will examine today’s Jewish critics and defenders of Zionism. Special attention will be given to the Israeli school of the “new historians” who triggered a ramified controversy by challenging the historiography of mainstream Labor Zionism. We shall use a wide variety of sources, including speeches, historiography, fiction, art, letters, and film. This course is open to undergraduates and graduates; no prerequisites.SPRING. [3] Urban.REL 3809. The Sociology of Early Israel. The nature of Israelite society, especially in its early periods, through readings in source materials and selected sociological interpretations. [3] Knight.

REL 3811. Modern Interpretations of the Hebrew Bible. Characteristic approaches to the history and religion of ancient Israel, as seen in selected writings by prominent scholars since the Enlightenment. Attention to the presuppositions of each scholar and to the view of Israel afforded in each study. Reading ability in German desired. Consent of instructor needed for non-PhD. students. [3] Knight.

*RLST 233. History and Memory in Modern Judaism. Conceptions of myth and mysticism in modern Jewish thought. Particular attention will be given to intellectuals who appropriated mystical ideas, the ecstatic experience and myth for a renewal of Jewish spirituality, and those who engaged in a scholarly reevaluation of Jewish mysticism. [3] Urban

*RLST 294. Special Topics. (Must be related to Jewish Studies – See Advisor) [3].

CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, AND LITERATURE

ANTH 206. Theories of Cultures and Human Nature. Survey of the views of anthropological thinkers, from the late nineteenth century to the present, about the basic attributes of humankind and human culture. Comparison of different ideas of how people create culture and in turn are molded by culture. [3] Ross.

ANTH 226. Anthropology of Religion. Cross-cultural survey of religious and ritual beliefs in light of theories of religion. Topics include sacrifice, myth, witchcraft, divination, religious change, and millenarian movements. [3]

ANTH 237. Ethnicity, Race, and Culture. Key concepts used in the history of anthropology to explain social diversity; theories of racial typology, cultural traditions, and ethnic identity. Role of rituals and symbols in expressing social identity and group membership. Cross-cultural comparison of pluralistic and homogeneous societies. Relation of ethnicity to ties of kinship, language, heritage, religion, and nationality. Changes in interethnic relations through assimilation, acculturation, cooperation, and polarization. [3] Staff.

CLT 260. Twentieth-Century Continental Philosophy. A study of selected twentieth-century philosophers such as Derrida, Foucault, and Lacan. [3] Wood.

CLT 278. Colonial and Post-Colonial Literature. Literature from countries colonized by Europe from eighteenth to twentieth century. Examines implications of colonial encounter, and formation of idea "post-colonial" culture. Subjects include language, freedom and agency, gender roles, representation of space, relation between power and narrative. [3] Barsky.

CLT 330. Seminar (Must be related to Jewish Studies – See Advisor) [3].

CLT 360. Philosophy and Literature. Problems and methodological issues inherent to the study of these two disciplines. [3] Franke and Staff.

ENGL 232a–232b. Twentieth Century American Novel. Explorations of themes, forms, and social cultural issues shaping the works of American novelists. Authors may include Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Hemingway, Hurston, Ellison, McCarthy, Bellow, Kingston, Morrison, and Pynchon. 232a: emphasizes writers before 1945; 232b emphasizes writers after 1945. [3–3] Bell, Chen.

ENGL 248. Themes in World Literature. Analysis and discussion of major themes in a selected number of the great works of literature, Philosophy, and the arts that have been important to civilizations both Western and Eastern from antiquity to 1600. [3]

ENGL 268a. America on Film: Art and Ideology. American culture and character through film, film theory, and literature. [3] Girgus.

ENGL 278. Colonial and Post-Colonial Literature. Literature from countries colonized by Europe from eighteenth to twentieth century. Examines implications of colonial encounter and formation of “post-colonial” culture and such issues as language, agency, gender roles, and relation between power and narrative. Such authors as Forster, Coetzee, Okri, Tagore, Chatterjee, Kincaid, Rushdie, Soyinka. [3] Barsky.

FREN 294. Special Topics. (Must be related to Jewish Studies – See Advisor) [3].

FREN/GER/SPAN 394. Seminar: (Must be related to Jewish Studies – See Advisor) [3].

GER 222. German Culture and Literature. Introduction to major periods and genres of German cultural production from the middle ages to the present; overview of major social and political developments. Literary, philosophical, and other texts. Readings and discussions in German. [3–3] Setje-Eilers, Zeller.

