Undergraduate Course Offerings - Spring 2023

You can find the complete Judaic Studies Program course slate on the Registrar's Schedule of Classes. Check back for more course descriptions throughout the registration period.

All Course Offerings

 

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Spring 2023 Courses

NOTE: IAFF 3181.10 and IAFF 3188.10 can be petitioned to 'count-as' JSTD 2002 for the purposes of fulfilling the JSTD Major and Minor requirements.

JSTD 2001.80: Hebrew Scriptures

Cross-listed with REL 1009.80 & CLAS 2105.80

The literature, history, and religious thought represented by the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). Continuities and contrasts between Israel and the ancient Near East are considered through study of the world view, oral and literary tradition, main religious ideas, and chief figures and movements of the biblical literature.

Professor Christopher Rollston | 3 Credits | Mondays & Wednesdays 2:20 – 3:35 pm

JSTD 2002.80: War Crimes Trials

Crosslisted with HIST 3062.80

The Nuremberg trial and its legacy in subsequent international and hybrid tribunals. The need for judicial accountability for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.    

Professor Jeffrey Richter | 3 Credits | Mondays 5:10 – 7:00 pm

JSTD 2002.81: Antisemitism Origins – Present

Cross-listed with HONR 2053.81 & HIST 2051.80

Thematic and theoretical survey of the history of antisemitism from the late antique period to the twentieth century.               

Professor Daniel Schwartz | 3 Credits | Tuesdays 11:10 – 1:00 pm

JSTD 2002.83: Holocaust Memory

Cross-listed with HONR 2047.83, IAFF 3190.82

The sources, construction, development, nature, uses and misuses of the memory, or public consciousness, of the Holocaust. How different publics in different countries, cultures and societies understand the history the Holocaust. The challenge of representing the Holocaust with fidelity and memorializing its victims with dignity and authenticity. The impact of Holocaust memory on contemporary responses to other genocides and to crimes against humanity. The increasing efforts to hijack, misuse, minimize, deny or attack the Holocaust for political, strategic, ideological, anti-Semitic or other purposes. The effectiveness—or lack of effectiveness-- of Holocaust memory in teaching the Holocaust’s contemporary “lessons,” especially “Never again!” The roles of Holocaust memory, and of Holocaust denial or minimization, in international affairs, including in the Middle East in general and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in particular.

Professor Walter Reich | 3 Credits | Wednesdays 3:30 – 6:00 pm

JSTD 2002W.80: Gender and Sexuality in Israel

Cross-listed with WGSS 3170W.81, HIST 3001W.81, & HEBR 3104W.80

The roles of gender and sexuality in shaping Zionist and Israeli culture, myths, and ideals through examination of cultural works ranging from twentieth-century Hebrew literature to Israeli queer and feminist cinema; the intersection of gender and sexuality with the major political and social issues of Israeli society. Includes a significant engagement in writing as a form of critical inquiry and scholarly expression to satisfy the WID requirement.

Professor Orian Zakai | 3 Credits | Tuesdays & Thursdays 2:20 – 3:35 pm

JSTD 4019.10: Senior Thesis

For Judaic studies majors. Students choose a topic in any major subfield of Judaic studies, select a faculty advisor who specializes in the subfield, conduct research, and produce an annotated bibliography and a proposal that previews the main arguments of the thesis. Completion of the thesis and oral presentation before Judaic studies students and faculty.

Professor Arie Dubnov | 3 Credits | Thursdays 11:10 – 1:00 pm

JSTD 6001.D80: Holocaust Education & Contemporary Antisemitism

This course will examine the state of Holocaust Education today, both in the U.S., and internationally. Students will serve as active and critical evaluators of Holocaust Education, through various online program observations, and a real-life action/or consulting project using a Design Thinking approach. Student will explore the field of Holocaust Education experientially, through exhibitions, and public memorial/or educational program events. Students will identify national and state policies for Holocaust Education, studying both their issues and accomplishments. Holocaust Education will be presented in various forms (i.e. literature, art, poetry, film, social media/new cutting edge technology, and testimony). Pedagogical considerations and scholarly debates/criticism over varying approaches will be studied. We will also explore the implications of Holocaust Education as a means for building empathy, Anti-Racist Education, teaching other genocides, and civic engagement. With today’s rise of antisemitism, we will study the history of antisemitims and the parallels from the past and the present. To better understand contemporary antisemitism students will: engage with new literature, identify forms of antisemitism, discuss current events, hear from guest speakers, and identify best practices for combatting contemporary antisemitism.

