Jewish Studies (JST)

JST 030 (REL 030) Beyond Bagels: Jews and Food 4 Credits

What does Crisco have to do with Jewish history? What is eco-kashrut? And why do so many Jews eat Chinese food on Christmas? This course explores Jewish life through the diverse history of Jewish foods. From New York deli to matzah ball gumbo, we will dig into a rich stew of diverse Jewish practices, regions, genders, ethics, and rituals.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, HE, HU

JST 031 (HIST 031) Empire, War, and Resistance in the Middle East 4 Credits

NEW COURSE PENDING FACULTY APPROVAL -- Over the past 200 years, empires have fought over the control of strategic trade routes and natural resources in the Middle East. Conflicts in Israel-Palestine, Iraq, and Syria emerged with the redrawing of borders. These geo-political changes shed light on how national identities changed but also on how Middle Eastern men and women resisted foreign occupation and domestic dictators alike. Through diverse media such as fiction, photography, and film, this course introduces students to the region’s rich history and legacy.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, HE, SS, W

JST 070 (REL 070) Antisemitism Past and Present 4 Credits

As a ubiquitously present minority in western Christian societies over time, Jews have served as a foil for western identities in ways that continue to resonate in the modern and contemporary contexts. This course will consider the role that anti-Judaism and antisemitism have played in western culture from the ancient period to the present day.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, HE, HU

JST 073 (REL 073) The Jewish Tradition 4 Credits

Judaism is both a textual tradition and a lived religion. Students read basic Jewish texts—Bible, Talmud, Midrash—and study the ways Jews sanctify the life cycle through rites of passage, and the round of the year through the festival cycle.
Attribute/Distribution: HE, HU

JST 081 (REL 081) Jewish Mysticism 4 Credits

This course will examine both the history and the central texts and ideas of the Jewish mystical tradition. We will read a broad range of texts, including the ancient Sefer Yetzirah or Book of Creation, the Zohar, the works of Isaac Luria and his disciples, and the writings of some of the 18th and 19th century Hasidic rabbis. We will also explore the contemporary emergence of Kabbalah and the activities of the Kabbalah Center in contemporary America.
Attribute/Distribution: HE, HU

JST 082 (IR 082) Middle East in World Affairs Since 1945 4 Credits

Rise of Turkish, Iranian, and Arab nationalism; creation of Israel; decline of British and French power; growth of U.S. and Soviet influence; Middle East as the world's major oil producer.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

JST 086 (IR 086) The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict 4 Credits

Origins of the Zionist movement and of Palestinian national identity. Evolution of the conflict before, during, and after the Israeli War of Independence/Palestinian Nakhba (Catastrophe). 1967 and subsequent occupations. Camp David, Oslo, and subsequent peace negotiations. The 2006 Fatah/Hamas split and state of Palestinian and Israeli politics and policy. Role of the Arab states and of global powers such as the United States.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, SS, SW

JST 091 Special Topics 1-4 Credits

Intensive study of a topic of special interest not covered in other courses.
Repeat Status: Course may be repeated.
Attribute/Distribution: AL, CC, HE, HU, SS, SW, W

JST 102 (AAS 102, ENGL 102, REL 102) Promised Lands: Jewish and African American Children's Literature 4 Credits

In the Hebrew Bible, Psalm 137 asks, “How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” For Jews, blacks, and black Jews, this was and is a poignant question. This course examines how these two rich, often overlapping and interacting groups tell their stories in literature for children and young adults, with a particular focus on the mediation of traumatic pasts. What does it mean to imagine promised lands beyond such pasts—and can they be reached?
Attribute/Distribution: CC, HE, HU, W

JST 111 (REL 111) Jewish Scriptures/Old Testament 4 Credits

The religious expression of the Hebrews, Israelites, and Jews as found in the Jewish Scriptures (TANAK/Christian Old Testament). Near Eastern context of Hebrew religion, the Patriarchs, the Exodus, the monarchy, prophecy, Exile and Return. Emphasis on historical, literary, critical problems, and newer socio-historical methods.
Attribute/Distribution: HE, HU, W

JST 112 (REL 112) The Beginnings of Judaism and Jewish Origins: Jewish Diversity in the Greco-Roman World 4 Credits

The variety of approaches to Judaism in the period following the Babylonian exile through the second century C.E. The literature studied will include Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Attribute/Distribution: HE, HU, W

JST 114 (CLSS 114, REL 114) Christian Origins: New Testament and the Beginnings of Christianity 4 Credits

Early Christianity from its beginnings until the end of the second century. Coverage includes the Jewish and Hellenistic matrices of Christianity, traditions about the life of Jesus and his significance, and the variety of belief and practice of early Christians. Emphasis on encountering primary texts.
Attribute/Distribution: HE, HU, W

JST 121 (REL 121) Sources for the Life of Jesus: the Jewish and Christian Context 4 Credits

Ancient sources that claim to provide information about Jesus of Nazareth. Approaches taken to Jesus’ life and career; early Christian interpretations of the significance of Jesus; methodology in assessing evidence for the historical Jesus and his message.
Attribute/Distribution: HE, HU, W

JST 122 (REL 122) Archaeology and the Bible 4 Credits

In this course we will examine the way that archaeological work can inform the study of the Bible. One important consideration is how archaeological data have been used either to confirm or falsify the biblical texts. We will look at how archaeologists work and how archaeological data and the Bible intersect. We will examine in detail several archaeological sites in order to understand better the difficulties in interpreting the material remains that archaeologists dig up.
Attribute/Distribution: HE, HU, W

