Spring 2008 Classes
Classical Studies
CLASS 101 Modern Hebrew Literary Classics
Sec10 TR 12:45-14:00 Peleg
Translations of prose and poetry of a century of writing from the beginning of the Hebrew literary renaissance to contemporary Israeli literature. Discussions stress historical development and authors’ treatments of tradition and modernity.
CLASS 105 Yiddish Lit Classics in Translation
Sec11 TR 14:20-15:35 Ticktin
Reading and discussion of translated short stories, dramas, and poems from the Yiddish literary renaissance period (including works by Sholom Aleichem, I.L. Peretz, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Sholem Asch, Jacob Glatstein). Writing will be presented in the historical and cultural contexts of earlier folktales and folk humor, life in the shtetl and in Eastern European urban communities, the Holocaust, Jews in the Soviet Union and immigrant Jewish settings in
CLASS 105 Israeli Socirty in a Post National Age – Israeli Film
Sec10 TR 14:20-15:35 Peleg
This course will explore some of the major issues that preoccupied and shaped Israeli
society in the last two decades by examining their reflection in Israeli films. The course will follow the transformation of Israeli society from an ideologically committed community to a modern, self-doubting and pluralistic nation that openly questions its past and constituting myths. The use of films in this course will be both as an artistic and as a historical medium that reflects and comments on the history, politics and culture of
English
ENG 188W Jewish-American Writing
Sec80 TR 9:35-10:50 Moskowitz
One hundred years of Jewish American writing in fiction, autobiography, poetry, drama, and non-fictional prose. The immigrant experience, American philosemitism and antisemitism, the Holocaust and after, the
Hebrew
HEBR 002 Beginning Hebrew II
Sec10 TR 9:35-10:50 Rozen
Sec11 TR 9:35-10:50 Marcus
Sec12 TR 11:10-12:25 Marcus
An active presentation of Hebrew as it is spoken and written today. Comprehension, speaking, reading and writing skills are stressed. Students are required to register for the accompanying Recitation course.
HEBR 002 Recitation
Sec30 F 9:35-10:50 Marcus
Sec31 F 11:10-12:00 Marcus
Sec32 F 9:35-10:25 Rozen
HEBR 004 Intermediate Hebrew II
Sec10 TR 12:45-14:00, F 12:45-13:35 Marcus
Sec11 TR 11:10-12:25 , F 11:10-12:00 Yahalom
Further development of skills in speaking, reading, writing, and comprehension of modern Hebrew. Texts range from Israeli newspaper items to selections from classical materials. Prerequisite: HEBR 1-2, or equivalent.
HEBR 104 Modern Hebrew Fiction
Sec10 TR 11:10-12:25 Rozen
Directed readings in humanities and social sciences. Development of linguistic skills necessary for independent research. Prerequisite: Hebr 4 or permission of instructor.
HEBR 106 The Israeli Media
Sec10 TR 12:45-14:00 Sharon
Explores the Israeli press, television and radio news broadcasts in Hebrew; focuses on developing increasing proficiency in reading and aural comprehension through class discussions and written assignments in Hebrew. Prerequisite: Hebr 103 or permission of instructor.
HEBR 121 Advanced Hebrew Literature
Sec10 TR 16:45-18:00 Ticktin
Selections from Hebrew literature throughout the ages: Bible, Rabbinics, medieval, Hebrew literature; classical motifs in modern Israeli literature. Literary analysis (writing and discussion) in Hebrew.
History
HIST 159 The Holocaust
Sec10 WF 9:35-10:50 Richter
Analyzes the origins, causes, and significance of the Nazi attempt to destroy European Jewry, within the context of European and Jewish history. Related themes: the behavior of persecutors, victims, and bystanders; and literary responses. Prior course in Jewish or European history recommended.
HIST 101 History of Israel
Sec19 M 14:20-15:35 Schwartz
A political, social, and cultural history of modern Israel from the origins of Zionism to the present. Topics will include: Zionism as an ideology and movement; the Yishuv under Ottoman and British control; the Arab-Jewish and Arab-Israeli conflict; 1948 in history and memory; the domestic and international challenges of statehood; the role of religion, ethnicity, and warfare in the evolution of Israeli identity; the territories, settlements, and the peace process; and recent debates over Zionism within Israeli society and culture.
HIST 194 History of Modern Middle East
Sec10 TR 9:35-10:50 Robinson
Beginning with Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt. Development of nationalism and of modern states; impact of the West on culture and institutions; great-power imperialism; crises of Turkish Straits, Suez, Arab-Israeli relations; and other issues.
HIST 101 Jews in Inquisition Europe
Sec14 W 11:10-13:00 Beller
This course will discuss a selection of trials that concerned Jews and the Inquisition in Early Modern Europe. Original trial transcripts of Inquisitional trials conducted against Conversos and practicing Jewish men and women in
HIST 101 Jews in the Renaissance
Sec 13 TR 9:35-10:50
Beller What does the term Renaissance really mean to the Jews of the time and to a historian of Jewish history? By the early sixteenth century, European Jews lived in peace only in
Sec14 M 19:10-21:00
Strauss This graduate-level seminar explores the story of immigrants in America through the prism of the American Jewish experience. Beginning in the 17th century, and focusing on the late 19th – early 20th centuries, we will investigate why different groups of Jews left their countries of origin, how they journeyed here, what their reception in America was like, and – most importantly – what sort of community institutions did they set up in their new home, and how did they adapt to America? We will deal with empirical evidence about specific waves of Jewish immigrants, and with theoretical questions about the nature of immigration and how one defines an American. Research and/or discussion papers will be assigned, and active participation in each weekly meeting is essential.
Sec11 T 17:10-19:00 Robinson
This graduate level course surveys the critical body of scholarship on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that has emerged over the past two decades. Topics include the culture and political economy of Ottoman Palestine, Zionist settlement from the 1880s to the 1940s, the rise of Palestinian nationalism, the establishment of the State of Israel and the birth of the Palestinian refugee problem, the Palestinian and Arab-Jewish citizens of
REL 103 Hebrew Prophets
Sec 80 M 14:20-15:35, W 15:45-17:00 Ticktin
This course deals with the development of prophecy in Biblical Israel from about 850 to 400 BCE. It will cover all of the “literary prophets” in the canon and modern criticism of prophecy stressing historical, theological, and literary dimensions. Attention will also be given to psychological and sociological studies.
Sec10 TR 16:45-18:00 Hostetter
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.
REL 118 Women in Judaism
Sec10 MW 12:45-14:00 Berner
An exploration of Jewish women's history and legal status; focus on feminist theological perspectives and Jewish women's spirituality as reflected in personal writings, ritual, liturgy, and midrash. The struggle between tradition and innovation, feminism in the “next wave” will be explored and several films will be viewed.
REL 107 Rabbinic Thought and Literature Judaism
Sec 10 TR 11:10-12:25 Freundel
An examination of the thought and literature of rabbinic Judaism and its formative period 100-500 CE, through a close reading of primary texts in translation; the development of early rabbinic law and theology is explored in the Mishnah, Talmud, and Midrash.