The course is intended to give Jewish studies minors a general introduction to the field through a survey of religious and cultural expressions of Jews across time and geographies. No previous knowledge of Judaism or Jewish Studies is necessary.

– Meets Philosophy & Values, L&S Breadth
– Meets Historical Studies, L&S Breadth
– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

Philology is the study of language in its various manifestations in texts. Its origins in the West lie in classical Greece and, later, in modern classical studies. In the 19th century, philology branched out to cover all ancient and modern languages and literatures, and today it is the unspoken method that underlies every study of texts read as texts. In the process, philology in the modern era frequently served to underwrite and legitimize national, colonial, and imperial aspirations by treating languages and their products as possessions to be had. Conducted in the language of the conquerors, philology became the arbiter of the languages of the conquered. More recently, calls have been made to decolonize philologies. We will consider this historical evolution from a still understudied angle—namely, philology as conducted off-site and off-label—in “exile”—by writers who were marked on racial, ethnic, and disciplinary grounds as ineligible to conduct philology in its conventional academic forms. In response, these writers, a great many of whom happened to be Jewish, turned their focus from the past towards life in the present and the everyday. They produced counterphilologies designed to call out harsh realities in the present that were distorting the realities of the past and the present. Taking our cue from this past, we can learn how counterphilologies challenge existing notions of what constitutes a text, its interpretation, and its ideological value. The aim of “Philology in Exile” will be to engage this history, to arrive at a robust definition of counterphilology as a template for philologies of the future, and to outline a practice that students can carry out in their own lives, given their own experiences of ethnic and racial inequality, and starting with blog posts and then with final papers or public-facing individual and team projects. No prerequisites. Students from all disciplines are welcome, including STEM and the social sciences.

– Meets Arts & Literature, L&S Breadth
– Meets Philosophy & Values, L&S Breadth
– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

The class explores the history of the Zionist movement and the State of Israel in all its complexity and contradictions. What is Zionism? What are its roots? Is it a liberation movement? A religious cause? A colonial ideology? A set of state policies? And what is the relationship between Zionism and the modern State of Israel? How do Zionism and Israel look different when considered from the respective standpoints of Jewish, Palestinian, European, or Middle Eastern history? Exploring Zionism and Israel from its roots in the nineteenth century to the contested present, this class offers in-depth knowledge and discussion on all of these challenging topics and more.

– Meets Historical Studies, L&S Breadth
– Meets Philosophy & Values, 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 religion-state question was and still is at the center of the intellectual and religious discourse in Israel and the Middle East. This course traces this discourse and its implications on various spheres of life with special emphasis on the tensions and the compromises between religion and state in the various spheres of political, social, cultural, economic, and intellectual interaction in Israel and the Middle East. Some fundamental questions to be addressed pertaining to the meaning of citizenship, national identity, human rights, ethnic and religious minorities, gender relations, democracy. The course consists of three main parts. The first part provides an overview of the critical history and philosophy of the separation of religion and state. The second part is dedicated to the modern discourse of religion-state in Israel and the Middle East through selected issues of religion and nationalism, secularism, religion and democracy, separation of religion and state, etc. The third part will be devoted to some case studies through which we will conduct a comparative analysis between four countries: Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel. These countries represent different and central paradigms of religion-state relations in the Middle East.

– Meets International Studies, L&S Breadth
– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

The course will explore the topics of Jewish ritual and Jewish law from the interconnected perspectives of both halakhah and minhag, i.e. normative and non-normative Judaism, across legal and literary texts, music, and material culture, leveraging the holdings of UC Berkeley’s Magnes Collection.

– Meets Arts & Literature, L&S Breadth
– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

Hatred of Jews and Judaism is an enduring prejudice. Its chronological limitlessness is matched by its apparent lack of geographical boundaries. We will chart that history and Jewish responses to it from the age of Tacitus to the age of Trump. Among the themes we will examine are the old forms of religious anti-Judaism, the many medieval charges brought against Jews, the iconography of antisemitism, as well as modern, racist antisemitism and the myriad conspiracy theories about Jews that still grip the fevered imagination of antisemites. Throughout the course we will pay attention to the multiple ways Jews and Judaism have been used throughout history by religious and social critics to describe their own disaffection with the age in which they lived.

