This course introduces students to the diversity of Jewish communities across time and geographies through a survey of literatures, histories, and cultures. Jewish cultures have always been co-produced in interaction with their non-Jewish neighbors. Through this study of Jewish cultural pluralism throughout history, we will investigate complex issues of identity and layers of belonging. Students from all majors and backgrounds are welcome. No previous knowledge of Judaism or Jewish Studies is necessary.

– Meets Historical Studies, L&S Breadth

– Meets Philosophy & Values, L&S Breadth

– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

Coming from exclusion and powerlessness, Jewish creators invented the modern comic book. Comics are where Jewish stories get told, from the Holocaust to daily life. The superhero genre, mostly invented by Jews, narrates core Jewish ethical concepts such as Responsibility to the Other. We will read lots of comics and focus on the overlapping themes of Jewish history, identity, and faith.

– Meets Arts & Literature, L&S Breadth

– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

An introduction to Hebrew prose and poetry of the last 200 years through the lenses of gender, sexuality and queer theory. No prior knowledge needed. All discussions and readings in English.

– Meets Arts & Literature, L&S Breadth

– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

Studying cultures other than our own is an intriguing experience that allows us to look closely at the unfamiliar, but also to recognize ourselves in it. A key factor in understanding a culture is its linguistic conventions, from language etiquette to attitudes towards linguistic variation. Israel is a rich and diverse multicultural aggregate which incorporates many conflicting attributes: traditional vs. modern, western vs. eastern, secular vs. religious, local vs. global, and more. In this course we will examine Israeli culture through its linguistic idiosyncrasies and look at how social identities in Israel are constructed through language(s). No prior background of Hebrew, Arabic, or Israeli culture is required.

– Meets Arts & Literature, L&S Breadth

– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

The course will explore dynamics of change in issues of state, religion and gender in Israel, as manifested in social movement activism through law and society. The course will illustrate and reflect upon different strategies and spheres for promoting social change, by examining core issues involving state, religion, and gender in Israel: religious marriage and divorce, gender equality in the religious establishment, conversion, spiritual leadership of women, and free exercise of religion at the Western Wall (the struggle of Women of the Wall). Spheres of activism to be covered include parliament, state courts, alternative private initiatives and courts, and social media.

– Meets International Studies, L&S Breadth

– Meets Philosophy & Values, L&S Breadth

– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

The years preceding and following the founding of Israel were dominated by intense events, which had an impact on all spheres of life. The course follows the history of Israel from the Balfour Declaration (November 1917) until the 1980s (The first Lebanon War and the first Intifadah), throughout the main junctions that affected the establishment of Israel and its social, cultural and political characteristics. During the course, students will be introduced to various dimensions in the shaping of Israeli state and society. Themes that will be covered include: the Zionist leadership and its internal polemics; Arab-Jewish relations in view of a changing, local and international, reality; Diplomacy and War in the eve of Israel’s establishment; social relations and power relation during Israel’s first decades (Jewish immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa; Arab citizens of Israel; the Ultra-Orthodox community), the 67, 73 and 82 Israeli young generations; civic activism (Black Panthers, Land Day); the Right/Left polemic—its social, political and cultural manifestations.

– Meets Historical Studies, L&S Breadth

– Meets Social & Behavioral Sciences, L&S Breadth

– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

This course will provide an introduction to constitutional law using Israel as a case study. Topics include: Constitutionalism and judicial review, state neutrality and self-determination, minority rights, state and religion, Human Rights Law, the concept of “defensive democracy” and ban of non-democratic political parties, legal aspects of the fight on terror, freedom of expression, equality and anti-discrimination, social rights, and constitutional limitations on privatization.

– Meets Historical Studies, L&S Breadth

– Meets International Studies, L&S Breadth

– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

This course explores contemporary dance in Israel (2000 and on) from social, political, and cultural perspectives. We will examine the ways in which dance in Israel embodies different aesthetics and cultural ideologies and how movement and choreography represent, manifest, and negotiate issues of identity, nationality, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and other social categories. We will also address the effect of local and global powers on the development of contemporary Israeli dance, its practices, education, and pedagogies. Although the course will focus mainly on Israeli contemporary/current dance and dance makers, it will offer an extensive contextualized historical, social, and cultural overview looking at genres, styles, key figures, and critical moments in Israeli history of dance of the 20th century. New skills will be gained on how to use performance analysis tools on dance and how to critically “read” and interpret dance works as an art form from a cultural and intersectional perspective.

– Meets Historical Studies, L&S Breadth

– Meets Arts & Literature, L&S Breadth

– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

In this beginners’ course, students will learn to speak, read, and write Yiddish, the language of Ashkenazi Jews for the past thousand years. Following the communicative method and using the new textbook In Eynem, students will focus in class on oral communication by playing out short dialogues. Grammar will be taught inductively, based on examples that have already become familiar. The course will offer an introduction to Yiddish culture through a variety of songs, stories, film clips, and other illustrations. By the end of the semester, students should be able to express themselves with some sophistication about a variety of topics—even better than Marlon Brando.

– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor