Caroline Rody | TR 2–3:15 PM | Dell 2 100 | Lecture (3)

Explore a literature positioned between tradition and modern invention, between the spiritual and the mundane, and—as Saul Bellow once put it—between laughter and trembling, in the emotionally rich territory where Jewish people have lived a spirited, talkative, politically engaged, book-obsessed modernity in the face of violence and destruction. 

How do writers shape and reshape a new literature with roots in a formidable textual, cultural, and religious tradition?  What marks the evolving relationship to traditional and sacred Jewish texts, to Yiddish and the culture of Yiddishkeit; to humor as a social practice and imaginative force; to memory and inheritance as burdens or as creative touchstones? What are the changing conceptions of Jewish identity, of American identity, and of gender roles; the transformations wrought by assimilation and social mobility; socialist, feminist and other political commitments and visions; forms of engagement with history including the Holocaust, the founding of Israel and its ongoing conflicts; and life in multiethnic America?

Stephen Cushman | MW 11 AM–12:15 PM | Dawson's Row 1 | Seminar (3)

The stories, rhythms, and rhetoric of the Bible have been imprinting readers and writers of English since the 7th century. Moving through selections from the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament, this course focuses on deepening biblical literacy and sharpening awareness of biblical connections to readings in other contexts. We will discuss translations of the Bible; canonization; textual history; and interpretive approaches, ancient to contemporary. Students can't enroll if previously taken ENGL 4559 topic #6 The Bible: Part 1.

Manuela Achilles | MW 10–10:50 AM | Nau Hall 211 | Lecture (3) 

Detailed survey of the historical origins, political structures, cultural dynamics, and every-day practices of the Nazi Third Reich.

Jeffrey Grossman | T 3:30–6 PM | New Cabell Hall 368 | Lecture (3) 

Explores the plight of Holocaust refugees including the conditions that led to their loss of home, their attempts to flee, and the ways such displacement affected them.

Zvi Gilboa | MTWRF 10-10:50 AM | New Cabell Hall 411 | Lecture (4)

Gregory Goering | MW 11-12:15 PM | Gibson Hall 441 | Lecture (3)

Zvi Gilboa | MTWR 9-9:50 PM | New Cabell Hall 411 | Lecture (4)

Glenn Dynner | TR 11–12:15 | Gibson Hall 242 | Lecture (3)

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

Sila Onder and Caroline Kahlenberg | TR 2-3:15 PM | Nau Hall 211 | Lecture (3)

What historical processes have shaped the Middle East of today? This course focuses on the history of a region stretching from Morocco in the West and Afghanistan in the East over the period of roughly 1500 to the present. In doing so, we examine political, social, and cultural history through the lens of "media" in translation, such as manuscripts, memoirs, maps, travel narratives, novels, films, music, internet media, and more.

Daniel Lefkowitz | MW 2–3:15 PM | New Cabell Hall 211 | Lecture (3)

Covers Jewish languages Yiddish, Judeo-Arabic, Ladino, and Hebrew from historical, linguistic, and literary perspectives. Explores the relations between communities and languages, the nature of diaspora, and the death and revival of languages. No prior knowledge of these languages is required. This course is cross-listed with ANTH 2470.

Sophia Solomon | T 2–4:30 PM | New Cabell Hall 132 | Lecture (3)

This course reviews key milestones of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict throughout the lens of competitive sports in the MENA regions and in Israel in particular. The course examines sports' role in reflecting socio-political divisions of religion, gender, class and representation struggles, while serving political interests as part of culture and identity building, as well as its utilization as a platform for ethno-nationalist violence.

Caroline Kahlenberg | W 2–4:30 PM | New Cabell Hall 315 | Lecture (3)

This course will approach the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the lens of literature and film. We will study memoirs, short stories, documentaries, and feature films in order to think about several broader historical themes, including: the relationship between religion and nationalism, the role of colonialism in the Middle East, the links between history and memory, and the meaning of homeland.

Sophia Solomon | M 4:30–7 PM | Warner Hall 110 | Lecture (3)

Jessica Andruss | TR 12:30–1:45 PM | Gibson Hall 141 | Lecture (3)

This course traces the history of Jerusalem with a focus on its significance in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. How has Jerusalem been experienced and interpreted as sacred within these religious communities? How have they expressed their attachments to this contested space from antiquity to modern times? Discussion will be rooted in primary texts from Jewish, Christian, and Muslim sources, with attention to their historical context.

Asher Biemann | TR 12:30-1:45 PM | Nau Hall 141 | Lecture (3)

Sam Shuman | W 3:30–6 PM | Nau Hall 241 | Lecture (3)

Students will explore queer Judaism from a multiplicity of genres, media, times, and places—from Trans Talmud to the AIDS blood mezuzah of Albert J. Winn. Students will discuss graphic memoirs, artwork, poetry, and film, alongside scholarly articles and books.  No prerequisites.

Jessica Andruss | R 2–4:30 PM | New Cabell Hall 315 | Seminar (3)

This course explores the Jewish Bible commentary in its formative period, between the ninth and twelfth centuries. Emphasis is given to the exegetical techniques and cultural significance of the genre, its engagement with the rabbinic tradition, and its parallels with Muslim and Christian hermeneutics. By comparing commentaries on a given biblical passage, we will consider the craft of Jewish commentary writing in varied historical circumstances.

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

This course introduces students to midrashic literature in the original Hebrew. It gives students the interpretive skills to make sense of the texts and provides an overview of the scholarly issues pertinent to the study of midrash.

Asher Biemann | TBA | TBA | Independent Study (3)

Tutorial 2 in sequence of 3. Mendelssohn's book Jerusalem, or on Religious Power (1783), the center of our discussion and a response to Hobbes, Spinoza, and Locke, is both a theory of government & a novel interpretation of Judaism, but also a program of enlightenment and modernization that has to be seen in the context of Jewish emancipation in the 18th century. The course introduces texts by Kant, Lessing, Herder, Friedlander, & Schleiermacher.

Elizabeth Alexander | TBA | TBA | Independent Study (3)

Students learn to analyze and interpret ancient rabbinic texts (c. 200-600 CE) in order to discern theological commitments and ethical instructions. The task is complicated by the fact that rabbinic texts are neither theological treatises nor ethical manuals. They are composed as biblical commentary and as codes, commentary and argumentation on legal topics.