General Course List    

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DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY

History 4263 Arab-Israeli Wars 
Dr. Adrian Lewis 
The birth of the Jewish ideology and movement, Zionism, and Arab Nationalism, the creation of the state of Israel, and the series of Arab-Israeli wars starting in 1947 to the present Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The causes and nature of the conflicts, the strategies employed, the armed forces and leadership of the opposing forces, the problems of Arab unity, the roles of the superpowers, and the influences of culture, religion, and significant historical experiences, e.g., the Holocaust and Imperialism.

History 4385 Nazi Germany 
Dr. Alfred Mierzejewski 
Rise of the Nazis, extreme nationalism and anti-Semitism in Germany, Nazi preparations for war, the Holocaust, and Germany's military aggression and defeat.

History 4260 Rome's Jewish Wars and the Roman Near East
Dr. Guy Chet
The expansion of Rome’s sphere of influence to the east brought it into competition with the Parthian Empire, which spanned from Arabia and the Caspian Sea to India. Judaea – an independent Jewish kingdom from 160 to 63 B.C.E. – soon came under Roman control, as a client kingdom, eventually becoming a Roman province (6 C.E.). The course will examine the sources of Roman power in the East, as well as the military clashes that shaped Rome’s administrative expansion into the Near East, focusing primarily on Judaea and the two Jewish Revolts (66 C.E. and 132 C.E.). The course will also cover the consequences of Rome’s Jewish Wars for the Roman eastern front with the Parthians, and for Jews and Christians in Judaea/Palestina and throughout the empire.

History 4260 The Jewish Experience in America 
Dr. Eunice Pollack 
The Jewish experience in America from the colonial period to the present. Topics include immigration, acculturation, and assimilation, shaping an American Jewish identity, social mobility, the Jewish family, the Jewish woman, Jews, and popular culture, American Judaism, anti-Semitism in America, Jewish-Christian relations, Black-Jewish relations, American Jews and the Holocaust, Zionism, and Israel. 

History 4260 Jewish Women: A World Perspective
Dr. Eunice Pollack
The experiences of Jewish women from ancient times to the present, in the Near and Middle East, Europe, North Africa, and the United States, including their changing position in the household, the community, and the larger public arena; religious role, work experience, and ideologies; their leading roles in radical, labor, social and feminist movements; and images of Jewish women.

History 4261 Jewish Women in Modern America

Dr. Eunice Pollack 

This course examines the changing experiences and representations of American Jewish women over the course of the last century. Topics include: Jews and gender, the Jewish women and assimilation, the family, school, work, leisure, entertainment, sex, religion, labor activism, feminism, and politics. 

History 4262 Jew, Greek, and Roman: Backgrounds on Early Christianity
Dr. Christopher Fuhrmann

History 4315 Anti-Semitism:  From Ancient Times to the Present
Dr. Eunice Pollack 
Roots and development of anti-Semitism from 1250 B.C.E. to the present; social, religious, psychological, political, and economic dimensions of anti-Semitism, "the longest hatred." Topics include pagan attitudes toward Jews and Judaism, the roots and development of Christian anti-Semitism, the first Crusade and the massacre of the Jews, the devil and the Jews, the Black Death, the Inquisition, the Protestant Reformation, anti-Semitism in the United States from colonial times to the present, the Holocaust, Holocaust Denial, and anti-Semitism in the Arab world. 

History 4320 Anti-Semitism in Europe, Eighteenth Century to World War II
Dr. Henry Eaton 
Anti-Semitism and Jews from the eighteenth century to World War II.

History 4390 The Holocaust 1933-45
Dr. Henry Eaton 
European Jews and their destruction during Nazi Germany's ascendancy; Jewish communities and anti-Semitism before the Nazis; institutions and processes of extermination; victims, including non-Jews; perpetrators; historical background. 

Graduate Courses

History 5060 Studies in Nazi Germany 
Dr. Alfred Mierzejewski 
Reading of the most important scholarly works concerning Nazi Germany; economic matters, the Holocaust, and Germany's conduct of World War II. Knowledge of German is helpful. 

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

English 3913 Yiddish Literature
Dr. Diane Plotkin
Have you ever wondered about the meaning of the "The Fiddler on the Roof"? We will discuss the symbolism in a course which covers stories and novels from the shtetl. In this course we will read Yiddish mysticism, humor, folklore, and love stories written by authors from Sholem Aleichem to Isaac Bashevis Singer and many others. We will also study the Golem, the Dybbuk, and mystic tales of the Chasidim.

English 3923 American Jewish Writers 
Dr. James Duban 
Study of the cultural and historical specificity of American Jewish literature. Comparison of that literature to canonical texts and trends, or examination of that literature as a counter discourse to dominative theories. 

English 4940 Bible as Literature 
Dr. Tom Preston 
In the Hebrew scriptures, the course will focus on the epic narratives of creation, national foundation, exodus, & development, selected major poems from the prophetic poetry of vision, the Wisdom epiphanies of Ecclesiastes and Job, the short stories of Ruth & Esther, with some gestures towards the lyrical collections of Psalms & the Song of Songs. In the Christian scriptures, the focus will be on the four Jesus stories and Paul's Letter to the Romans. 