JST 123 (REL 123) Armaggedon: Endtime Thinking in Judaism and Christianity 4 Credits

Thinking about how the world will end was an important feature of certain types of ancient Judaism. Early Christianity took over many of these ideas, and they became fundamental to later Christian theologies, including many that continue to be advocated today. This course will look at ancient Jewish and Christian texts that speak about the end of the world and will trace some of them through more contemporary developments in these two religious traditions.
Attribute/Distribution: HE, HU, W

JST 129 (PHIL 129, REL 129) Jewish Philosophy 4 Credits

Consideration of how major Jewish thinkers from the first to 21st centuries confronted questions at the intersection of religion and philosophy: the existence and nature of God, free will, evil, divine providence, miracles, creation, revelation, and religious obligation.
Attribute/Distribution: HE, HU, W

JST 138 (REL 138, WGSS 138) Sex, Gender, Jews 4 Credits

How do Jews of all genders tell their stories? What are the varied Jewish approaches to sexuality? How have feminist movements affected Jewish rituals? In this course, we will consider how religion, gender, sexuality, race, and class intersect in the lives of Jews, with a particular focus on North America. Topics will include: Jewish women’s memoirs; the voices of LGBTQ Jews; recent innovations in Jewish ritual and leadership; Jewish masculinities; and the gendering of Jewish children’s literature, among others.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, HE, HU, W

JST 151 (HMS 151, PHIL 151, REL 151) Judaism, Medicine, and Bioethics 4 Credits

This class traces the relationship between Jews and medicine from 1100 to 2020. How does Jewish religion and culture cultivate an affinity for the healing arts? How does Jewish law, ethics, and culture inform contemporary bioethics?
Attribute/Distribution: HE, HU

JST 152 (REL 152) American Judaism 4 Credits

Diverse cultural and social forms through which American Jews express their distinct identity. Is American Jewry an example of assimilation and decline or creative transformation? What, if anything, do American Jews share in common? Compatibility of Judaism with individualism, pluralism, and voluntarism. How have the Holocaust and the State of Israel shaped the self-understanding of American Jewry?
Attribute/Distribution: HE, HU, W

JST 154 (HIST 154, REL 154) The Holocaust: History and Meaning 4 Credits

The Nazi Holocaust in its historical, political and religious setting. Emphasis upon the moral, cultural and theological issues raised by the Holocaust.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, HE, HU, W

JST 156 (REL 156) Judaism and Comic Books 4 Credits

Is The Thing Jewish? What does Superman have to do with the bible? Do Orthodox Jewish girls fight trolls? In this course, we will closely examine comic books and graphic novels in order to expand our understanding of what Jewishness might mean. With a POW! and a BAM!, we will consider many topics “from Krakow to Krypton,” including American Jewish history, how representations of Jews are gendered, global Jewish traditions, monsters and mutations, biblical adaptations, and more!
Attribute/Distribution: HE, HU, W

JST 161 (GS 161, REL 161) Globalization in the Ancient Mediterranean 4 Credits

We often think of globalization as a modern phenomenon. Yet as early as the twelfth century BCE, transportation, trade, political and religious networks tied the Mediterranean basin together. This course will examine in three periods-the Late Bronze Age, the Hellenistic period, and the Roman period-how these networks were organized and how they affected a range of Mediterranean and Near Eastern peoples. We will use some modern approaches to globalization as analytical tools for understanding the ancient world.
Attribute/Distribution: HE, HU, W

JST 174 (REL 174) Modern Theology 4 Credits

Major 20th century movements within Christian and Jewish theology understood as responses to the problems of modern times.
Attribute/Distribution: HE, HU, W

JST 175 (GS 175, HIST 175, REL 175) History of Racism, anti-Semitism, and Islamophobia 4 Credits

From the history of slavery in the ancient world to Charlottesville 2017. We will read texts and watch movies that discuss the history of slavery, anti-Semitism, and Islamophobia. The historical meeting of worlds goes from "social slavery" in the ancient world to the ''blood laws" in medieval Spain; colonialism in the New World, the rise of biological racism in the nineteenth century, and of cultural racism in the twentieth century.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, HE, SS, W

JST 177 (REL 177, THTR 177) Jews and the Broadway Musical 4 Credits

The history of American musical theater is deeply interwoven with the history of American Jews. This course examines how Jews have taken part in musical theater on multiple levels-as composers, lyricists, producers, and performers, among other roles. It also examines how Jews are depicted in Broadway musicals, with particular attention to gender and ethnicity.
Attribute/Distribution: HE, HU, W

JST 180 Independent Study in Jewish Studies 1-4 Credits

Directed readings or research on a Jewish Studies related topic under the direction of a Jewish Studies faculty member. May be repeated for credit up to eight credits. Must have consent of the program director.
Repeat Status: Course may be repeated.
Attribute/Distribution: CC, HU, SS, W

JST 191 Special Topics 1-4 Credits

Intensive study of a topic of special interest not covered in other courses.
Repeat Status: Course may be repeated.
Attribute/Distribution: AL, CC, HE, HU, SS, SW, W

JST 291 Special Topics 1-4 Credits

Intensive study of a topic of special interest not covered in other courses.
Repeat Status: Course may be repeated.
Attribute/Distribution: AL, CC, HE, HU, SS, SW, W

JST 391 Special Topics 1-4 Credits

Intensive study of a topic of special interest not covered in other courses.
Repeat Status: Course may be repeated.
Attribute/Distribution: AL, CC, HE, HU, SS, SW, W