GER 395. The Racial Imagination. (Also listed as Humanities 241) The complex and contradictory history of the idea of “race” as a scientific category. Study of medical, scientific, philosophical, anthropological, and literary texts. No German required. [3] Eigen.

GER 269. Writing under Censorship. An introduction to the main literary trends and authors of the former East Germany (1949–1989). [3] Sevin.
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GER 270. German Film. A survey of the German film with special attention to its sociocultural context and to pertinent theories of photography and of cinematic narration. No knowledge of German required. [3] Setje-Eilers.

GER 271. Women at the Margins: German-Jewish Women Writers. Examination of themes, forms, and sociocultural issues shaping the work of German-Jewish women writers from the Enlightenment to the present. Readings and discussions in English. [3] Werner. (Offered 2005/2006)

German 274. Who Am I? Autobiographies. Who I am? No other literary genre is as apt to work through this question as autobiography. In this course, we will read both, canonical and rather unknown texts in order to explore a wide range of possibilities of how authors managed to construct cultural, religious, and gender identities. (In German) [3] Hahn

GER 294. Special Topics. (Must be related to Jewish Studies – See Advisor) [3].

GER 340. Beyond Good and Evil. Emergence of and complexity in literature against the backdrop of Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil (1886), E. O. Wilson’s Consilience (1998), P. Cillier’s Complexity and Postmodernism (1998); “beyond good and evil” as a catch phrase of modern decenteredness in such works as Notes from Underground, Mysterious Stranger, The Tin Drum. [3] McCarthy.

GER 351. Philosophical Backgrounds of German Literature. Survey of German philosophical thinking from Leibnitz to Nietzsche and its importance for German literature from Goethe to Hesse. [3] McCarthy.

GER 355. Concepts of Realism: The Impact of Marxist Literary Theory and Criticism. Twentieth-century theories of literary realism, with special emphasis on the development of Marxist theory and practice and its critics. [3]

*JS 251. Mysticism & Myth in Modern Jewish Thought. Focusing on conceptions of myth and mysticism in modern Jewish thought, this course highlights intellectuals who appropriated mystical ideas, the ecstatic experience, and the crafting of myth to renew Jewish spirituality as well as and those engaged in a scholarly reevaluation of Jewish mysticism. [3] Urban.

*MUSL (Blair) 261. Music, Identity, and Diversity. Issues of multiculturalism and intersections with musical expression in America. Cultural determinants such as race, gender, ethnicity, class, religion, language, ideology, folklore, and history will be studied critically. Prerequisite: any MUSL course. [3] Simonett.

PHIL 218. Hellenistic and Late Ancient Philosophy. Philosophical ideas of Stoics, Cynics, Epicureans, skeptics, Peripatetics, Neoplatonists, and early monotheist thinkers such as Philo, Origen, and Philoponus. [3] Staff.

PHIL 231. Philosophy of History. Focus on alternative conceptions of time and history in Aristotle, Augustine, Kant, Hegel, Heidegger, and Benjamin. [3] Staff.

PHIL 240. Aesthetics. The leading accounts of the nature of art, the character of aesthetic experience, the nature of artistic creation, and selected problems associated with art in specific media. [3] Horowitz.

PHIL 242. Philosophy of Religion. A study of various problems concerning religious experiences; ideas about religion and divinity. [3] Tlumak.

PHIL 243. Philosophy of Film. Challenges posed by film forms to traditional aesthetics and the novel philosophical approaches created to deal with them. Topics include the nature of the film image, film and experiential time, cinematic genres, the problem of mass art, and feminist critiques of spectatorship. Weekly screenings. [3] Horowitz.

PHIL 245. Humanity, Evolution, and God. The impact of the idea of evolution on our conception of personhood. Theistic and non-theistic approaches to philosophical anthropology, ethics and society, the theory of knowledge, the mind-body problem, and relations with the environment and other species. [3] Goodman.

PHIL 258. Contemporary Political Philosophy. The emergence of post-liberal political thought. Topics include the politics of recognition, the specificity of political action, transformations in political theory as a consequence of gender, race, and environmental issues. These will be studied through examination of the writings of Hannah Arendt, Cornelius Casoriadis, Heidegger, Derrida, Habermas, etc. [3] Staff.

PHIL 260. Twentieth-Century Continental Philosophy. A study of selected twentieth-century philosophers such as Derrida, Foucault, and Lacan. [3] Wood.

