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To see what was offered in Spring 2012, click here
Fall 2012 Courses
ENGL 3913.001: Jewish Graphic Novel
MWF 12:00-12:50 PM LANG 113
Description: In this course, we will look at the major figures and tets in the history of 20th-century Jewish-American comics/graphic narratives (Lee/Kirby, Siegel/Shuster, Bob Kane, Kurtzman/Elder, Will Eisner, Art Spiegelman, among others), and also the path breaking and formally dissonant work of Israeli writers and artists. Special attention will be paid to the representations of the Israel/Palestine conflict, the main topic of all Israeli comics.
Instructor: Marshall Needleman Armintor
HIST 4217.001: Jew, Greek, and Roman: Backgrounds of Early Christianity
TR 3:30-4:50 PM WH 215
Description: Historical introduction to the original and early spread of the world's largest religion. Historical climate into which Christianity first emerged: ancient Judaism, the Roman Empire, and the cosmopolitan culture of the Hellenistic Greek cities. The origins and growth of Christianity itself: the ministry of Jesus, persecutions, the career of Paul, the slow growth of Christian communities and the conversion of the Emperor Constantine.
Instructor: Christopher Fuhrmann
HIST 4315.001: Anti-Semitism from Ancient Times to Present
TR 12:30-1:50 PM WH 212
Description: Examines the history of anti-Semitism from ancient Egypt to the contemporary world. topics include pagan responses to Jews, Christian theological anti-Semitism, the first Crusade, the ritual murder accusations, the blood libel, the Inquisition, impact of the Reformation, Russian pogroms, anti-Semitism in America, the Holocaust, Holocaust denial, and Arab anti-Semitism.
Instructor: Eunice Pollack
HIST 5040.005: Nazi Germany
R 6:30-9:20 PM WH 267
Description:Comprehensive sophisticated account and analysis of the Nazi period in German history; exploring issues related to the content and implications of Nazi ideology; the role of Hitler, the complicity of elites such as Junkers, the military, the churches, and big business. Examines the origins both of the Nazi movement and of the conditions in Germany that led to the movement's rise to power. Analyzes the consequences of the implementation of Hitler's policies in the forms of genocide, military conquest, and defeat.
Instructor: Al Mierzejewski
MKTG 2980.031/PHIL 3550.031: Jewish Business Ethics
ONLINE COURSE
Description:
Instructor: Lou E. Pelton
MUMH 4800.001: Nazism, Judaism, and the Politics of Classical Music
MWF 8:00-8:50 AM MUSI 322
Description: Explores the connections between Nazi ideology, politics, anti-Semitism, and classical music in Nazi Germany.
Instructor: Timothy Jackson
PHIL 2100.001: Introduction to Judaism
R 2:00-4:50 PM LANG 310
Description:This course examines the beliefs, practices, laws, and movements of Judaism from Biblical times to the present, emphasizing the impact of modernity on the central texts and traditions.
Instructor: Dan Lewin
PHIL 3320.001: Medieval Philosophy
TR 12:30 PM-1:50 PM ENV 190
Description: Medieval Philosophy concerns the question of Jerusalem and Athens. It is the question of how the way of life handed down from ancient Israel (namely, the way of life guided above all by biblical piety as taught by Orthodox Judaism, Catholic Christianity and/or traditional Islam) fits, or fails to fit, with the way of life handed down from ancient Greece (namely, the way of life guided above all by philosophical inquiry as exemplified in the writings of Plato and Aristotle). There are three main approaches to the Jerusalem-Athens question. According to St. Augustine of Hippo and St. Anselm of Canterbury, “Unless you believe, you will not understand.” According to St. Thomas, “Grace does not destroy nature but perfects it.” Finally, according to Rabbi Moses Maimonides and the Muslim scholar Averroës, revelation and philosophy remain in a necessary, though instructive, tension.
Instructor: Martin Yaffe
PHIL 4960.004: Jewish Sexual Ethics
R 5:00 PM-7:50 PM CURY 210
Description:Through textual study, film vignettes, and animated discussion, this course will develop an appreciation of the varieties of Jewish sexual ethics and attitudes toward human sexuality in theology and philosophy. Topics include premarital sex, homosexuality, marriage and divorce, androgyny and transexuality, prostitution, abortion, and pornography. Readings include significant Biblical selections, to early writings such as Nahmanides’ Holy Letter, to contemporary works such as The Rabbi’s Daughter.
