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 contextual, comparative, and interdisciplinary. The long and diverse 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 twelve courses distributed according to the guidelines that follow.

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. 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. Students who meet the Common Core civilizational studies requirement with another civilization sequence must also complete the Judaic Civilization sequence as part of their concentration requirements. Students who fulfill the Common Core civilization requirement with Judaic Civilization are required to take one quarter of another civilization sequence pertinent to the area and period of their major interest in Jewish Studies. This is done in consultation with their adviser.

Other Requirements. Students who take Judaic Civilization as a concentration requirement separate from the Common Core requirement take six elective courses in Jewish Studies; students who fulfill the Common Core requirement with Judaic Civilization take eight electives. 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.

It is expected that the Common Core requirements in the humanities or social sciences are completed before a student enters the program, normally at the end of the second year. A student who has not completed Common Core requirements before 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, which is listed in the section that follows. A concentration worksheet is distributed to guide students in organizing their programs.

Optional B.A. Paper. Students who choose this option are to 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 are to 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. A B.A. paper is a requirement for consideration for honors.

Honors. Honors are 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 are 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

General Program

Concentration

3	courses in intermediate Hebrew (or other approved language)
3	JewStd 200-201-202 if not used to fulfill Common Core requirement; one related civilization course plus two additional courses in Jewish Studies if Judaic civilization sequence is used to fulfill Common Core requirement
6	courses in Judaic Studies
12

Summary of Requirements

Honors Program

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, Associate 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, Senior Lecturer, Department of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations

MICHAEL FISHBANE, Nathan Cummings Professor, the Divinity School and the College; Chairman, Committee on Jewish Studies

TIKVA FRYMER-KENSKY, Professor, the Divinity School

SANDER L. GILMAN, Henry R. Luce Professor of the Liberal Arts in Human Biology; Professor and Chairman, Departments of Germanic Studies; Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Comparative Literature 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 and the Committee on Social Thought

MARK KRUPNICK, Professor, Department of English Language & Literature and the Divinity School

RALPH LERNER, Benjamin Franklin Professor, Committee on Social Thought and the College; Cochairman, Committee on Social Thought

HOWARD MOLTZ, Professor Emeritus, 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

MOISHE POSTONE, Professor, Department of History and the College

SHULAMIT RAN, William H. Colvin Professor, Department of Music and the College

MARTHA T. ROTH, Professor, Department of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations, Oriental Institute, and Committee on the Ancient Mediterranean World

ERIC SANTNER, Harriet and Ulrich E. Meyer Professor of Modern European Jewish History, Department of Germanic Studies and the College

JOSEF STERN, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy and the College

RICHARD A. STRIER, Frank L. Sulzberger Professor of Civilizations, Department of English Language & Literature, Committees on General Studies in the Humanities and Jewish Studies, and the College

Courses

169/369. Paths of Spiritual Perfection in Judaism. This course examines expressions, modes, and models of the religious quest. Sources from antiquity to the early modern period are studied. Among representative thinkers are Bahya ibn Pakuda, Abraham Abulafia, Abraham Maimuni, Hayin Vital, S. D. Luzzatto, Nahman of Bratzlav, and Franz Kafka. M. Fishbane. Spring.

200-201-202/310-311-312. Judaic Civilization I, II, III. This course sequence fulfills the Common Core requirement in civilization studies. This is a sequential study of periods and communities selected from the history of Judaic civilization, viewed from multiple perspectives (historical, literary, philosophical, religious, and social) and examined in light of the varied ways that civilization is and is not the product of interactions between the Jewish people and surrounding civilizations, nations, and religions. The primary focus is on a close reading of original sources in translation. Specific periods and communities studied may vary from year to year.

200/310. Judaic Civilization I: The Bible and Its Early Interpreters (=Hum 200, JewStd 200/310). This course provides an overall introduction to the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), with specific attention to its literary, religious, and ideological contents. The diversity of thought and theology in ancient Israel is explored, along with its notions of text, teaching, and tradition. Revision and reinterpretation is found within the Bible itself. Portions of the earliest postbiblical interpretation (in Philo, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and selected Pseudepigrapha) are also considered. T. Frymer-Kensky. Autumn.