PHIL 261. Jewish Philosophy. An introduction to Jewish philosophy and the philosophical achievement of such major figures as Philo, Saadiah, Bahya, Ibn Gabirol, Rosenzweig, Buber, Levinas, and selected contemporary thinkers. Problems of metaphysics, ethics, epistemology, culture and tradition are considered. [3] Goodman.

PHIL 262. Islamic Philosophy. An introduction to the major figures of Islamic Philosophy including Kindi, Razi, Farabi, the Ikhwan al-Safa, Miskawayh, Avicenna, Ghazali, Ibn Tufayl, Averroes and Ibn Khaldun. Problems studied include creation vs eternity, rationalism and empiricism, free will, determinism and occasionalism, naturalism and divine governance, virtue ethics and command ethics, the individual and the cultural community, and the nature and meaning of history. [3] Goodman.

PHIL 294. Special Topics. (Must be related to Jewish Studies – See Advisor) [3].

PHIL 332. Seminar. [3]

PHIL 330. Seminar. (Must be related to Jewish Studies – See Advisor) [3].

REL 2502. Aspects of World Religiosity. An introduction to the diverse modes and manners of world religiosity and to their study. Explores some of the primary forms of human religious practice through encounters with a variety of primary and secondary sources drawn from around the world. The student will come to appreciate the variety and complexity by which homo religiosus (the human defined by religiosity) makes it through the day (and night). [3] Geller.

REL 2505. Religious Autobiography. The construction of identity in religious autobiography: motivations (personal salvation, witness, proselytism); relationships among self, God, and religious tradition; role of memory; cultural, gender, and religious differences. Readings may include Augustine, Gandhi, Malcolm X, Angelou, and Wiesel. [3] D. Sasson.

REL 2567. Music and Religion. An investigation into the many ways in which religion and music contribute to community formation throughout the world. Topics include music’s interdependent relationship with religious texts, religious performance, trance, sacrifice, and folk origins. [3] Barz.

REL 2750. The History of Religion in America. The history of the religions in America beginning with colonial religious experiments in the New World. Examines American “church history” as well as the influence of non-Christian religions in American culture. [3] Flake.

REL 2814. Religion and Society. Examination of religion as a social phenomenon. Explores the writings of classical sociologists (especially Marx, Weber, and Durkheim). Readings in the areas of social theory, cultural analysis, and sociology of religion. Focus on the use of sociological insights toward understanding the relation between religion and Western social life. [3] Snarr.

REL 2815. Religion and Social Movements. [3] Snarr.

Religion 3151. Jesus and Early Christian Communities. This course investigates the portraits of Jesus in canonical literature, reconstructions based on the (hypothetical) Q or "Sayings" source, noncanonical images (Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Peter, etc.), and external references (e.g., Rabbinic sources, non-Christian gentile writings, archaeological data). Models for Jesus to be investigated include the Hellenistic Cynic-sage, rabbi, Jewish reformist prophet, social and/or political revolutionary, eschatological visionary, Wisdom-Sophia, and Christ of Faith. Particular attention will be paid to the relationship between Jesus and "Judaism" in both historical context and scholarly reconstruction. [3] Levine, A.-J.

REL 3169. Feminist Interpretations of Scripture. Issues, methods, and interpretations in contemporary feminist research on the Bible and on the history of early Christianity. Prerequisite: 108, 109, 208 or 209. [3] Levine.

REL 3207. Themes in American Christianity: Apocalypticism. Explores the apocalyptic and millennial theologies in America from the colonial period to the present. Particular attention will be given to apocalyptic and millennial ideas in relation to social and political crises in American history. [3] Byrd.

REL 3216. Sources of American Religious History. An introduction to primary sources of American religion and religious historiography, including works from such representative figures as Jonathan Edwards, Thomas Paine, Charles Finney, Emerson, Joseph Smith, Frederick Douglass, Walter Rauschenbush, Mary Baker Eddy, and Richard Niebuhr. [3] Flake.

REL 3226. Popular Religion. An examination of informal and unofficial practices, beliefs, and styles of religious expression that often stand in contrast or opposition to more formal ecclesiastical structures. Employs several approaches to the subject and treats examples from the seventeenth century to the present in Europe and America. [3] Johnson.

REL 3303. Religious Literature in Contemporary Contexts. A wealth of literature that describes religious experience has been published during the past decade. This course will investigate writing from a variety of religious traditions, including Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, and Muslim. Of prime concern will be how the authors recall experiences in past communities, shape alternative practices, and construct new literary forms through which to tell their stories. We will pay close attention to how gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, and social class influence how religion is experienced. The course will require several short response papers and one longer critical paper. [3] D. Sasson.

