Spring 2019

RSP213LEC World Religions
Cole Sadler - Class #20687
TR 3:30-4:50 O’Brian 112
This course introduces the world's religious systems and their cultural bases, including Hinduism, Judaism, and Islam. In this course we will examine the expression of some primary characteristics of religion in primary sources from a variety of religious traditions. We will focus specifically on the ways in which  ideas about the sacred are formed and how they are used to order experience, with a focus on space, time, and story. All of these, in turn, are part of imagining deity. We will then look at how these ordering concepts are used to formulate guidelines for daily life, as expressed in scripture, ritual, cosmogony, conceptions of the deity, and ethics.

JDS235LEC American Jewish Experience: Art, Literature, and Social Justice
Noam Pines Class # 21593
TR 11:00am-12:20pm Clemens 217
During the 19th and 20th Centuries, Jews fled persecution to become an integral part of American culture and society. This experience played a key role in their participation in art, music literature, and social justice movements. This course explores Jewish involvement in countercultural art, music, literature, and comedy in the context of the workers,’ civil rights, and feminist movements. This course is the same as HIS 235, and course repeat rules will apply.

JDS237LEC History of Israel and Zionism
Daniel Kotzin Class # 19658 
TR 5:00pm-6:20pm Clemens 708
This course will examine the development of the Zionist idea from its ancient and rabbinic origins to its modern political implementation. A particular area of focus will be on the modern Zionist movement, the variety of perspectives on Zionism within the movement, their conflicting visions, and the various ways in which Zionists sought to approach the Arab population. The history of Israeli politics, culture, and society since 1948 will also be a central element of the course. This course is the same as HIS 237, and course repeat rules will apply.​

JDS284LEC Justice in Bibles, Law, and Philosophy
Sergey Dolgopolski Class# 21315 
TR 2:00pm-3:20pm Hoch 114
"A law that is not just is not law" said recently a protester against racial discrimination. This argument exemplifies a problem we will address in this course through reading, discussing, theatrically staging, and critically applying the work of the best writers and thinkers, both ancient and contemporary, who addressed the problem of justice in relationship to equality, law, and freedom. In that way, we will conduct a comparative study of the relationship between justice, law, and society in pagan, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Thought.

JDS385LEC Maimonides: The Guide of the Perplexed
Alexander Green Class # 23623
TR 9:30am-10:50am Clemens 708
Communication Literacy 2 Course- Maimonides Guide of the Perplexed is one of the central philosophical and theological works of the Jewish Middle Ages. It examines the conflict between the Hebrew Bible and Greek philosophy. We will consider topic such as the nature of God and prophecy; the meaning of providence, theodicy and evil; the pursuit of wisdom and human perfection; and how to interpret the Bible. The eminent Maimonides scholar Isadore Twersky observed that although religious rationalism did not begin with Maimonides, it came to be totally identified with him. Protagonists and antagonists would draw the lines of their positions in relation to Maimonides. To a great extent, subsequent Jewish intellectual history may be seen as a debate concerning the wisdom and effectiveness of the Maimonidean position. We will attempt to discern Maimonides' position on the above issues and explore different ways that his thought has been adapted and criticized by medieval and modern interpreters. This course is the same as RSP 384, and course repeat rules will apply.

JDS396SEM Science and Politics in Jewish Thought
Alexander Green Class # 21592 
TR 12:30pm-1:50pm Clemens 708
Communication Literacy 2 Course- What is the relationship between science and religion? Is science true and religion merely a myth? How does the relationship between the two affect the structure of human societies? A group of contemporary critics of religion, known as the "New Atheists," such as Christopher Hitchens, Charles Dawkins and Sam Harris, present a scathing and harsh attack on traditional religious doctrines and beliefs seeking to liberate the public sphere from the influence of religion. This course will seek to explore some of the major players in this debate in the Jewish tradition throughout the last thousand years. Topics to be discussed include prophecy, rationality of the commandments, ethics, providence, election, God, creation, dogmas and the meaning of life.

JDS 497TUT Special Honors Thesis
The Honors Program in Jewish Studies offers students the opportunity to develop a substantial thesis based on primary source research. Students enjoy the reward of finishing a prolonged, independent project mentored by a faculty member. It can be on any subject area within the academic study of Judaism, as long as one of the faculty members agrees to supervise the student’s project. Upon admission to the program, junior or senior honors students are responsible for arranging with a faculty mentor to guide their thesis research and writing, normally completed in the senior year. Honors students may, at the discretion of their mentors and upon approval of the directors of undergraduate and graduate studies, participate in a relevant graduate seminar or seminars.
JDS 497 TUT     Special Honors Thesis        Sergey Dolgopolski       Class # 24418
JDS 497 TUT     Special Honors Thesis        Alexander Green           Class # 24424
JDS 497 TUT     Special Honors Thesis        Noam Pines                    Class # 24425

JDS 499TUT       Independent Study
Looking for a topic that is not being offered? Contact one of the faculty members to look into developing your own Independent Study under their supervision.
JDS 499TUT      Independent Study             Sergey Dolgopolski        Class # 18301
JDS 499TUT      Independent Study             Alexander Green           Class # 18354
JDS 499TUT      Independent Study             Noam Pines                    Class #19040

Graduate Courses Available
*Undergraduate students are eligible to take these courses to satisfy a 400 level course requirement with special permission from the professor

JDS709SEM Jewish Law and Theory
Sergey Dolgopolski Class# 21600 
W 6:40pm-9:10pm Clemens 640
This seminar explores classical Jewish Legal Texts (Late Ancient Talmud and Medieval commentaries) in a comparative theoretical perspective with philosophy, literary theory and critical theory. Selections of texts and periods can vary.

JDS 526SEM Trauma, Film, and Holocaust
Noam Pines Class# 21456
R 1:00pm-3:50pm
This course will explore the various theoretical, visual, and psychological aspects of trauma as an experience located outside the boundaries of subjectivity, everyday life, and memory. We will then proceed to think of trauma and traumatic experience in relation to films and literary productions emerging from or relating to the Holocaust. Readings, screenings, and discussions include: Sigmund Freud, Cathy Caruth, Shoshana Felman, Dori Laub, Dominick LaCapra, Giorgio Agamben, Claude Lanzmann, Primo Levi, Paul Celan, Charlotte Delbo, Art Spiegelman, Isaac Bashevis Singer, and more. This course is the same as VS515SEM.

HEB102LEC Elementary Modern Hebrew 2
Section 1 (DOL)- Lilia Dolgopolskaia Class# 13153
MWF 9:00am-10:25am O’Brian 10
Section 2 (DOL2)- Lilia Dolgopolskaia Class# 23620 
MWF 10:30am-11:55am O’Brian 10
The continuation of Hebrew 101. Note: Students with other previous experience in Hebrew must take a placement exam.

HEB202LEC Intermediate Hebrew 2
Lilia Dolgopolskaia Class # 13152
MW 12:30pm-1:50pm Filmor 319
A continuation of Hebrew 201. Note: Students with other previous experience in Hebrew must take a placement exam

JDS250LEC Introduction to Biblical Hebrew
Lilia Dolgopolskaia Class# 21619 
T 6:25pm-9:05pm Clemens 708
This course introduces students to the grammatical structure and vocabulary of Biblical Hebrew. It includes basic Biblical passages for students to translate into English and to analyze. The course has no prerequisites and is offered in English.

Already passed Intermediate Hebrew? Contact Lilia Dolgopolskaia to discuss taking your Hebrew to the next level:

HEB499TUT      Hebrew Independent Study       Lilia Dolgopolskaia       Class# 18308