– Meets Historical Studies, L&S Breadth
– Meets Social & Behavioral Sciences, L&S Breadth
– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

This course will survey the historical events and intellectual developments leading up to and surrounding the destruction of European Jewry during World War II. By reading a mixture of primary and secondary sources we will examine the Shoah (the Hebrew word for the Holocaust) against the backdrop of modern Jewish and modern German history. The course is divided into three main parts: (1) the historical background up to 1933; (2) the persecution of the Jews and the beginnings of mass murder, 1933-1941; and (3) the industrialized murder of the Jews, 1942-1945.

– Meets Arts & Literature, L&S Breadth
– Meets Social & Behavioral Sciences, L&S Breadth
– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

This course will focus on the relationship between the individual and society, which is a classical topic of modernity. With the emergence of modern mass society as a result of industrialization and urbanization, the ideal of the Enlightenment, the autonomous individual guided by reason, also came into crisis. Using primary sources in English translations, the course will reconstruct the debate against the background of its historical context. Close readings of the original texts will be related to the major developments of 20th century European history. Among the authors covered are Sigmund Freud and Friedrich Nietzsche, Simone de Beauvoir and Max Weber, Ágnes Heller and V.I. Lenin, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Alexandra Kollontai, Frantz Fanon and Jean Améry, Giovanni Gentile and Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre and Hannah Arendt, Isaiah Berlin and Theodor W. Adorno. All readings will be available in digital form.

– Meets Historical Studies, L&S Breadth
– Meets Philosophy & Values, 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 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 class begins with a historical overview of war in the region. The second part of the class introduces theories that complement and elaborate on theories from PS124A: arguments about the relationship between war and resources, religion, authoritarianism, civil military relations, territorial disputes, sovereignty, and power. In the third part of the course, we will explore current policy concerns related to conflict in the region: Nuclear proliferation, terrorism, the civil war in Syria, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, drone warfare, and the U.S. role in the region.

PS124A (“War!”) is a prerequisite for this class.

– Meets Historical Studies, L&S Breadth
– Meets International Studies, L&S Breadth
– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor (Student must complete at least one paper focused on Israel or Israelis.)

Jews and Muslims of the medieval Islamic world produced a vast literature reimagining and embellishing the tales of famous biblical and quranic figures like Abraham, Joseph, Moses and David. This “holy fanfiction” ranges from poems to romances, mystic parables to cutting satire. It grapples with thorny theological issues, as well as other contemporary concerns, from gender relations to coping with life as a religious minority. We will read and analyze a selection of these tales and pay particular attention to the ways they complicate conceptual boundary lines that we might have taken for granted: the line between Jews and Muslims, between popular culture and scholarly culture, between piety and entertainment.

– Meets Arts & Literature, L&S Breadth
– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

Folklore helps us make sense of the world we live in at the same time that it entertains us. Curious about dybbuks, golems, genies (jinns)? Want to know the folktales Shakespeare used? Want to learn new Jewish jokes?

In this course, we’ll read a sampling of folktales and jokes from diverse Jewish communities (German, Kurdish, Moroccan, Russian, Yemeni, etc.) while exploring themes such as creativity and artistic expression. We’ll also address gender, group identity and values, stereotypes, and the interactions of Jews and non-Jews. Films, videos, and guest storytellers will complement discussions. Final projects allow students to pursue their interests. Students from all majors and backgrounds are welcome. Conducted in English with readings in English.

– Meets Arts & Literature, 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

Islam is the religion of the majority of the Arab citizens in Israel. Since the late 1970s, Islam has become an important factor in the political and socio-cultural identity of the Arab minority in Israel; thus, the number of Muslims in Israel who define their identity first and foremost in relation to their religious affiliation has steadily grown. Because Islam is a religious code covering all aspects of life, devout Muslims in Israel seek religious guidance from Islamic legal doctrines and other Shari‘a (Islamic law) tenets, not only in spiritual matters but also in matters relating to temporal, social conduct. These Islamic legal norms are, however, at odds with both Israeli secular law and the sociocultural norms of the Jewish majority in Israel.

The intent of this course is to explore the local nature of Islam by the discussion of the evolving religious identity and its impact on the religious and socio-cultural aspects of Muslim life in Israel. Special emphasis will be placed on the dilemmas and tensions stem from the encounter between the Muslim religious norms and the Israeli socio-cultural and legal norms in various areas, e.g., banking, technology, education, gender issues, Jewish/Muslim relations, etc.

– Meets International Studies, L&S Breadth
– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

Due to unforeseen circumstances, this course has been cancelled for the Fall 2022 semester. It will be rescheduled for Spring 2023. We regret any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding.

