This course is a survey of the history of Jewish magic, mysticism, and secret tradition from the Middle Ages till the 19th century. We shall explore the concept of the sod (mystery) and its historical variants. We shall read excerpts from the most important texts of Jewish esotericism, such as Sefer Yetzirah, the Bahir, and the Zohar. We shall also discuss “practical Kabbalah”, i.e. the preparation and use of amulets and charms, as well as demonic (and angelic) possession.

• Days/Times: M 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Maciejko, Pawel Tadeusz
• Room: Gilman 308
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 20/30
• PosTag(s): HIST-MIDEST, HIST-EUROPE, HIST-AFRICA, INST-GLOBAL

A broad survey of the significant political and cultural dynamics of Jewish history in the Medieval, Early-Modern, and Modern Eras.

• Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
• Instructor: Katz, David
• Room: Smokler Center 213
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 1/21
• PosTag(s): NEAS-HISCUL, INST-GLOBAL, INST-NWHIST

Although it appears to be a relic of pre-modern Judaism, Hasidism is a phenomenon of the modern era of Jewish history. This course surveys the political and social history of the Hasidic movement over the course of the last three centuries. Students will also explore basic features of Hasidic culture and thought in their historical development. Cross-listed with Jewish Studies.

• Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Katz, David
• Room: Smokler Center 213
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/19
• PosTag(s): INST-GLOBAL

Survey of grammar and reading of simple texts. May not be taken on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. A continuation of Elementary Biblical Hebrew I.

• Days/Times: TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
• Instructor: Cooper, Stephanie Lynn
• Room: MSE Library Eisenberg
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 6/9
• PosTag(s): n/a

Reading of Biblical Hebrew Prose, from texts such as the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings.

• Days/Times: M 4:30PM - 7:00PM
• Instructor: Cooper, Stephanie Lynn
• Room: MSE Library Eisenberg
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/9
• PosTag(s): n/a

In a world of big ideas, there is none larger than that of God. Divinity is an ever-present topic for both religious devotees and hard core secularists—for anyone who embraces the humanities or ponders what makes us human. Humans are, for better and worse, homo-religiosus (humans who practice religion) as much as homo-sapiens. But what do we know of God historically? How do we go about reconstructing divinity from ancient texts and archaeology? How do we best walk back in time to understand ancient Middle Eastern cultures that gave birth to notions of the divine that have come down to today’s Judaism, Christianity and Islam? This course looks synthetically at the vast topic of God—exploring questions of historical origin, how God was characterized in literature (mythic warrior, king, parent, judge, holy, compassionate) and how God was represented in iconography, both materially and abstractly. Secondly, how did belief intersect with practice? Using the indow of divinity, this course will peer into the varieties of religion experience, exploring the royal use of religion for power, prestige and control balanced against the intimacy of family and household religion. It will probe priestly prerogatives and cultic status, prophetic challenges to injustice, and the pondering of theodicy by poetic sages.

• Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Lewis, Ted
• Room: Gilman 130G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 4/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

Elementary Modern Hebrew is the first exposure to the language as currently used in Israel in all its functional contexts. All components of the language are discussed: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Simple idiomatic sentences and short texts in Hebrew are used. Students learn the Hebrew alphabet, words and short sentences. Cultural aspects of Israel will be intertwined throughout the course curriculum.

• Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
• Instructor: Scott, Cameron David
• Room: Gilman 443
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

Hebrew for Beginners 106 is a continuation of Hebrew 105 and as such, students are required to have a foundation in Hebrew. The course will enhance and continue to expose students to Hebrew grammar, vocabulary, and syntax. All components of the Hebrew language will be emphasized in this course; we will highlight verbs, adjectives, and the ability to read longer texts. Speaking in Hebrew will also be highlighted to promote students’ engagement and communication. Cultural aspects of the language will be incorporated into lessons as well.

• Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
• Instructor: Bessire, Mirit
• Room: Gilman 474
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 13/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

Look at Jewish history and culture backwards and forwards through the Yiddish language! The vernacular of Ashkenazi Jews for a thousand years, Yiddish connects back to recent and distant generations in Europe, America, and elsewhere. But Yiddish is not just a bridge to the past, it is also the center of vibrant contemporary cultures, both religious and secular. This four-skills language class (reading, writing, listening, speaking) places emphasis on the active use of Yiddish in oral and written communication while guiding students towards the use of Yiddish as a tool for the study of Yiddish literature and Ashkenazi history and culture. Cannot be taken Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory.

• Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
• Instructor: Lang, Beatrice
• Room: Smokler Center Library
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 14/17
• PosTag(s): n/a

Second semester of year-long course that includes the four language skills, reading, writing, listening, and speaking, and introduces students to Yiddish culture through text, song, and film. Emphasis is placed both on the acquisition of Yiddish as a tool for the study of Yiddish literature and Ashkenazic history and culture, and on the active use of the language in oral and written communication. The class is using In Eynem, the brand new Yiddish language program from the Yiddish Book Center. Cannot be taken Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. Recommended course background: AS.210.163 or instructor permission.

• Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Shoulson, Sophia Elizabeth
• Room: Smokler Center Library
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 15/17
• PosTag(s): n/a

Intermediate Hebrew level II is a continuation of the course Hebrew 205 and as such is a requirement for entry. In the course, grammatical aspects of the language will be introduced in the focus of past and future tenses. Combined and complex sentences with proper syntax and reading comprehension and writing skills will be required. Modern Israeli cultural aspects of the Hebrew language will be introduced as well and will be part of the holistic understanding of the modern language.

• Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
• Instructor: Bessire, Mirit
• Room: Gilman 474
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 8/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

Continuation of Intermediate Yiddish I: this course will focus on the Yiddish language as a key to understanding the culture of Yiddish-speaking Jews. Topics in Yiddish literature, cultural history and contemporary culture will be explored through written and aural texts, and these primary sources will be used as a springboard for work on all the language skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

• Days/Times: TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
• Instructor: Lang, Beatrice
• Room: Smokler Center 214
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 8/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

This course will expand students’ fluencies in Modern Hebrew through Hebrew-dialogic Israeli and Palestinian cinema, examining and comparing several layers of a contemporary Hebrew-speaking society. For this class, students will view, discuss, and write about films with Hebrew as the primary spoken language. Through aural interpretation and subtitles, students will understand, analyze, and reflectively discuss the diversity of Hebrew-speaking cultures within society and the provenance and intentionalities of the dialects exhibited throughout a given film. Linguistic nuance, slang, and interpretive aspects of Hebrew as shown in the chosen films will prompt students to examine this modality of the expression of contemporary Hebrew. The course will be taught primarily in Hebrew and will be open to students who have matriculated to at least 200-level coursework of Modern Hebrew.

• Days/Times: W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Bessire, Mirit
• Room: Smokler Center 214
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 3/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

This course is designed to open up the world of Yiddish culture and letters by helping students develop the skills necessary to read Yiddish texts in the original. Students will learn the Yiddish alphabet and be introduced to Yiddish vocabulary and grammatical structures, as well as to resources for reading Yiddish such as dictionaries and grammar guides. Students will read and translate texts of increasing difficulty and will have the opportunity to tackle texts in their own field of interest. A “fast track” will be offered to students with prior knowledge of German. No prior knowledge of Yiddish is necessary.

• Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Lang, Beatrice
• Room: Gilman 443
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

As is clear from current events and debates surrounding monuments to the Confederacy, monuments play an outsize role in the public negotiation of history and identity and the creation of communal forms of memory. We will study the traditions of monuments and monumentality around the world – including statues and buildings along with alternative forms of monumentality – from antiquity to the present day. We will examine the ways that monuments have been favored methods for the powerful to signal identity and authorize history. This course will also explore the phenomenon of “counter-monumentality”, whereby monuments are transformed and infused with new meaning. These kinds of monuments can be mediums of expression and commemoration for minority and diaspora communities and other groups outside the economic and political systems that endow and erect traditional public monuments. The first half of the course will examine the theoretical framework of monumentality, with a focus on ancient monuments from the ancient Near East (e.g., Solomon’s temple). More contemporary examples will be explored in the second half of the course through lectures and also field trips. We will view contemporary debates around monuments in America in light of the long history of monuments and in comparison with global examples of monuments and counter-monuments. All readings in English.

• Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
• Instructor: Mandell, Alice H; Spinner, Samuel Jacob
• Room: Gilman 479
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 8/15
• PosTag(s): MLL-ENGL, INST-GLOBAL

How has the Holocaust been represented in literature? Are there special challenges posed by genocide to the social and aesthetic traditions of representation? Where does the Holocaust fit in to the array of concerns that literature expresses? And where does literature fit in to the commemoration of communal tragedy and the working through of individual trauma entailed by thinking about and representing the Holocaust? These questions will guide our consideration of a range of texts — nonfiction, novels, poetry — originally written in Yiddish, German, English, French and other languages (including works by Primo Levi and Isaac Bashevis Singer). A special focus will be works written during and in the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust. All readings in English.

• Days/Times: T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Spinner, Samuel Jacob
• Room: Gilman 55
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 8/15
• PosTag(s): MLL-HEBR, MLL-ENGL

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is often construed as impenetrable to outsiders, yet, cultural production emerging from this crucible is often presented as a “window” into the history, politics, and psychology of the conflict. Rather than operating from the assumption that culture is a mirror that simply “reflects” an objective reality, this course investigates how authors, filmmakers, and artists situated in the midst of the conflict produce art that reaches far beyond the representation of historical events, extending into the domains of religion, memory, fantasies, nostalgia, perceptions of space and time, body image and gender and sexual identities. The material covered will include feature and documentary film, literature, memoir, dance, visual art, photography and theater. All material will be taught in English translation.

• Days/Times: M 3:00PM - 5:30PM
• Instructor: Stahl, Neta
• Room: Maryland 309
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 8/15
• PosTag(s): MLL-ENGL, INST-GLOBAL

For survivors of the worst atrocities in recent history, remembering is seen as both a moral and political duty. The command to “never forget” has become a popular refrain in the aftermath of these traumatic events. But how should the memory of these mass traumas be carried forward in the public sphere? What forms of commemoration are the most effective, accurate, or enduring? And how might new technologies impact the future of Holocaust memory? Using the Holocaust as our central case study, we’ll examine the remembering of trauma in a range of public “memory sites,” including oral testimonies, memoirs, photographs, monuments, and museums. And we’ll focus specifically on how new technologies, including virtual reality and holographic technology, will impact how we remember traumatic events. At the heart of the course will be a series of writing assignments designed to help students reflect on the future of Holocaust memory. Students will be asked to write in a variety of styles and genres, from op-eds to scholarly arguments, and from video essays to rhetorical analyses. These writing assignments will help students reconsider what writing is, how to do it effectively and ethically, and how to become better at it. The class will include a field trip to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. All undergraduates at sophomore level and above are welcome.

• Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
• Instructor: Wexler, Anthony Charles
• Room: Bloomberg 172
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/15
• PosTag(s): MSCH-HUM, AGRI-ELECT

A broad survey of the significant political and cultural dynamics of Jewish history in the Medieval, Early-Modern, and Modern Eras.

• Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
• Instructor: Katz, David
• Room: Smokler Center 301
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/19
• PosTag(s): INST-GLOBAL

How did ancient people relate to their environment—the animals, plants, landscapes, and weather with which they interacted? How have modern binary conceptions of ‘nature’ and ‘culture’ or ‘human’ and ‘animal’ influenced our interpretation of ancient texts (along with ancient societies)? What is “the zoological gaze?” This course will focus on these questions and more as it investigates conceptions of nature in the texts of the Hebrew Bible, as well as texts and material culture from ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), and the Levant (modern-day Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, and Jordan). We will interrogate various interpretive lenses, including Posthumanism, Animal Studies, and Metaphor Theory, as we explore themes such as creation, nature and divinity, and animals in rituals, legal texts, and prophecies, among others. No previous familiarity with Hebrew language or the Hebrew Bible is needed.

• Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
• Instructor: Cooper, Stephanie Lynn
• Room: Gilman 381
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/15
• PosTag(s): NEAS-HISCUL, ENVS-MAJOR, ARCH-RELATE

In the early Middle Ages the Talmud emerged as the defining document of official Jewish religion and culture, and remained so until the dawn of the Modern Era. Jewish scholars in many different countries, and in a wide variety of cultural contexts, developed certain ways of reading, interpreting, and applying the Talmud. In the process, they produced an immense corpus of commentary and law. This course will examine how and why the Talmud was studied in these centuries by Jews who mined it, subject by subject, for emotional, philosophical, and legal meaning.

• Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
• Instructor: Katz, David
• Room: Smokler Center 301
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 11/19
• PosTag(s): n/a

Broadly surveying classic rabbinic literature, including the Talmud and its commentaries, the legal codes and the response, this seminar explores the immanent as well as the external factors that shaped the development of this literature, the seminal role of this literature in Jewish self-definition and self-perception, and the role of this literature in pre-modern and modern Jewish culture.

• Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Katz, David
• Room: Smokler Center 301
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 8/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

Introduction to the grammar, vocabulary, and writing system of biblical Hebrew.

• Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Mandell, Alice H
• Room: Hodson 203
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 4/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

Reading of biblical Hebrew prose, especially from the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. Cross-listed with Jewish Studies.

• Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Lewis, Ted
• Room: Gilman 130G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 8/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

The course will focus on the origin and development of the Arab-Israeli conflict from its beginnings when Palestine was controlled by the Ottoman Empire, through World War I, The British Mandate over Palestine, and the first Arab-Israeli war (1947-1949). It will then examine the period of the Arab-Israeli wars of 1956, 1967, 1973, and 1982, the Palestinian Intifadas (1987-1993 and 2000-2005); and the development of the Arab-Israeli peace process from its beginnings with the Egyptian-Israeli treaty of 1979, the Oslo I and Oslo II agreements of 1993 and 1995, Israel's peace treaty with Jordan of 1994, the Road Map of 2003; and the periodic peace talks between Israel and Syria. The conflict will be analyzed against the background of great power intervention in the Middle East, the rise of political Islam and the dynamics of Intra-Arab politics, and will consider the impact of the Arab Spring.

• Days/Times: T 4:30PM - 7:00PM
• Instructor: Freedman, Robert
• Room: Krieger 307
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 12/20
• PosTag(s): INST-IR, INST-CP

Elementary Modern Hebrew is the first exposure to the language as currently used in Israel in all its functional contexts. All components of the language are discussed: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Simple idiomatic sentences and short texts in Hebrew are used. Students learn the Hebrew alphabet, words and short sentences. Cultural aspects of Israel will be intertwined throughout the course curriculum.

• Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
• Instructor: Bessire, Mirit
• Room: Smokler Center Library
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 8/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

Hebrew for Beginners 106 is a continuation of Hebrew 105 and as such, students are required to have a foundation in Hebrew. The course will enhance and continue to expose students to Hebrew grammar, vocabulary, and syntax. All components of the Hebrew language will be emphasized in this course; we will highlight verbs, adjectives, and the ability to read longer texts. Speaking in Hebrew will also be highlighted to promote students’ engagement and communication. Cultural aspects of the language will be incorporated into lessons as well.

• Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
• Instructor: Scott, Cameron David
• Room: Smokler Center 214
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 8/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

Look at Jewish history and culture backwards and forwards through the Yiddish language! The vernacular of Ashkenazi Jews for a thousand years, Yiddish connects back to recent and distant generations in Europe, America, and elsewhere. But Yiddish is not just a bridge to the past, it is also the center of vibrant contemporary cultures, both religious and secular. This four-skills language class (reading, writing, listening, speaking) places emphasis on the active use of Yiddish in oral and written communication while guiding students towards the use of Yiddish as a tool for the study of Yiddish literature and Ashkenazi history and culture.

• Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
• Instructor: Lang, Beatrice
• Room: Gilman 474
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 6/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

Intermediate Modern Hebrew enhances and enforces previous knowledge of Hebrew as acquired from previous foundational coursework and/or experience. Grammatical aspects of the language such as past and present tenses as well as combined and complex sentence syntax and construction would be applied. Reading comprehension and writing skills will be emphasized. Modern Israeli cultural links and facets of the Hebrew language will also be introduced to inform the holistic understanding of the modern language.

• Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
• Instructor: Bessire, Mirit
• Room: Smokler Center Library
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

For students who have completed one year of Yiddish language study or equivalent, this course will provide the opportunity to broaden and deepen their knowledge of Yiddish culture while continuing to improve their skills in reading, writing, listening and speaking Yiddish. Alongside textbook-based language work, students will read, listen to and interact with a variety of texts, for example literature, journalism and oral history.

• Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Lang, Beatrice
• Room: Gilman 10
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 3/6
• PosTag(s): n/a

Advanced Modern Hebrew I will focus on conversational and interactive language skills to expose learners to attributes of different genres and layers of the language. Students will be introduced to various original texts and lingual patterns to better understand and formulate proper syntax. The course will include contemporary readings from Israeli journalism and essays, along with other relevant Hebrew resources to inform class discussions and students’ reflective writings. Israeli cultural aspects will be integral to the course curriculum.

• Days/Times: W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Bessire, Mirit
• Room: Smokler Center 214
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 9/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

This course will provide students who have completed at least two years of Yiddish with the opportunity to hone their skills in all four language areas: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. In addition to advanced grammar study and readings in Yiddish literature, the course will take into account the interests of each individual student, allowing time for students to read Yiddish texts pertinent to their own research and writing.

• Days/Times: M 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Lang, Beatrice
• Room: Gilman 443
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 6/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

iddish was the language of European Jews for 1000 years. From the 19th century to the present day it has been a language that millions of Americans — Jewish immigrants and their descendants–have spoken, written in, conducted their daily lives in, and created culture in. This course will examine literature, film, newspapers, and more to explore how Jewish immigrants to America shaped their identities—as Jews, as Americans, and as former Europeans. What role did maintaining, adapting, or abandoning a minority language play in the creation of Jewish American identity—cultural, ethnic, or religious? How was this language perceived by the majority culture? How was it used to represent the experiences of other minoritized groups? What processes of linguistic and cultural translation were involved in finding a space for Yiddish in America, in its original or translated into English? The overarching subjects of this course include migration, race, ethnicity, multilingualism, and assimilation. We will analyze literature (novels, poetry, drama); film; comedy; and other media. All texts in English.

• Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Spinner, Samuel Jacob
• Room: Gilman 381
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 11/15
• PosTag(s): INST-GLOBAL

This course explores the interplay between protest and cultural productions using the Israeli society as a case study. We will examine the formation and nature of political and social protest movements in Israel, such as the Israeli Black Panthers, Israeli feminism, the struggle for LGBTQ rights and the 2011 social justice protest. Dissent in the military and protest against war as well as civil activism in the context of the Palestinians-Israeli conflict will serve us to explore the notion of dissent in the face of collective ethos, memory and trauma. The literary, cinematic, theatrical and artistic productions of dissent will stand at the center of our discussion as well as the role of specific genres and media, including satire and comedy, television, popular music, dance and social media. We will ask ourselves questions such as how do cultural productions express dissent? What is the role of cultural productions in civil activism? And what is the connection between specific genre or media and expression of dissent? All material will be taught in English translation.

• Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Stahl, Neta
• Room: Gilman 413
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/10
• PosTag(s): INST-CP, INST-GLOBAL