Coordinator: Roth

The purpose of the Jewish studies minor is to enable and enrich student knowledge of Jewish spirituality, literature, history and cultural diversity. The interdisciplinary curriculum provides a range of courses for student explorations of Judaism and Jewish experience and thus fosters among students an understanding of Jewish studies as the analysis of a diverse religious civilization. The minor is open to those students in a wide variety of academic majors interested in broadening their perspectives about spirituality and ethnicity.

The Jewish studies minor consists of 22 semester hours, including JS:113 Introduction to Judaism, JS:255 Jewish Literature, JS:334 The Holocaust, eight semester hours selected from the other available Jewish studies courses listed below, and two semester hours of independent study approved by the coordinator.

Please note that the various departments that partner with the Jewish studies program may offer special topic and variable content courses of Jewish interest (such as History and Culture of Jewish Cuisine, American-Jewish Literature, Biblical Hebrew, Jewish Women Writers, American-Jewish Film, etc.) that will be cross-listed as JS:390 and which will satisfy the elective requirement of the minor. Check the yearly schedule of classes and the Jewish studies bulletin for more information.

JS:101 The Old Testament. An introduction to the texts of the Hebrew Bible, with concern for their socio-historical contexts, literary forms, and theological insights. Attention also to the variety of ways in which this literature has been and continues to be valued. Same as RE:101. 4 SH.

JS:113 Introduction to Judaism. Examines Judaism as it has been defined and developed as a way of thought and a way of life. The course focuses on central religious concepts, holidays, life-cycle ceremonies, and various forms of religious expression, including prayer and ritual, in order to help students understand what it means, and has meant, to be a Jew. Sponsored in part by the Jewish Chautauqua Society. Same as RE:113. 4 SH.

JS:115 Jewish Philosophy and Spirituality. Explores issues and problems related to the spiritual literature and philosophy of the Jewish people, from the Talmudic period through the present. Topics vary, and may include classical Jewish texts, spiritual traditions, mysticism, religious organization, gender and community, and Judaism in America. The course encourages students to recognize in Jewish texts reflections of Judaism that are diverse and, at times, antithetical to one another. Sponsored in part by the Jewish Chautauqua Society. Same as RE:115. 4 SH.

JS:207 Women in the Biblical Tradition. Introduces and analyzes the variety of ways in which women and the feminine are present in biblical texts (Hebrew Bible, Christian Scripture, Apocrypha). Will consider such aspects as feminine imagery used for God, "real" women’s roles and status, and ideal or "mythic" feminine images found in the Bible. Same as RE:207 and WS:207. 4 SH.

JS:240 Modern Jewish History. Introduces and examines the history of Jews in the modern world from the 17th century to the present. Topics include Jewish historical consciousness; emergence from the ghetto; Haskalah (Enlightenment); Hasidism; patterns for emancipation, assimilation, adaptation, and migration in Western and Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and America; anti-Semitism; Zionism; the Holocaust; Israel; and Jewish life in the Diaspora after the Holocaust. Same as HS:240. 4 SH.

JS:255 Jewish Literature. Introduces, in English translation, Hebrew, Yiddish, and Sephardic literature, and Jewish literature of Europe and the Americas. This course examines the literary inscriptions of a civilization that evolved from a territory-based to an exile culture, and has, in the 20th century, reclaimed its territorial, geographical and influential status while at the same time registering the cataclysms of genocide and the challenges of a regenerating diasporic culture. Same as EN:255. 4 SH.

JS:334 The Holocaust. Examines the origins, implementation and consequences of the Nazi program of mass murder. Topics include history of modern anti-semitism, Nazi ideology and politics, the meaning of survival, forms of resistance, and ethical issues. Same as HS:338. 4 SH.

JS:390 Topics in Jewish Studies. Discussion, debate and evaluation of significant trends and phenomena in Jewish studies. Topics vary according to instructor preference, and may include regional literatures and histories, Jewish languages, gender and identity issues, folklore, Jewish film, Jewish music, Sephardic studies, Zionism, Christian/Jewish relations, Black/Jewish relations, etc. 4 SH.

JS:500 Independent Study. Detailed exploration of literature or author(s); of a selected historical period; of a literary, historical or religious topic, problem or issue; or of creative arts related to Jewish studies. This course engages students in library or action research, research design or application, or creative work in the arts under a faculty member’s direction, and it culminates the minor in Jewish studies. 2 SH.