Undergraduate Courses Fall '26

Caroline Rody | TR 2:00PM – 3:15PM | Bryan 330 | Seminar (3)

This course for 3rd- and 4th-year undergraduates and graduate students explores a literature positioned between tradition and modern invention, between the spiritual and the mundane, and—as novelist Saul Bellow once put it—between laughter and trembling. We will read mainly Jewish American texts but also some by Jewish writers from other countries, taking up short stories, essays, poems, jokes, Broadway lyrics, and a few novels, as well as short videos clips and a film. 

Jeffrey Grossman | T 3:30PM – 6PM | Wilson 214 | Seminar (3)

How have survivors and others concerned with the events contributing to the Holocaust and with its impact sought to write it? Or to represent it visually, e.g., in film? What role does memory, whether individual or collective, play in their attempts? How can their works give expression to the trauma experienced by the victims and survivors? This course explores different approaches taken by writers and filmmakers and others, who have grappled with these questions. 

Zvi Gilboa | MTWRF 10AM – 10:50AM | Pav VIII 102 | Lecture (4)

Greg Goering | MWF 10AM – 10:50AM | Gibson 142 | Lecture (3)

Fulfill your college language requirement with Biblical Hebrew! Through this innovative, immersive, and interactive language program, you will learn to read biblical Hebrew. Start this fall with RELJ/HEBR 1410, Elementary Biblical Hebrew I. Questions? Email: goering@virginia.edu. 

Zvi Gilboa | MTWR 9AM – 9:50AM | Pav VIII 102 | Lecture (4)

Glenn Dynner | TR 9:30AM – 10:45AM | Dell 2 103 | Lecture (3)

This course takes us through 900 years of Jewish life in Eastern Europe, from the arrival in medieval Poland, through the golden age of extensive Jewish self-government in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, down to the crises and catastrophes of the twentieth century. 

Glenn Dynner | TR 12:30PM – 1:45PM | Nau 141 | Lecture (3)

This course surveys the pre-modern Jewish historical experience from antiquity through the sixteenth century. 

Sophia Solomon | T 5PM – 7:30PM | New Cabell 209 | Lecture (3)

Learn about the cultural aspects and political processes surrounding the immigration of "Mizrahi" (Eastern) Jewish communities to Israel during the 20th century from the Middle Eastern and North African regions. 

Zvi Gilboa | MW 2PM – 3:15PM | New Cabell 338 | Lecture (3)

This course explores Palestinian cultural and literary production within the State of Israel, both Muslim and Christian Palestinian citizens of Israel. With the support of region-specific theory, and through a continuous engagement with (the English translation of) literature, music, film, spoken word, visual art, political speeches, and newspaper articles, you will develop a critical understanding of the multifaceted, contemporary manifestation of Palestinian voices in Israel. 

Sophia Solomon | MW 3PM – 3:50PM | Wilson 325 | Lecture (3)

The division between Israeli and Palestinian society is grounded in disputes over territory, culture, religion, politics, and historical narratives. This course examines critical aspects that helped shape perceptions and narratives surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over time. It aims to expand the knowledge of socio-political processes, entities, groups, laws, and organizations that affect the continuity of this ongoing conflict. 

Martien Halvorson-Taylor | MW 10AM – 10:50AM | Nau 211 | Lecture (3)

This course focuses on the history, literature, and religion of ancient Israel in the light of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and emphasizes methods of contemporary biblical criticism. 

Jessica Andruss | TR 12:30PM – 1:45PM | Wilso 214 | Lecture (3)

Jewish and Muslim communities share a complex history of interaction, spanning from seventh-century Arabia to the present day, and including instances of collaboration as well as moments of violence. Our course examines this dynamic relationship through documentary and literary sources. We focus on points of contact between Muslims and Jews in contexts ranging from battlefields to universities, from religious discourse to international politics. 

Sam Shuman | TR 3:30PM – 4:45PM | Nau 142 | Lecture (3)

Rethinking American Judaism from the ground up, through its countercultural scenes—from Nissim Black’s Hasidic hip hop videos to the revival of Jewish psychedelia.  

Asher Biemann | TR 11AM – 12:15PM | Gibson 141 | Lecture (3)

This course is a critical survey of the most significant Jewish responses to the experience of the modern era. Beginning with Spinoza's political and hermeneutic thought, we will explore how Jewish thinkers met the social, cultural, and religious challenges of modernity and, in turn, influenced the transformation of modern Jewry.  Jewish Thought is understood in a broader sense to include philosophers, religious reformers, and political leaders.   

Martien Halvorson-Taylor | MW 2PM – 3:15PM | Nau 242 | Seminar (3)

The biblical figure Job shapes how we conceive of the nature of divine justice, the problem of unjust suffering, the limits of human knowledge, and the possibility of integrity. We will consider the ancient writings out of which the figure of Job emerged, the biblical book of Job, early Jewish and Christian interpretations of Job, and how Job continues to articulate profound questions about the nature of human existence in modern literary, philosophical, and creative works.  

Asher Biemann | W 3:30PM – 6PM | Gibson Hall 141 | Seminar (3)

Engaging with great works of art from antiquity to the present, this course offers an introduction to Jewish life, culture, history, and religion. Each artwork will open an inquiry into major themes in the Jewish experience, such as exile, medieval life, emancipation, national and religious revival, the Holocaust, memory, and ritual innovation. Students will have the opportunity to create their own artworks and ritual objects.  

Elizabeth Alexander | T 3:30PM – 6PM | Gibson Hall 241 | Seminar (3)

An examination of religion and culture of the rabbinic movement (c. 70-600 CE) in the social and cultural contexts of Greco-Roman antiquity. Among the issues to be examined: rituals and institutions of the rabbis, social organizations within the rabbinic movement, engagement with other sectors of Jewish and gentile society.