English 4800 Literature and the Holocaust 
Dr. Deborah Needleman Armintor 
The German philosopher Theodor Adorno once said, "After Auschwitz it is barbaric to write poetry." Misguided as Adorno's statement might be (Adorno later wholeheartedly retracted it), the questions it raises continue to resonate in literature and film about the Holocaust. How do writers and artists attach words and images to the Holocaust and its aftermath? How do differences in genre (poetry, memoir, narrative fiction, graphic novel, documentary film, narrative cinema, and others), style, subject matter, and issues of authorial identity affect-or not affect-the "meaning" of Holocaust literature? Through close readings of a wide range of literary and cinematic texts, we will discuss these and other questions about language and trauma, literature and genocide, storytelling and history. 

DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES 
AND LITERATURES

Hebrew 1010 Elementary Hebrew I 
Ruth Precker 
Introduction to Modern Hebrew, as it is written and spoken in Israel today. Classes will be highly interactive, with conversations, tapes, songs and games, using as much Hebrew as possible. 

Hebrew 1020 Elementary Hebrew II 
Ruth Precker 
The introduction to Modern Hebrew as it is written and spoken in Israel today. A continuation of Hebrew 1010, classes will be highly interactive, with conversations, tapes, songs and games, using as much Hebrew as possible. 

Hebrew 2040 Intermediate Hebrew I 
Ruth Precker
Build on your basic knowledge of Modern Hebrew, as it is written and spoken in Israel today.

Hebrew 2050 Intermediate Hebrew II 
Ruth Precker 
This course will continue the introduction to Modern Hebrew as it is written and spoken in Israel today. It is a continuation of Hebrew 2040. Classes will be highly interactive, with conversations, tapes, songs, and games, using as much Hebrew as possible. There will be a lot of team work, as we split into groups to practice new material. Most written work will be handled outside of class.

Language 4900 Germans and Jews

Daniel Magilow

Although in the twentieth century, the hyphenated word "German-Jewish" conjures images of Hitler and concentration camps, the culture of Jewish-Germans began over 1500 years ago. Today in fact, more Jews immigrate to Germany than to Israel, in large part due to the rich cultural linkages between Germans and Jews. This course will examine the German-Jewish relationship by looking at a wide range of literacy, historical, artistic, political, philosophical, and cinematic texts. 

COLLEGE OF MUSIC

MUMH 4800 Nazism, Judaism, and the Politics of Classical Music in Germany
Dr. Timothy Jackson 
Explores different connections between Nazi ideology, politics, anti-Semitism, and classical music in Nazi Germany. 

MUMH 4810 Jews, Judaism, Anti-Semitism, and Opera 
Dr. Timothy Jackson 
Roles of Jews in opera, including sympathetic representations by Jewish composers, and negative stereotyping by both Jewish and non-Jewish composers. 

DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION STUDIES

Philosophy 3570 Hebrew Bible 
Dr. Martin Yaffe 
Philosophical and ethical concepts of the Hebrew Bible compared with ancient pagan thought and subsequent Western culture. Concepts discussed include creation, revelation, holiness, faith, covenant, prophecy, idolatry, chosen people, justice, mercy, truth, and peace. Pre-requisites: upper-division standing or consent of department. 

Philosophy 3575 Judaic Religion and Philosophy 
Dr. Martin Yaffe 
Introduction to a wide range of Judaic texts; Biblical, medieval and modern which address Jewish law, History, and thought from diverse points of view. 

Philosophy 4960 Classical Jewish Thought: Maimonides and the 13 Principles of Faith
Rabbi Jonathan Schick
Description coming soon...

Philosophy 3573 Introduction to Judaism
Rabbi Geoffrey Dennis 
Practices, themes, and movements of Judaism, emphasizing the impact of modernity. The student successfully completing this course will be familiar with the concepts of Judaism and issues of current importance.

Philosophy 4960 Rabbinic Judaism 
Rabbi Geoffrey Dennis 
Introduction to the foundational documents of Rabbinic Judaism: Mishna and Gemara (collectively known as Talmud), Midrash, and early Jewish mystical writings. Emphasis will be given to reading and discussing Rabbinic texts in translation as a means to understand the literary, legal, moral, and theological underpinnings of Judaism.

Rabbi Jonathan Schick 

This course will serve as an overview of historical and contemporary Jewish perspectives towards human sexuality. Invariably, Judaism's view of sexuality is widely misunderstood or grossly misrepresented. Through text study, film vignettes, and animated discussion, a thorough understanding of Jewish sexual ethics will be fostered. Readings include significant Biblical selections, to early writings such as Nahmanides' Holy Letter, to contemporary works such as Bulka's Judaism on Pleasure. Film excerpts include controversial works such as Trembling Before God, Kadosh, and The Holy Land.

Philosophy 4960 Kabbalah:  Jewish Mysticism, Myth and Magic

Rabbi Geoffrey Dennis

This course is an introduction to Jewish mysticism, presented in historical survey. Through lectures and readings from seminal texts: III Enoch, Sefer Yetzirah, the Bahir, Sefer Chasidim, The Treatise on the Left Emanation, the Zohar, and Sefer ha-Gilgulim, the course will explore the major topics of Jewish mysticism, including mystical Jewish cosmogony, apocalypse and eschatology, theosophy, word-mysticism, meditation, and mystical-magical rituals of power.

DEPARTMENT OF RADIO, TELEVISION AND FILM

RTVF 4415 Film and the holocaust

Dr. Diane Plotkin

This course is designed to introduce students to the ways in which various aspects of the Holocaust have been depicted on film. This will include both fictional and non works.