201/311. Judaic Civilization II: Rabbinic Judaism from the Mishnah to Maimonides (=Hum 201, JewStd 201/311). Study of the primary texts in the development of classical and medieval rabbinic Judaism from roughly 70 C.E. to the twelfth century. The course centers on selections (in translation) from the Mishnah and tannaitic Midrash, the Babylonian Talmud, Geonic and Karaite writing, the Judeo-Arabic and Hebrew literature of Andalusia, and Maimonides' legal and philosophical compositions. Topics include different conceptions of the Hebrew Bible and its interpretation; the origins and development of the Oral Law; relations between Judaism and both Christianity and Islam; sectarianism; rationalist and antirationalist trends in rabbinic thought; and the emergence of secular pursuits in the rabbinic tradition. J. Stern. Winter.

202/312. Judaic Civilization III: Varieties of Modern Jewish Experience (=Hum 202, JewStd 202/312). This course traces the history of the Yiddish-speaking communities of Eastern Europe from the first migrations to Poland to the beginnings of the modern period (the Haskalah). Special emphasis is placed on the history of Polish Jewry, the development of the Yiddish language, traditional education, the rise of Hasidism, and the effects of modernity on traditional Jewish life. Among the readings are works from the great Yiddish writers Mendele Mokher Sforim, Sholem-Aleykhem, Y-L Perets, and S. Ansky. H. Aronson. Spring.

211/311. Near Eastern Civilization I: Survey of Mesopotamian Literature in Translation (=JewStd 211/311, NECiv 211). This course surveys a range of Sumerian, Babylonian, and Assyrian literature, including the great epic cycles such as the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Creation Epic, and less well-known incantations, poety, fables, and wisdom literature. M. Roth. Autumn.

215. Survey of Medieval Jewish History (=DivHJ 215, JewStd 215). This introductory survey of Jewish history begins with the emergence of rabbinic Judaism and concludes with the first generation of the hasidic movement. Major topics include Jewish-Christian relations, Jewish-Muslim relations, the Karaite schism, philosophical and mystical thought, the rise of kabbalah, the Crusades, Jewish self-government, trends in halachic thought, Shabbatai Zevi, and the formation and dissemination of anti-Jewish stereotypes. W. Johnson. Autumn.

215/315. Ethics and Economics: Jewish REsponses to the Poor. (=DIV HJ220/319). From the agrarian soceity of ancient Isreal to today's credit-and information-based postmodernity, Jewish communities have pondered in depth the ethical and religious problems posed by our daily encounters with the poor. In assesing the need and allocating resources, Jewish writers have always included some notion of scarcity in thier calculations. In this course, we will consider how these calculations have balanced divine mandate and ethics against economic limits. Texts to be considered will be excerpted from the Bible, Mishna, Talmud, rabbinic responsa, midrash, Maimonides' Mishne Torah, Zohar, Shulkhan, Arukh, Marx's Capital, and the works of various 20th century neo-marxists. Willis Johnson. Autumn.

217/317-365. East European Yiddish Language and Culture (=Hum 246, JewStd 217/317-365, LngLin 217). PQ: Knowledge of languages such as Yiddish, German, or Hebrew not required. An introduction to Yiddish language and to the culture of East European Jews through the reading of a collection of short literary texts in the original Yiddish: the Khumesh lider (Bible poems) of Itsik Manger. Students should be able to read Yiddish texts with the aid of a dictionary after completing the course. H. Aronson. Winter.

220-221-222/302. Elementary Classical Hebrew I, II, III (=Hebrew 250-251-252, JewStd 220-221-222/302). This course sequence fulfills the Common Core foreign language requirement. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

223-224-225/305. Intermediate Classical Hebrew I, II, III (=Hebrew 253-254-255, JewStd 223-224-225/305). D. Pardee. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

230-231-232/381-382-383. Medieval Jewish History I, II, III (=Hum 230-231-232, JewStd 230-231-232/381-382-383, MdvJSt 280-281-282). PQ: Consent of instructor. This three-quarter sequence deals with the history of the Jews over a wide geographical and historical range. First-quarter work is concerned with the rise of early rabbinic Judaism and development of the Jewish community in Palestine and the eastern and western diasporas during the first several centuries C.E. Topics include the legal status of the Jews in the Roman world, the rise of rabbinic Judaism, the rabbinic literature of Palestine in that context, the spread of rabbinic Judaism, the rise and decline of competing centers of Jewish hegemony, the introduction of Hebrew language and culture beyond the confines of their original home, and the impact of the birth of Islam on the political and cultural status of the Jews. An attempt is made to evaluate the main characteristics of Jewish belief and social concepts in the formative periods of Judaism as it developed beyond its original geographical boundaries. Second-quarter work is concerned with the Jews under Islam, both in Eastern and Western Caliphates. Third-quarter work is concerned with the Jews of Western Europe until the time of the first crusade. N. Golb. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

235. The Radicalism of Job and Ecclesiastes (=Fndmtl 246, Hum 235, JewStd 235). Both Job and Ecclesiastes dispute a central doctrine of the Hebrew Bible, namely, the doctrine of retributive justice. Each book argues that a person's fate is not a consequence of his or her religio-moral acts and thus the piety, whatever else it is, must be disinterested. In brief, the authors of Job and Ecclesiates, each in his own way, not only "de-mythologizes," but "de-moralizes" the world. The students read the books and discuss their theological and philosophical implications. Texts in English. H. Moltz. Spring.

