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Jewish Studies
Committee Chairman: Michael Fishbane, S 205, 702-8234
Program of Study
The Bachelor of Arts concentration in Jewish Studies provides a context
in which College students may examine the texts, cultures, languages, and
histories of Jews and Judaism over three millennia. The perspective is analytic,
comparative, and interdisciplinary. The multimillennial, multicultural,
and multicontinental history of Jews and Judaism affords unique opportunities
to study modes of continuity and change, interpretation and innovation,
and isolation and integration of a world historical civilization. Students
are encouraged to develop appropriate skills (in texts, languages, history,
and culture) for independent work.
Program Requirements
The concentration requires a B.A. paper and twelve courses distributed according
to the following guidelines:
Language. Normally a student is expected to take three courses of Hebrew
beyond the Common Core language requirement. If the student's research project
requires knowledge of a language other than Hebrew, the student may petition
the committee to substitute that language for Hebrew, but not for the Common
Core language requirement.
Judaic Civilization. The concentration requires three courses in the
Judaic Civilization sequence (students are expected to meet the Common Core
civilizational studies requirement with another civilization sequence).
This program includes ancient, medieval, and modern components. The temporal
limits of these "periods" are determined by the faculty assuming
responsibility for the sequence. The first step of the sequence, covering
the history of ancient Israel to the destruction of the Second Jewish Commonwealth,
could be replaced by a one-quarter introduction to the Hebrew Bible.
Other Requirements. Five courses in the humanities and/or social sciences
relevant to Jewish Studies are required. These courses would, in part, constitute
the specific area of concentration for each student. The specific nature
of these courses is decided upon by the student in consultation with the
concentration adviser. A balance between content and method is the goal.
Students are encouraged to take at least one method or theory course in
the College in the area pertaining to their area of special interest. Thus,
a student focusing on history would be urged to study historiography or
historiographical method, and so on.
B.A. Paper. Students meet with their advisers by May 15 of their third
year to determine the focus of the research project and are expected to
begin reading and research for the B.A. paper during the summer before their
senior year. After further consultation, students do guided readings and
participate in a (formal or informal) tutorial during the autumn quarter
of the senior year. Concentration credit is received only for the winter
quarter tutorial, during which the B.A. paper is finally written and revised.
The B.A. paper must be received by the primary reader by the end of the
fifth week of the spring quarter.
It is expected that the Common Core requirements in the humanities or social
sciences are completed before a student enters the program. This normally
occurs at the end of the second year. A student who has not completed Common
Core requirements prior to admission to the program should do so during
the first year of the program.
Each student in the program has an adviser who is a member of the program
faculty, listed below. A concentration worksheet is distributed to guide
students in organizing their programs.
Honors. Honors will be awarded to students who show excellence in their
course work as well as on the B.A. paper. To receive general honors in Jewish
Studies the student must have a grade point average of at least 3.25 in
the concentration. High honors will be awarded to students who earn a grade
point average of 3.5 or better in the concentration. An oral defense of
the B.A. paper must also be given to three members of the Jewish Studies
faculty.
Summary of Requirements
Concentration 3 courses in Hebrew (or other approved language)
3 courses in the Jewish civilization sequence
5 relevant courses in the humanities and/or social sciences
1 senior tutorial (B.A. paper)
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Faculty
HOWARD I. ARONSON, Professor, Departments of Slavic Languages & Literatures
and Linguistics
RALPH A. AUSTEN, Professor, Department of History and the College
PHILIP V. BOHLMAN, Assistant Professor, Department of Music and the College
MENACHEM BRINKER, Henry Crown Professor, Department of Near Eastern Languages
& Civilizations
JOHN COLLINS, Professor, the Divinity School
ARIELA FINKELSTEIN, Lecturer, Department of Near Eastern Languages &
Civilizations
MICHAEL FISHBANE, Nathan Cummings Professor, the Divinity School and the
College
TIKVA FRYMER-KENSKY, Professor, the Divinity School
SANDER L. GILMAN, Henry R. Luce Professor of the Liberal Arts in Human Biology;
Professor, Departments of Germanic Studies and Psychiatry and the College
SAMUEL P. JAFFE, Professor, Department of Germanic Studies and the College
LEON KASS, Addie Clark Harding Professor in the College and the Committee
on Social Thought
JOEL KRAEMER, Professor, the Divinity School
MARK KRUPNICK, Professor, Department of English Language & Literature
and the Divinity School
RALPH LERNER, Professor, Committee on Social Thought and the College; Cochairman,
Committee on Social Thought
HOWARD MOLTZ, Professor, Department of Psychology and the College
PETER NOVICK, Professor, Department of History and the College
DENNIS G. PARDEE, Professor, Department of Near Eastern Languages &
Civilizations, Oriental Institute, and the College
SHULAMIT RAN, William H. Colvin Professor, Department of Music and the College
MARTHA T. ROTH, Associate Professor, Department
of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations, Oriental Institute, and Committee
on the Ancient Mediterranean World
JOSEF STERN, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Committee on
General Studies in the Humanities, and the College
RICHARD A. STRIER, Professor, Department of English Language & Literature,
Committee on General Studies in the Humanities, and the College
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