Undergraduate - Spring 2011 Course Descriptions
JEWISH STUDIES
Jewish Studies 289. Independent Study. A research project carried out under the supervision of a faculty mentor. [Variable credit: 1-3; may be repeated to a maximum of 3]
Jewish Studies 290. Directed Readings. Advanced readings and research on a selected topic done under the supervision of a faculty mentor. [3] Staff.
Jewish Studies 295. Senior Seminar. Advanced reading and research in a particular area of Jewish Studies. [3]
Jewish Studies 296. Senior Project in Jewish Studies. Readings and independent research. Open only to seniors. [3] Staff.
Jewish Studies 298b. Seniors Honors Research Seminar. Presentation and discussion of progress being made on honor theses. Open only to senior honors students. [3-3]
LANGUAGES
Hebrew 111b. Elementary Hebrew. Continuation of 111a. Greater stress upon conversation and grammar. Classes meet three times a week with an additional two hours a week required in the language laboratory. SPRING. [4] Halachmi. (INT)
Hebrew 113b. Intermediate Hebrew. Continuation of 113a. Greater emphasis on reading and writing. Classes meet three times a week with an additional three hours a week spent in independent work in the language laboratory. SPRING. [3] Halachmi. (INT)
Hebrew 289. Hebrew Independent Study. (NO AXLE CREDIT)
Religion 2501. Elementary Biblical Hebrew. A two-semester course of study leading to a reading knowledge of the Hebrew Bible. Open for credit to Undergraduate and M.A. students only. [3] Staff. (NO AXLE CREDIT)
Yiddish (by examination)
Ladino (by examination)
Judaeo-Arabic (by examination)
AREA 1: BIBLICAL STUDIES
English 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] (HCA)
AREA 2: ANTIQUITY AND THE MEDIEVAL WORLD
Classics 209. 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] Rife. (INT)
History 219. Last Empire of Islam. The Ottoman “long nineteenth century,” 1789 to 1923. The Reforms (Tanzimat), state patriotism, intercommunal relations, national “awakenings,” and the emergence of a public sphere. Historiographical issues, such as perceptions of the empire as the “Sick Man of Europe” and debates over its decline. FALL. [3] Cohen. (INT)
Jewish Studies 222. Jews in Egypt from the Biblical Joseph to the Suez Crisis. Jewish life and experience under Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Muslim rule in Egypt from the Ptolemies to 1956. Jewish self-government, economic life, and culture over twenty-two centuries, through letters, documents, and imaginative literature. [3] Wasserstein (INT)
Philosophy 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] Goodman. (INT)
Religious Studies 226. Ancient Goddesses. Ancient concepts of the feminine divine in literature and iconographic evidence. Specific goddesses, their spheres of influence, and their place in the various pantheons. Cultic practices and religious syncretism across cultures, including Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Ancient Israel. [3] Azzoni. (INT)
Religious Studies 254. 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. (INT)
AREA 3: MODERN & CONTEMPORARY EXPERIENCE
Spring 2011: English 280 / History 291. Workshop in English and History: Jews and the Modern City. If the city is often portrayed as the laboratory of modernity, what does it mean that the Jews are often seen as the ultimate urbanites? By the nineteenth century, cities and Jews alike filled people‘s imaginations with visions of the dark and seductive sides of modernity in turn. This course seeks to analyze these connections. When, where and why were the terms ‗Jew,‘ ‗city,‘ and ‗modern‘ conflated? Examining different urban contexts, we will explore a wide variety of modern Jewish experiences of ‗the city‘ through an examination of historical writing, literature, and visual culture produced by and about urban Jews. Central problems of the course include how history and literary texts both represent and reproduce narratives of modernity, minority experiences, and city life. Covering a diverse array of cities ranging from New York to Tel Aviv, and Istanbul to Odessa, our sources will consist of scholarly essays, films, photographs, paintings, poems, novels, and short stories in English and English translation. Topics will include Jack the Ripper, New York‘s Lower East Side, the rise of the department store, revolutionary movements, antisemitism and suburbanization. [3] Julia Phillips Cohen (History) and Allison Schachter (English)
Spring 2011: European Studies 240.02. Topics in European Studies: Religion and Politics in Modern Europe. European religious politics since the 18th century; secularization and the critique of religion; religious revivals and religious political parties; antisemitism and anti-Catholicism; religion and colonialism; the Nazis and the churches; Islam and Islamophobia in Europe. [3] Joskowicz. (NO AXLE CREDIT)
History 172. World War II. Origins and causes of the global conflict; the six years of military campaigns; politics and diplomacy of warmaking; race as a factor shaping the war in Europe and Asia. Impact of technological innovations; social and economic aspects of the struggle, as well as its moral and psychological implications. Serves as repeat credit for students who completed 188 prior to fall 2008. [3] Bess. (INT)
History 210. Russia: The U.S.S.R. and Afterward. Russian history since the 1917 Revolution. Overview of the old regime; revolution and civil war; the Soviet “Roaring ’20s”; Stalinism and the totalitarianized society; World War II. Postwar Soviet society and culture; de-Stalinization and the sixties generation; Gorbachev, perestroika, and disintegration; contemporary history. Serves as repeat credit for students who completed 239 prior to fall 2008. [3] Wcislo. (INT)
History 230. Twentieth-Century Germany. 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. Serves as repeat credit for students who completed 231 prior to fall 2008. [3] Smith. (INT)
Spring 2011: History 291/English 280. Workshop in English and History: Jews and the Modern City. If the city is often portrayed as the laboratory of modernity, what does it mean that the Jews are often seen as the ultimate urbanites? By the nineteenth century, cities and Jews alike filled people‘s imaginations with visions of the dark and seductive sides of modernity in turn. This course seeks to analyze these connections. When, where and why were the terms ‗Jew,‘ ‗city,‘ and ‗modern‘ conflated? Examining different urban contexts, we will explore a wide variety of modern Jewish experiences of ‗the city‘ through an examination of historical writing, literature, and visual culture produced by and about urban Jews. Central problems of the course include how history and literary texts both represent and reproduce narratives of modernity, minority experiences, and city life. Covering a diverse array of cities ranging from New York to Tel Aviv, and Istanbul to Odessa, our sources will consist of scholarly essays, films, photographs, paintings, poems, novels, and short stories in English and English translation. Topics will include Jack the Ripper, New York‘s Lower East Side, the rise of the department store, revolutionary movements, antisemitism and suburbanization. [3] Julia Phillips Cohen (History) and Allison Schachter (English)
Jewish Studies 124. Perspectives in Modern Jewish History.