237-238-239/365-366-367. First Year Yiddish through Literature I, II, III (=EEuro 240-1-2, German 240-241-242, JewStd 237-238-239, LngLin 240-241-242). PQ: May be taken in sequence or individually. The first quarter is devoted to an overview of Yiddish grammar through the reading of a series of short poems in the original. The second and third quarters are devoted to developing active knowledge of Yiddish through continued reading, grammar drill, and conversational practice. H. Aronson. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

242-243/342-343. Historical Introduction to Modern Hebrew Literature I, II. This course covers Hebrew literature from the Biblical, Midrashic, medieval, and modern periods. Intertextual relationships between the different epochs are examined as layers of a continuous literature, focusing on themes and forms that are present in ancient Hebrew literature through modern Hebrew literature. Geographical and demographical backgrounds to Hebrew literature are discussed. The first quarter consists of a historical survey of the various periods of Hebrew literary creativity; the second quarter focuses on the main forms of modern Hebrew literature and the disputes concerning the beginning of modernity in Hebrew literature. M. Brinker. Autumn, Winter.

248/348. Maimonides' The Guide for the Perplexed (=DivHJ 210/348, Fndmtl 225, JewStd 248/348). J. Kraemer, R. Lerner. Autumn.

250-251-252/350-351-252. Introductory Modern Hebrew I, II, III (=Hebrew 201-202-203, JewStd 250-251-252/350-351-352, LngLin 201-202-203). This course sequence fulfills the Common Core foreign language requirement. This course introduces students to reading, writing, and speaking modern Hebrew. All four language skills are emphasized: comprehension of written and oral materials; reading of nondiacritical text; writing of directed sentences, paragraphs, and compositions; and speaking. Students learn the Hebrew root pattern system and the seven basic verb conjugations in both the past and present tenses, as well as simple future. At the end of the year, students can conduct short conversations in Hebrew, read materials designed to their level, and write short essays. A. Finkelstein. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

253-254-255/353-354-355. Intermediate Modern Hebrew I, II, III (=Hebrew 204-205-206, JewStd 253-254-255/353-354-355, LngLin 204-205-206). This course is devised for students who had previously taken either modern or biblical Hebrew courses. The main objective is to provide students with the skills necessary to approach modern Hebrew prose, both fiction and nonfiction. In order to achieve this formidable task, students are provided with a systematic examination of the complete verb structure. Many syntactic structures are introduced, including simple clauses, and coordinate and compound sentences. At this level students not only write and speak extensively, but are also required to analyze grammatically and contextually all of the materials assigned. A. Finkelstein. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

256-257-258/356-357-358. Advanced Modern Hebrew I, II, III (=Hebrew 230-231-232, JewStd 256-257-258/356-357-358). This course assumes that students have full mastery of the grammatical and lexical content at the intermediate level. However, there is a shift from a reliance on the cognitive approach to an emphasis on the expansion of various grammatical and vocabulary-related subjects. Students are introduced to sophisti-cated and more complex syntactic constructions, and instructed how to transform simple sentences into more complicated ones. The exercises address the creative effort on the part of the student, and the reading segments are longer and more challenging in both style and content. The language of the texts reflects the literary written medium rather than the more informal spoken style, which often dominates the introductory and intermediate texts. A. Finkelstein. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

268/368. Multikulturelle Literatur im heutigen Deutschland (=ComLit 312, German 268/368, JewStd 268/368). PQ: Advanced knowledge of German. The class examines the literary and cinematic cultures of the "New" Federal German State in the light of their representation of "minorities" and the response by those groups. We focus on the "old" minorities (such as the Jews) who take on new meaning in present-day Germany, as well as on the voices of the "new" minorities (such as the African-Germans, Arab-Germans, and Turkish-Germans). We examine the rethinking of the category of "multiculturalism" in Germany after 1989. Texts and films in German. S. Gilman. Spring.

