Jewish Studies Jewish StudiesAssociate Professors—Astren, Zoloth-Dorfman
Minor in Jewish Studies
Certificate in Jewish Community Studies
The interdisciplinary Minor in Jewish Studies consists of four three-unit core courses and two three-unit elective courses selected on advisement from offerings by a variety of colleges of the university. The purpose of the interdisciplinary Jewish Studies Minor is to acquaint the student with the history, culture, contributions, and religion of the Jewish people as seen through the eyes of modern academic disciplines and with particular reference to contemporary issues and patterns. Students can use the Minor in Jewish Studies to complement their majors and, with advising, to fulfill General Education requirements.
Students interested in pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree with a focus on Jewish Studies may be able to do so by developing a Special Major through either the Office of Undergraduate Studies or the Graduate Division.
The Certificate in Jewish Community Studies offers an in-depth understanding of the history, orgnization, and values of the American Jewish community and its community organizations. The certificate is designed for graduate students currently enrolled in the College of Health and Human Services; or professionals with a B.A. degree who are already working in community organizations, educational institutions, or health care organizations serving Jewish clientele; or those interested in pursuing such a career goal. The certificate will be valuable to students pursuing other degrees as well. Professionals such as nurses, physical therapists, health educators, teachers, occupational therapists, nutritionists, counselors, psychologists, and social workers who may work in agencies that serve Jewish clientele can benefit by deepening their understanding of the tradition, texts, history, social organization, family experience, literature, religious practice, and nature of the Jewish experience in America. The certificate will also be critical to students who want to pursue careers in Jewish community agencies and will improve a student's employment potential in a variety of community agencies.
The Jewish Studies Minor will offer an excellent background for students interested in Judaism as the basis for scholarly or professional pursuits and for students interested in increasing the depth of their understanding of the history, culture, contributions, and religion of the Jewish people within the context of a major discipline.
Online course descriptions are available.
| Core Courses | Units | |
| JS 300 | Introduction to Jewish Studies | 3 |
| JS 310 | Jewish Thought and Culture | 3 |
| JS 320/HIST 635 | The Jewish Historical Experience | 3 |
| JS 330 | Jews and Judaism in the Modern World | 3 |
| Elective Courses (choose two) | 6 | |
| JS 101 | First Semester Modern Hebrew | |
| JS 102 | Second Semester Modern Hebrew | |
| JS 201 | Third Semester Modern Hebrew | |
| JS 202 | Fourth Semester Modern Hebrew | |
| JS 311 | Facing Each Other: Blacks and Jews in the Popular Media | |
| JS/HIST 317 | Holocaust and Genocide | |
| JS 340 | American Jewish Identity and Family | |
| JS 410/PHIL 514 | Spirituality and Jewish Tradition | |
| JS 412 | Derrida and Jewish Tradition | |
| JS/PHIL 415 | The Hebrew Bible | |
| JS 416 | Special Topics in Jewish Studies | |
| JS/IR/PLSI 430 | Israeli Democracy: Politics, Institutions, and Society | |
| JS 436 | Introduction to Israeli Literature | |
| JS/WCL 437/ENG 533 | Holocaust and Literature | |
| JS 445 | Jews, Diaspora, and Identity | |
| JS/ENG 451 | American Jewish Literature | |
| JS/HUM/PHIL 501 | Judaism, Christianity, and Islam | |
| JS 516/ CLAS/WCL 416/ENG 532/PHIL 551 | Bible and Ethics: The Moral of the Story | |
| JS/ENG/WOMS 546 | Twentieth Century American Jewish Women Writers | |
| JS 550 | Good and Evil: Jewish Ethics and Contemporary Social Problems | |
| CINE 406 | Jewish Identity in Film | |
| Total | 18 | |
Students are required to have a baccalaureate degree. Both classified and unclassified students are eligible. Unclassified students may register through the College of Extended Learning.
Application can be made through the Jewish Studies Program. Applications which include a statement of intent, description of previous work experience, and career goal, are reviewed by a faculty advisory group.
The course work used to satisfy the requirements for a graduate certificate must be completed with a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 (B), and only courses completed with a grade of C or better may be used to meet program requirements; i.e., C- grades and below are unacceptable. The certificate requires a total of eighteen (18) units successfully completed, which includes the completion of a supervised internship/service learning course.
Students who have not completed JS 300 or comparable course work must take JS 700 or JS 710 as one of their electives.
With permission of their adviser, students may elect to take a graduate course of three to six units from another discipline that is related to their future career objective in community service; i.e., courses in gerontology, child development, economics, education, ethnic studies, public administration, or urban studies.
| Core Courses | Units | |
| JS 730 | Jews and Judaism in the Modern World | 3 |
| JS 740 | American Jewish Identity and Family | 3 |
| JS 780 | The Professional in Jewish Communal Service | 3 |
| Internship | ||
| JS 800 | Internship | 3 |
| Elective Courses | ||
| Units selected on advisement | 6 | |
| JS 700 | Jewish Studies: A Survey | |
| JS 710 | Jewish Thought and Culture | |
| JS 750 | Good and Evil: Jewish Ethics and Contemporary Social Problems | |
| JS 770 | Teaching and the Jewish Experience | |
| JS 790 | Jews and Judaism: Coming to America | |
| Total for certificate | 18 | |