Professor Ilana Weltman | 3 Credits | Sundays 10:00 - 12:30 am*

*Comments: This is a distance learning course (synchronous and asynchronous). This course is open to both undergraduate and graduate students. This course will meet synchronously on the following Sundays from 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM: 1/29, 2/12, 3/26, 4/2, 4/23, and 4/30. Contact [email protected] for detailed course information.

REL 2201.10: Judaism

A survey of Jewish thought and practice from the biblical to the modern period; introduction to theHebrew Bible, rabbinic Judaism, Jewish philosophy and mysticism, Judaism in the modern period; an examination of the central rituals in Judaism, including Sabbath, dietary laws, and major festivals

Professor Rob Eisen | 3 Credits | Tuesdays & Thursdays 12:45 – 2:00 pm

REL 3923.10: Violence and Peace in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

Historical analysis of the violent and peaceful dimensions of the three Abrahamic faiths, with focus on the relationship of the scriptures of each of the three traditions to the later interpretations that supported both violent and peaceful readings of those texts.

Professor Rob Eisen | 3 Credits | Mondays & Wednesdays 12:45 – 2:00 pm

IAFF 3181.10 Israeli-Palestinian Peacebuilding

IAFF 3181 SECT 10: Israeli-Palestinian Peacebuilding

Why does the Israeli-Palestinian conflict persist, after decades of peace efforts led by heads of state, social movements, civil society organizations and ordinary citizens? Are there effective strategies for supporting resolution of this intractable conflict? Drawing on frameworks for Conflict Resolution theory and practice, this course provides a dual-narrative analysis of the historical background of the conflict and of Palestinian/Israeli peace and conflict resolution efforts at all levels - state, civil society, and grassroots. The course examines a wide range of cross-conflict peace initiatives, including official and unofficial negotiations, political campaigns, social movements, dialogue, peace education, advocacy, and nonviolent direct action. Course materials will include film, literature, media, and online resources as well as conversations with practitioners and scholars of the field.

Professor Edward Lazarus | 3 Credits | Thursday 12:45-3:15 pm

*This course can be petitioned to count as JSTD 2002 for the purposes of fulfilling the JSTD Major and Minor requirements.

IAFF 3188.10: The Arab-Israeli Conflict

Why is the lifespan of Israeli governments so short? Why does Israel hold elections more often than any country with a comparable parliamentary system? This course will provide a detailed portrait of contemporary Israeli society and politics, tracing the evolution of salient ethnic, ideological, religious, and socioeconomic divisions –
Arab/Jewish, Religious/Secular, Right/Left, Center/Periphery among others - and their expression in parliamentary politics and social movements. The course will equip students to link today’s political parties and blocs with social constituencies and defining issues, highlighting the complex social dynamics underlying chronic political instability and their implications for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and regional diplomacy. The course will conclude with a role-play simulation of Israeli parliamentary politics in which students will represent coalition and opposition parties debating controversial legislation.

Professor Edward Lazarus | 3 Credits | Tuesdays 12:45-3:15 pm

*This course can be petitioned to count as JSTD 2002 for the purposes of fulfilling the JSTD Major and Minor requirements.

PSC 2476.11: The Arab-Israeli Conflict

History and current state of the Arab-Israeli Conflict; the Jewish and Arab nationalism movements; Palestine under the British Mandate and after the establishment of the State of Israel; the peace process and its collapse; and recent political developments. Prerequisite: PSC 1003.

Professor Nicholas Heras | 3 Credits | Tuesdays & Thursdays 2:20 – 3:35 pm