Jewish Studies (JWST)Arts and Sciences

Showing 26 results.

Course descriptions provided by the Courses of Study 2022-2023.

Last Updated

  • Schedule of Classes - April 4, 2023 12:09PM EDT
  • Course Catalog - April 3, 2023 12:59PM EDT

JWST 1102
Elementary Modern Hebrew II

Intended for beginners. Provides a thorough grounding in reading, writing, grammar, oral comprehension, and speaking. Students who complete the course are able to function in basic situations ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: HEBRW 1102

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  3425 JWST 1102   SEM 101

  •  
    • MTWR White Hall B14
    • Jan 23 - May 9, 2023

    • Shoer, S

  • Instruction Mode: In Person
    For scheduling conflicts, contact instructor.

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: HEBRW 1102

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  3428 JWST 1102   SEM 102

  •  
    • MTWR White Hall B14
    • Jan 23 - May 9, 2023

    • Shoer, S

  • Instruction Mode: In Person
    For scheduling conflicts, contact instructor.

JWST 1710
The Jewish Atlantic: 1492-Present

Who were the Jews that first settled in the Americas and around the Atlantic? How did their experiences intersect with processes of colonization, empire-building, racialization, and the formation of an ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture. Discussion optional. Combined with: HIST 1710, RELST 1710

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 17084 JWST 1710   LEC 001

  •  

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  • 17085 JWST 1710   DIS 201

  •  
    • W Sibley Hall 208
    • Jan 23 - May 9, 2023

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  • 17086 JWST 1710   DIS 202

  •  
    • W Sibley Hall B10
    • Jan 23 - May 9, 2023

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

JWST 2100
Intermediate Modern Hebrew

The course is aimed at training students in exact and idiomatic Hebrew, expanding vocabulary and usage of grammatical knowledge, and acquiring facility of expression in both conversation and writing. Uses ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: HEBRW 2100

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  3418 JWST 2100   SEM 101

  •  
    • MTWR White Hall B14
    • Jan 23 - May 9, 2023

    • Shoer, S

  • Instruction Mode: In Person
    For scheduling conflicts, contact instructor.

JWST 2195
Biography, History, and Modernity

Drawing on a combination of primary and secondary sources, this course explores the multiple forms and evolution of biographical writing from the Renaissance onward. We will interrogate the relationship ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: HIST 2195

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 17188 JWST 2195   SEM 101

  •  
    • TR McGraw Hall 145
    • Jan 23 - May 9, 2023

    • Juni, M

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

JWST 2522
Drinking through the Ages: Intoxicating Beverages in Near Eastern and World History

This course examines the production and exchange of wine, beer, coffee and tea, and the social and ideological dynamics involved in their consumption. We start in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, and end ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ARKEO 2522, CLASS 2630, NES 2522

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 17031 JWST 2522   LEC 001

  •  

  • Instruction Mode: In Person
    This course examines the production and exchange of wine, beer, coffee and tea, and the social and ideological dynamics involved in their consumption. We start in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, and end with tea and coffee in the Arab and Ottoman worlds. Archaeological and textual evidence will be used throughout to show the centrality of drinking in daily, ritual and political life.

JWST 2523
Judeophobia, Islamophobia, Racism

Islamophobia and Judeophobia are ideas and like all ideas they have a history of their own. Although today many might think of Islamophobia or Judeophobia as unchangeable---fear of and hatred for Islam ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: COML 2523, GOVT 2523, NES 2523, RELST 2523

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 17033 JWST 2523   LEC 001

  •  

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  • 17209 JWST 2523   DIS 201

  •  
    • F White Hall B14
    • Jan 23 - May 9, 2023

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  • 17210 JWST 2523   DIS 202

  •  
    • F White Hall B14
    • Jan 23 - May 9, 2023

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  • 17211 JWST 2523   DIS 203

  •  
    • F White Hall B14
    • Jan 23 - May 9, 2023

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

  • 17212 JWST 2523   DIS 204

  •  
    • F White Hall B14
    • Jan 23 - May 9, 2023

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

JWST 2599
Medicine, Magic and Science in the Ancient Near East

This course explores the history of medicine and other sciences in the ancient Near East, broadly defined. In addition to medicine, the other scientific disciplines covered in this course include mathematics, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: BSOC 2599, NES 2599, RELST 2599

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 17257 JWST 2599   LEC 001

  •  

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

JWST 2644
Introduction to Judaism

This course is an introduction to Jewish identities, values, and practices from the ancient to modern era. Organized thematically, it examines Judaism as a religious phenomenon, with a particular emphasis ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: NES 2644, RELST 2644

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  6054 JWST 2644   LEC 001

  •  
    • MW White Hall 110
    • Jan 23 - May 9, 2023

    • Monroe, L

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

JWST 2790
Jewish Films and Filmmakers: Hollywood and Beyond

What does it mean to call a film is "Jewish"? Does it have to represent Jewish life? Does it have to feature characters identifiable as Jews? If artists who identify as Jews—actors, directors, screenwriters, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: AMST 2790, PMA 2490, VISST 2790

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  6368 JWST 2790   LEC 001

  •  
    • TR White Hall 110
    • Jan 23 - May 9, 2023

    • Shapiro, E

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

JWST 2958
Empires and Vampires: History of Eastern Europe

In the course we will study the history of the lands, peoples, and states of Eastern Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries as an integral part of modern Europlean and global history. We will ask what ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: HIST 2958

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  6599 JWST 2958   LEC 001

  •  
    • TR Mcgraw Hall 165
    • Jan 23 - May 9, 2023

    • Florea, C

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

JWST 3102
Advanced Modern Hebrew II

This is the second course in our third-year Modern Hebrew language sequence. Like its predecessor, it focuses on developing speech proficiency, reading and listening comprehension, and writing. It does ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: HEBRW 3102