This course will survey the historical events and intellectual developments leading up to and surrounding the destruction of European Jewry during World War II. By reading a mixture of primary and secondary sources we will examine the Shoah (the Hebrew word for the Holocaust) against the backdrop of modern Jewish and modern German history. The course is divided into three main parts: (1) the historical background up to 1933; (2) the persecution of the Jews and the beginnings of mass murder, 1933-1941; and (3) the industrialized murder of the Jews, 1942-1945.

– Meets Social & Behavioral Sciences, L&S Breadth
– Meets Historical Studies, L&S Breadth
– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

The territory between the Mediterranean and the Jordan has been viewed as the land of the Bible, cradle of civilization, ancestral homeland, tinderbox of conflict or sun-drenched paradise. Through pilgrimage and tourism, Israelis and Palestinians present their own identities and understandings in negotiation with various Western imaginaries. Through the prism of anthropology, we will examine this contact zone as a mirror of Israeli and Palestinian society. Examples will include heritage sites, Christian pilgrimage itineraries, Holocaust memorials, museums, visits to former Palestinian villages, volunteer activism, and gay tourism.

– Meets Social & Behavioral Sciences, L&S Breadth
– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

In this course we will read modern Hebrew poetic and prose works by women that engage with a variety of themes, from Zionist settlement and war to marriage and sex. Even though women have been actively engaged in the shaping of modern Hebrew cultures, their contributions are still often overlooked. We will examine the works of canonical women writers of Hebrew as well as the works of lesser-known writers that have not been translated into English. This course will offer an opportunity to engage with these works directly, since all primary source readings will be in Hebrew. Discussions will also be in Hebrew, and secondary source materials will be in English or Hebrew.

Prerequisite: Two years of college level Hebrew or equivalent.

– Meets Arts & Literature, L&S Breadth
– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

Historical and literary study of Hebrew and Aramaic Judaic texts (e.g., Talmud and Midrash).

– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

Marriage has always been much more than the relationship between two individuals. In this course through the lens of marriage we will explore the history of the multi-ethnic (i.e., Arabs, Armenians, Turks) and multi-religious (i.e., Christians, Muslims, Jews) Middle East. We will ask how marriage practices and conceptions of marriage transformed across space and time. How did political, ethno-religious, ideological and economic factors in the Middle East shape marriage practices? In turn, we will explore how gender norms and behaviors, norms of sexuality, interethnic and interreligious relations, as well as class relations and economic networks have been shaped through the institution of marriage. We will treat marriage as a social, cultural, economic, political and legal category and construct.

The goal of this course is to familiarize students with the history of the Middle East from the sixteenth to the twenty-first century, while getting them to think critically about the institution of marriage on a historical spectrum. The institution of marriage will allow students to grasp the multi-ethnic and multi-religious dynamics of the Middle East, while comparing marriage practices, laws and traditions across religious and confessional communities. We will explore the role of marriage in practices of governance, community building, and also highlight how conceptualizations of marriage have changed through time. Through movies and news articles connections will be made between historic and contemporary practices in the Middle East.

– Meets Historical Studies, L&S Breadth
– Meets Social & Behavioral Sciences, L&S Breadth
– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

The course will explore the intersection of gender, religion, and law 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 gender, religion and law in Israel: religious marriage and divorce, gender equality in the religious establishment, spiritual leadership of women, free exercise of religion (at the Western Wall and Temple Mount), conversion, and segregation in education. Spheres of activism to be covered include parliament, state courts, alternative private initiatives and courts, and social media.

– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

Advanced study in law and society. See Course Catalog for more information on seating and enrollments for this class.

– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor

War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing! Is this necessarily true? Wars are brutal and horrific events, but are they all necessarily the result of miscalculation, accident, or fanaticism? Can war serve a rational purpose? Are wars governed by rules and do states care about these rules? This course is designed for upper-level undergraduate students.

– Meets Historical Studies, L&S Breadth
– Meets International Studies, L&S Breadth
– Meets Social & Behavioral Sciences, L&S Breadth
– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor (See instructor for guidelines.)

This course will trace the development of Yiddish culture from the first settlement of Jews in German lands through centuries of life in Eastern Europe, down to the main cultural centers today in Israel and America. The course will examine how changes in Jewish life have found expression in the Yiddish language. It will provide an introduction to Yiddish literature in English translation, supplemented by excursions into Yiddish music, folklore, theater, and film.

– Counts towards the Jewish Studies Minor