284. Representing the Holocaust (=German 284, Hum 275, JewStd 284). This course examines historiographical, literary, and philosophical efforts to grasp the background, meaning, and consequences of the attempt by Nazi Germany at a so-called "final solution" of the Jewish Question in Europe. Attendance at a campus conference on the Holocaust from November 14 through 16 required. E. Santner. Autumn.

285/454. Judah Halevi's Kuzari. J. Kraemer. Winter.

291/391. Holocaust and Uses of History. P. Novick. Autumn.

294/394. Freud and Nietzsche (=Fndmtl 296, GS Hum 383, German 394, Hum 279, JewStd 294/394). This course pursues a comparative analysis of the genesis, structure, and implications of Freudian and Nietzschean thought. Special attention is paid to issues of individual and cultural identity (sexual, disciplinary, professional, religious, and political) as they emerge from the close reading of two texts: Freud's Moses and Monotheism and Nietzsche's On the Advantages and Disadvantages of History for Life. Texts in English and the original. S. Jaffe. Autumn.

295/455. The Platonic Tradition in Islamicate Civilization. J. Kraemer. Winter.

296/396. Arts of Love and Books of Marriage from Sappho and Solomon to Freud and Lou (=GS Hum 384, German 399, Hum 283, JewStd 296/396). This course seeks to resuscitate a classic gender issue (love and marriage) within the textual, cultural, and historical contexts of two "theoretical" genres that have both reflected and helped to shape it: the ars amandi and the Ehebuch. Texts in English and the original. S. Jaffe. Winter.

298. General Reading/Research Course. PQ: Consent of instructor and committee chairman. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

299. B.A. Paper Preparation Course. PQ: Consent of instructor and committee chairman. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Required of honors candidates. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

309. Critical Issues in the Study of Medieval Jews. PQ: Advanced standing and consent of instructor. Current methodological debates among scholars of Jewish-Christian interactions are of particular interest to both theologians and historians because they highlight the ways in which our understanding of the past is shaped by our politics and influences our future. Much recent work in this field has been preoccupied with Christian persecution of Jews and Jewish communal survival. We examine historical approaches that locate the origins of intolerance in large societal changes such as the rise of bureaucracy, the consolidation of national identity, and the shift toward a monetary economy. W. Johnson. Winter.

324. Introduction to the Babylonian Talmud II. PQ: Knowledge of Hebrew or Aramaic. In this introductory survey of the Babylonian Talmud, students do not learn to read the Talmud independently, but are familiarized with major concepts, history, and the role of Talmudic praxis in Jewish culture. Readings from the Talmud and secondary literature. Texts in English. W. Johnson. Winter.

330. Introduction to Ethnomusicology. P. Bohlman. Autumn.

331. Ethnographic Methods. P. Bohlman. Autumn.

358-359. Zionism and Its Opponents I, II. M. Brinker. Autumn, Winter.

360. Medieval Philosophy (=JewStd 360, Philos 360). PQ: Philos 250. This course involves a study of the development of philosophy in the West in the first thirteen centuries of the common era with focus on Neoplatonism, Early Christian philosophy, Islamic Kalam, Jewish philosophy, and Christian philosophical theology. Philosophers read include Plotinus, Augustine, Al-Farabi, Avicenna, Maimonides, Averroes, and Thomas Aquinas. J. Stern. Winter.

368. Ancient Jewish Ethics and Piety. PQ: Knowledge of Hebrew. A close reading of classical sources that include Ethics of the Fathers and Derekh Eretz Zatta, with a special emphasis on Fathers According to Rabbi Nathan. Later medieval texts are selectively covered. We consider the ideals and nature of ethic guidebooks in classical Judaism. M. Fishbane. Spring.

400. Franz Rosenzweig (=German 400, JewStd 400). PQ: Reading knowledge of German. E. Santner. Autumn.

444. Seminar: Music and Nationalism. PQ: Advanced standing and consent of instructor. P. Bohlman. Winter.

449. Christian-Jewish Confrontation after 1000. W. Johnson, L. Pick. Spring.

453. Readings in Judaeo-Arabic Text (=DivHJ 453, JewStd 453). PQ: Knowledge of Arabic and Hebrew. J. Kraemer. Spring.

466. Dead Sea Scrolls. J. Collins. Winter.

476. Hellenistic Judaism. J. Collins. Autumn.

642-643. The Present as History I, II (=Hist 642-643, JewStd 642-643). M. Postone. Winter, Spring.

657. History and Memory in the Twentieth Century (=Hist 657, JewStd 657). P. Novick. Spring.

Consult the quarterly Time Schedules for additional course listings in Hebrew Bible, Hebrew literature, history, and Jewish thought.