REL 3311. Modern Critics of Religion. An examination of the relationship between the critique of religion and the understanding of modernity. Focus on the writings of Feuerbach, Kierkegaard, Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud. [3] Geller.

REL 3312. Religion, Science, and Evolution. Interactions between science and religion from antiquity to Charles Darwin. Subsequent modifications of Darwinism and religious responses to evolutionary theories. [3] Cherry.

REL 3322. Theology of World Religions. The recent interreligious dialogue and its implications for Christian theology. The way in which global religious pluralism affects the nature and task of theology and the relation among major world religions as claims to truth. [3]

REL 3335. Religious Language. Symbol, metaphor, and analogy in literary theory, linguistic analysis, and theology. [3]

REL 3342. Feminist Hermeneutics. The revisionary interpretation feminists are currently proposing in such areas as literary theory, anthropology, psychology, ethics, and philosophy and their possible effect on contemporary theology and biblical analysis. [3]

REL 3357. God and the Other. Explore philosophical accounts of humanity and divinity in which each is taken to be constituted by relationality. Reading of works by Martin Buber, Emmanuel Levinas and Nagarjuna, then a variety of contemporary Christian theologies in which notions of "otherness" and "relation" figure prominently. Movements and figures likely to be considered include process theology, feminist theology and a variety of contemporary Trinitarian theologians. [3] Thatamanil

REL 3400. Social Ethics. Focuses on an examination of religious and philosophical traditions that give rise to understandings of justice, duty, rights, and community. Attention paid to how these traditions inform moral judgments and shape the responses of moral communities. Particular examples, such as abortion, poverty, and racism employed to show how different moral traditions issue in social analysis and provide backing for normative moral judgments. [3]

REL 3402. Ethics and Feminism. Implications of gender theory for understanding the Judeo-Christian moral traditions. Topics include: the nature of the moral subject, the Sociology of the construction of gender, patriarchal consciousness, the abuse of women, black feminism, motherhood, and feminist ecology. [3] Welch.

REL 3410. Political Ethics. An examination of the political thought of prominent thinkers in American theological and social ethics. [3] Snarr.

REL 3412. Ethics and Society. An intensive examination of particular themes or thinkers in social ethics. [3] Snarr.

REL 3419. Twentieth-Century North Atlantic Ethics. An examination of figures and movements that influenced the discourse on religious ethics in both Europe and North America. Special attention to representatives of History of Religions School (Troltsch, Ott); logical positivism, political theology (Moltmann, Metz, Habermas); neo-orthodox and existential theologies (Brunner, Barth, Buber, Reinhold Niebuhr); as well as ethics influenced by Wittgenstein. [3] Anderson.

REL 3504. Freud and Jewish Thought. Through an analysis of rhetoric and themes in selected writings of Sigmund Freud as well as of the society and culture of his times, this course explores how psychoanalytic theory developed in response to the traumas of Jewish assimilation and of antisemitic repudiation. [3]. Geller.

REL 3505. Jewish Ethics. A study of the logic and basic values that, in the Jewish tradition, guide thinking about moral problems. Examination of family and social ethical issues found in Talmud and other Jewish classical texts. Basic religious views of modern Jewish thinkers and their relation to contemporary Jewish life. [3] Cherry.

REL 3508. History and Memory in Modern Judaism. Conceptions of myth and mysticism in modern Jewish thought. Particular attention will be given to intellectuals who appropriated mystical ideas, the ecstatic experience and myth for a renewal of Jewish spirituality, and those who engaged in a scholarly reevaluation of Jewish mysticism. [3] Urban

REL 3509. Introduction to the History and Critical Theories of Religion. Overview of major thinkers and works that have defined the scientific and critical study of religion. [3] McGregor..

REL 3525. History of the Study of Religion. Examination of pivotal issues, schools, and theorists in the study of religion. [3]

REL 3530. Comparative Studies in Religion. Comparison of various religions focused on themes such as God, the human condition, history, salvation, ethics, scriptures, and religious communities; using materials from world’s religions, East and West, past and present. Prerequisite: 130 or 131. [3] NOT CURRENTLY OFFERED

REL 3531. Religious Narrative and the Self. The construction of identity in religious autobiography: motivations (personal salvation, witness, proselytism); relationships among self, God, and religious tradition; role of memory; oral vs. written; cultural, gender, and religious differences. Readings may include Augustine, Gandhi, Malcolm X, Angelou, Wiesel. [3] Geller.