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  6445 JWST 3102   SEM 101

  •  
    • MTWR White Hall B14
    • Jan 23 - May 9, 2023

    • Shoer, S

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

JWST 3588
Archaeology and the Bible

The purpose of the course is to place the Bible within the context of a larger ancient world that can be explored by systematic excavation of physical remains. Students will become familiar with archaeological ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  • 17094 JWST 3588   SEM 101

  •  
    • MW White Hall 106
    • Jan 23 - May 9, 2023

    • Monroe, L

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

JWST 3655
Minorities of the Middle East

This course examines the historic diversity of the modern Middle East, exploring histories of inter-communal contact and conflict. We begin by investigating the legacy of the Ottoman Empire and the impact ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  • 17114 JWST 3655   LEC 001

  •  
    • TR Sibley Hall 208
    • Jan 23 - May 9, 2023

    • Starr, D

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

JWST 3732
Jewish Law, State Law

The concept of law plays a central role in Judaism. We often use the word 'law' to describe obligatory Jewish religious practices. But is that 'law,' as compared with state law? Legal systems in the U.S. ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: NES 3732, RELST 3734

  • 3 Credits Graded

  • 17090 JWST 3732   SEM 101

  •  

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

JWST 3888
Jews, Christians, and Others in Late Antiquity

This course explores the interactions between Jews, Christians, and other religious groups in late antiquity, especially in Sasanian Persia circa the first through seventh century C.E. Students pay particular ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •  7112 JWST 3888   SEM 101

  •  

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

JWST 4407
Hasidism: History, Community, Thought

The modern Jewish religious movement known as Hasidism began in Eastern Europe in the eighteenth century and thrives today. We will approach Hasidism primarily through three avenues: recent critical social ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  • 18018 JWST 4407   SEM 101

  •  
    • T McGraw Hall B65
    • Jan 23 - May 9, 2023

    • Boyarin, J

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

JWST 4520
Jewish Cities

From Jerusalem to Rome, from Shanghai to Marrakesh, Jews and cities have been shaping each other for thousands of years. This course ranges through time and space to examine how Jewish and other "minority" ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  • 17813 JWST 4520   SEM 101

  •  
    • T White Hall 110
    • Jan 23 - May 9, 2023

    • Sampson, E

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

JWST 4540
Moses Maimonides

Moses Maimonides who was born in Cordoba (1138), moved to Fez as a youth and died in Cairo (1204) is regarded by Jewish, Islamic, and Christian tradition alike as the most important Jewish religious ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  • 17195 JWST 4540   SEM 101

  •  
    • W Sibley Hall 318
    • Jan 23 - May 9, 2023

    • Brann, R

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

JWST 4790
Spinoza and the New Spinozism

Spinoza was excommunicated, wrote under death threats, and has remained a scandal to philosophy, psychoanalysis, politics, ethics, literature. "Every philosopher has two philosophies, his own and Spinoza's" ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: COML 4090, GERST 4290, GOVT 4769

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 17739 JWST 4790   SEM 101

  •  
    • MW White Hall 106
    • Jan 23 - May 9, 2023

    • Waite, G

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

JWST 4913
Walter Benjamin

This extraordinary figure died in 1941, and his death  is emblematic of the intellectual depredations of Nazism. Yet since World War II, his influence, his reputation, and his fascination for scholars ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  • 17318 JWST 4913   SEM 101

  •  
    • M McGraw Hall B65
    • Jan 23 - May 9, 2023

    • Boyarin, J

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

JWST 4992
Independent Study - Undergraduate

For undergraduates who wish to obtain research experience or do extensive reading on a special topic.  Students select a topic in consultation with the faculty member who has agreed to supervise ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  5378 JWST 4992   IND 601

  •  
    • TBA
    • Jan 23 - May 9, 2023

    • Staff

  • Instruction Mode: Independent Studies

JWST 6150
Jews in German Literature and Culture Since 1945

Amidst widespread discussion of Holocaust memory as a globalized phenomenon, this seminar explores Jewish literature written in German since 1945. For these writers and their texts, the historical encounter ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: GERST 6150

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 17646 JWST 6150   SEM 101

  •  

  • Instruction Mode: In Person
    Prerequisite: Required readings in German. Class discussion in English. Enrollment limited to graduate students.

JWST 6888
Jews, Christians, and Others in Late Antiquity

This course explores the interactions between Jews, Christians, and other religious groups in late antiquity, especially in Sasanian Persia circa the first through seventh century C.E. Students pay particular ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •  7118 JWST 6888   SEM 101

  •  

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

JWST 7404
Hasidism: History, Community, Thought

The modern Jewish religious movement known as Hasidism began in Eastern Europe in the eighteenth century and thrives today. We will approach Hasidism primarily through three avenues: recent critical social ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  • 18026 JWST 7404   SEM 101

  •  
    • T McGraw Hall B65
    • Jan 23 - May 9, 2023

    • Boyarin, J

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

JWST 7520
Jewish Cities

From Jerusalem to Rome, from Shanghai to Marrakesh, Jews and cities have been shaping each other for thousands of years. This course ranges through time and space to examine how Jewish and other "minority" ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  • 17808 JWST 7520   SEM 101

  •  
    • T White Hall 110
    • Jan 23 - May 9, 2023

    • Sampson, E

  • Instruction Mode: In Person

JWST 7913
Walter Benjamin

This extraordinary figure died in 1941, and his death is emblematic of the intellectual depredations of Nazism. Yet since World War II, his influence, his reputation, and his fascination for scholars in ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  • 17323 JWST 7913   SEM 101

  •  
    • M McGraw Hall B65
    • Jan 23 - May 9, 2023

    • Boyarin, J

  • Instruction Mode: In Person