Instructor: Jonathan Schick
PSCI 4330.001: Medieval Political Thought
W 6:30 PM - 9:20 PM WH 112
Description: The goal of this course is to understand as clearly as we can the thought of the greatest medieval political thinkers in the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian worlds and the radical challenge that thought poses to modern and contemporary political thought. We will also attempt to determine what light might be shed on contemporary politics by the often neglected masterpieces of medieval Christian, Muslim, and Jewish political theory and theology.
Instructor: Richard Ruderman
THEA 4500.001: Staging Atrocity: Theatre of the Holocaust
W 6:00 PM - 8:50 PM CURY 211
Description: This course involves the exploration and examination of performance as a reflection of the experiences of people during the Holocaust. Through readings, plays, films, videos, personal experiences, and family histories, students will form and discuss personal points of view regarding the power of arts as a way of honoring memory.
Instructor: Timothy Wilson
Spring 2012 Courses
Note: The two-year Hebrew sequence is offered by the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures in cooperation with the Jewish Studies Program. It fulfills the university's language requirement.
HEBR 1020.001: Elementary Hebrew II
MW 11:00-12:50 PM Lang 211
Lab: F 11:00-11:50 AM Lang 210
Description: Students will learn to read and understand the Hebrew Bible and the basics of Hebrew as it is spoken today in Israel. The course will examine topics ranging from Biblical archaeology to modern Israeli culture.
Instructor: Ruth Precker
HEBR 2050.001: Intermediate Hebrew II
MW 2:00-3:20 PM Lang 211
Description: Students will learn to read and understand the Hebrew Bible and the basics of Hebrew as it is spoken today in Israel. The course will examine topics ranging from Biblical archaeology to modern Israeli culture.
Instructor: Ruth Precker
HIST 4263.005: Ancient Israel
TR 9:30-10:50 AM BLB 070
Description: This course is a survey of the history of the Hebrew people’s attempts at early state formation from their earliest known origins to the beginning of the Diaspora (ca. 3000 BCE-ca. 135 CE). Particular attention will be paid to the creation of the earliest incarnations of the state of Israel in the context of its geography as a border territory. Thematically, this course will examine the interplay between Jewish monotheism and assimilation with the neighboring polytheistic cultures and how this interrelationship informed Jewish notions of leadership and community. In addition, students will be introduced to the notions and problems of state formation in the tradition of "Western" thought. This course will be heavily based on reading primary sources and some of the more influential secondary scholarship on Hebrew culture and ancient Israel and its neigbors. We will also explore the use of archaeology and other non-literary sources in an attempt to address the basic issues of the course.
Instructor: Walter Roberts
HIST 4475.001: Jewish Women in Modern America
TR 12:30-1:50 PM BLB 231
Description: This course examines the changing experiences and representations of American Jewish women (and men) over the course of the last century. Topics include transformation of gender identity; gender and family, work, entertainment, sex, religion, and feminism
Instructor: Eunice Pollack
PHIL 2100.001: Introduction to Judaism
M 5:00-7:50 PM Lang 310
Description: This course examines the beliefs, practices, laws, and movements of Judaism from Biblical times to the present, emphasizing the impact of modernity on the central texts and traditions.
Instructor: Rabbi Jonathan Schick
PHIL 4960.001: The Ten Commandments
TR 11:00 AM - 12:20 PM WH 116
Description: In this course, the student will become familiar with what the commandments are as well as their details and broader applications within the framework of a society’s moral constitution, to understand the specific structure and order of the ten commandments, and finally to explore the personal relevance of these guidelines.
Instructor: Rabbi Dan Lewin
PHIL 4960.002: David, Saul and Solomon: The Early Israelite Monarchy
TR 2:00 - 3:20 PM WH 112
Description: This course offers an overview of the early Israelite monarchy through the biographies of its first three kings: Saul ben Kish, David ben Jesse, and Solomon ben David. Using the books of Samuel and I Kings, combined with the most recent evidence from archaelogy and translations of cognate literature, we will analyze the rise of the Israelite kingdom in its historic and social milieu. Special emphasis will be given to the problems of using Hebrew Scriptures as historical documents, as well as understanding the Ancient Near Eastern context for the events and behaviors recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Instructor: Rabbi Geoffrey Dennis