REL 3601. The Study of Religion. An interdisciplinary discussion among graduate students and faculty on such topics as the methods, diversities, connections, purposes, and contexts of religious and theological studies today. [3] Knight.

REL 3602. The Teaching of Religion. Topics will include the purposes and institutional contexts of teaching religion; pluralism, globalism, and classroom ethics; theories of teaching and learning; course construction and syllabus design; lecturing and discussion groups; student learning, writing, and evaluation; use of technologies and media; placement strategies. Required of entering Ph.D. students; open to a few others with permission. [3] Hunt.

REL 3620. Practicum in the Teaching of Religion. Preparation for the teaching of courses in religious or theological studies through discussion of case studies, issues, and problems. Recommended for all graduate students of religion during the semester in which they are serving as teaching assistants. Can be repeated. Not open to others except by permission of instructor. [0] Staff.

REL 3690. Master’s Thesis Research. [0]

Religion 3810. West Semitic Inscriptions. Participants in this course will read from Hebrew, Aramaic, Phoenician, and Moabite texts, and emphasis will be placed upon relevant grammatical analyses. Prior to enrolling in this language course, students must demonstrate a proficient knowledge of Hebrew. [3] Azzoni

REL 3823. Literature of the Ancient Near East. Readings in the literature from Egypt, Canaan, and Mesopotamia, with special emphasis on texts relating to the culture, literature, and thought of ancient Israel. [3] Sasson.

REL 3880. Themes in Jewish Studies. This seminar explores selected themes in Jewish Studies. Varies each semester. [3] Staff.

REL 3880.02. The Problem of Evil in Judaism. Evil and suffering pose a particular challenge to Jewish monotheism and its belief in the just and providential God. Beginning with a discussion of the Book of Job, we will examine how Jews in various historical periods reflected on the origin and nature of evil. Whereas mythic approaches to evil powerfully emerged in medieval Jewish mysticism, Jewish philosophers sought to demythologize it. The Enlightenment demanded a social and political analysis of the sources of suffering which generated new philosophical and religious conceptions of the problem by Jewish thinkers. We will conclude with reflections on theodicy after the Shoah (Holocaust). [3] Urban.

REL 3923. God in the Western Tradition. The major philosophical and theological texts of the Western tradition from Plato to the twentieth century. The changing history of the interpretation of God from Christian neoplatonism to nineteenth- and twentieth-century challenges of classical approaches. [3]

REL 3953. Seminar in Sociology of Religion. Explores a number of possible topics in the Sociology of Religion. Topics may focus on classical theorists (Weber, Troeltsch, Durkheim), the study of religious movements, popular religions, rituals and religious Experience, and the application of social scientific research methods for the study of religion. [3]

REL 3982. Reading Course in Judaism. May be repeated. [1–3] Staff.

*RLST 227. American Jews on Religion and Republic. An examination of American Jewish contribution to the current understanding of church-state relations. Juxtapose relevant issues in America and Israel. Discuss controversial topics on church and state, and consider recent American Jewish concerns to bring religion back to the public square. [3] Eordegian

*RLST 230. Women and Religion. Themes and issues in the traditions and texts of selected Western religions from a feminist perspective. Biblical and theological images of women, sources of religious authority, psychological and ethical implications of feminist approaches to religion. [3] Welch.

*RLST 237. Psychology of Religious Myth and Ritual. Examination of religious rituals and myths from both Christian and other traditions. Critical review of major psychological theories of ritual and myth. Their relevance to an understanding of myth and ritual as religious phenomena. [3] Gay.

RUSS 231. Jews in Russian Culture: Survival and Identity. A multimedia course on the history of Jewish contributions to Russian culture, including literature, the visual arts, theater, and film. Questions of assimilation, the rise of Jewish national consciousness, and interest in Jewish heritage are discussed. No knowledge of Russian required. [3] Kustanovich.

SOC 246. Sociology of Religion. Theories of nature, function, and structure of religion. Religion in America, including fundamentalism, the Black Church, and cults. How religion changes and is changed by secular society. [3] Staff.

SOC 255. Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the United States. Status of blacks, Asians, Hispanics, and other minorities. Migration, identity and association, and strategies to improve group status and reduce intergroup tensions. Comparisons to other countries. [3] Pitt.

For more information about applying, go to Graduate Department of Religion.

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