JEWISH STUDIES
College of Humanities
(See Jewish Studies in the Academic Programs section for information on the minor)
Undergraduate Courses
300 Introduction to Jewish Studies (3)
Prerequisite: ENG 114 or equivalent. Interdisciplinary introduction to Jewish Studies; explores Jewish historical experience, philosophy and literature, archaeology and arts, and current problems and possibilities facing Jews and others.
310 Jewish Thought and Culture (3)
Prerequisites: ENG 114 or equivalent and one Philosophy or Classics or Humanities course; or consent of instructor. An examination of the manner and process of external/internal influences that move Jewish thought; the matters with which particular Jewish philosophers have concerned themselves.
320 The Jewish Historical Experience (3)
Prerequisites: ENG 114 or equivalent and one course emphasizing historical analysis; or consent of instructor. An examination of a 4000-year global experience in interaction with other cultures; focus on salient phenomena of cultural continuity, symbiosis, struggle for identity, the Holocaust, Israel, and the future.
330 Jews and Judaism in the Modern World (3)
Prerequisites: ENG 114 or equivalent and one JS core course; or consent of instructor. Encounter with such current issues as: Jewish/African–American relations; neo-Nazism; Judaism and Feminism; Jewish political identity; Identity in Assimilation; Israel and American Jews.
340 The Jewish Family I (3)
Prerequisites: ENG 114, either CFS 325 or one psychology or sociology course, or consent of instructor. Judaism in the U.S.A.: What it means to identify as Jewish; assimilation; intermarriage; family behavior; child rearing; adolescence; diversity; traditional, emergent gender roles; values—orthodox, conservative, reform, non-affiliated; Yiddish; holidays; religious, secular Jewish education. Field observation required.
341 The Jewish Family II (3)
Prerequisites: ENG 114, either CFS 325 or one psychology or sociology course, or consent of instructor; may be taken out of sequence. Lifestyle issues for Jews: aging; civil/religious divorce; gender roles; sexual orientation; Jewish women/men; Jewish institutions; cross-cultural comparisons; The Holocaust; anti-semitism; regional differences in U.S.A.; working with Jewish families; theories that clarify practice. Field observation required.