Spring 2011. Jewish experiences from the 17th century until today; how Jewish men and women dealt with and shaped modernity; the rise of new opportunities and new forms of persecution; Jewish politics within the nation state and beyond it. [3] Joskowicz (P)
Jewish Studies 280. Contemporary Jewish Issues (Service Learning in Jewish Studies). Projects will vary according to instructor. Service to community will be integral part of course. [3] (NO AXLE CREDIT)
Jewish Studies 288b. Internship Research. Under faculty supervision, students gain experience in any of a variety of settings, such as community, municipal, or government agencies. A thorough report and research paper are required. Students will write a research paper drawing on their experiences in 288a. Corequisite: 288a. [3] (No AXLE credit)
Religion 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.
AREA 4: CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, AND LITERATURE
Jewish Studies 115.10. Jewish Responses to Catastrophe. “In every age, someone rises up to destroy us”, reads the Passover Haggada. Existential threats seem to be part of the very fiber of Jewish self-consciousness; a famous 1986 essay even described the Jews as “the ever-dying people”. This course will explore the response of Jewish texts and tradition to the crises of history, and the way in which those responses have in turn shaped the Jewish experience from antiquity to the present.[3] Lieberman. [P]
Jewish Studies 137W. Black-Jewish Relations in Post-War American Literature and Culture. The historical relationship between African Americans and Jewish Americans and its portrayal in novels, short stories, and films by artists from both communities. [3] Meyer. (US)
Jewish Studies 235W. Hebrew Literature in Translation. Origins and development in Eastern Europe from the nineteenth century to postmodern Israeli literature. The relationship between historical transformations and literary form. [3]. Schachter. (INT)
Jewish Studies 245. Major Themes in Jewish Studies: Jewish Studies in the Academy. The study of Jews, Judaism, and Jewish culture. History of Jewish Studies, core perspectives, key methodologies, critical debates. Classical literature, current trends. [3] Kelner. (P)
Jewish Studies 250. Is G-d Guilty? The Problem of Evil in Judaism. The course explores the discourse of evil and suffering in Judaism with an emphasis on modern Jewish Thought, before and after the Shoah, and the larger social and cultural implications. Through philosophical and theological perspectives we will address issues of human agency, free will, responsibility, identity, collective memory, and the meaning of moral rationalization in religion. [3] Urban. (HCA)
Jewish Studies 253W. Witnesses Who Were Not There: Literature of the Children of Holocaust Survivors. Fiction and non-fiction produced by children of Holocaust survivors. [3] Meyer. (HCA)
Foreign Program Work (FNTM) 218. Study Abroad. Hebrew University: Israel. Hebrew University is ranked number one in academic excellence by Israel’s Council for Higher Education. Students come from over 70 countries around the world to study in classrooms with panoramic views of the 3,000 year old city of Jerusalem. In addition to their coursework, students have the opportunity to participate in an extensive program of cultural and social activities as well as supervised internships for credit and volunteer work around the city.
Foreign Program Work (FNTM) 251. Jewish Studies in Prague, Czech Republic. The CET program in Jewish Studies offers students the opportunity to explore the enormous contribution of Jewish life to the culture, literature, arts and history of East Central Europe. For students who want to take an in-depth look at the rich Jewish history and culture in East Central Europe before the war, its destruction during the Nazi years, and its gradual rebirth after the fall of communism. The city of Prague, where the program is located, is host to the oldest continuous Jewish community in Europe and one of the richest collections of Judaica in the world. Living in Prague students will encounter the challenges that the Czech Republic faces in the period of transition between Soviet Communism and the privatization of many political, social and cultural institutions.
Philosophy 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. (P)
Philosophy 260. Twentieth-Century Continental Philosophy. A study of selected twentieth-century philosophers such as Derrida, Foucault, and Lacan. [3] Wood. (HCA)
Philosophy 261. Jewish Philosophy. Introduction to Jewish philosophy and the philosophical achievement of such major figures as Philo, Saadiah, Maimonides, Levinas, and selected contemporary thinkers. [3] Goodman. (HCA)
Spring 2011: Philosophy 353.04. Figures: Averroes and Gersonides Dobbs-Weinstein.
Religious Studies 203. Jewish Theories of Religion. Critical analysis and discussion of modern Jewish constructions of religion: politically, symbolically, ethically, normatively, and aesthetic-mystically. Selected readings from Cohen, Buber, Rosenzweig, Kaplan, and social philosophers such as Simmel and Habermas on the function, nature, and meaning of religion in secular culture. [3] Urban. (P)