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Graduate

UVA's Graduate Program in the Study of Judaism currently offers an MA and PhD concentration in "Jewish Textuality, Practice, and Thought." This concentration prepares students for advanced research and teaching about the Jewish religion. Courses are offered in three sub-areas:

  • Textuality - The study of Judaism's ancient and foundational sacred texts in their historical context and in the context of their transmission and reception. The program examines thematic and theological strains within the literature along with the ways it has been interpreted over time.
     
  • Practice - The study of Jewish rituals, observances, culture and politics, food, and learning. The program focuses on how the practices of Judaism are transmitted, experienced, transformed and regularized.
     
  • Modern Thought - The encounter between Judaism and Western, as well as non-Western, philosophical sources. The program examines the intellectual history of modern Judaism, from the Enlightenment era through the phenomenon of Jewish postmodernism.