JDS199 UB Seminar: Modern Revolutions: Industrial, Political, Social
Richard Cohen
Tuesday Thursday
12:30pm-1:50pm
Norton 216
Class #20381​     
What are political revolutions?  How have they changed our world?  Evolution occurs by gradual small changes, revolution by radical changes.  The Industrial Revolution wiped out the medieval world and its traditions, established standardization and commodification, accelerated time and compressed space through machines and technology.  In its wake comes the prospect of widespread prosperity, political freedoms and democracy, and cultural enlightenment, which have inspired for all subsequent political revolutions, for and against.  This course examines the American, French, Russian and Fascist revolutions to better understand how we have become who we are today.   

JDS 208 The Holocaust: History, Culture, and Memory
Noam Pines
Tuesday Thursday
3:30-4:50pm
Obrian 109
Class #23603
How did the Holocaust happen? How was the Final Solution developed and executed? How have victims, perpetrators, and bystanders written and re-written the accounts of what happened? And how do we remember this today? This course places the Holocaust in the broad context of Western history, thought, and culture by focusing on a variety of sources that include survivor testimonies, novels, and political theory. We will study classic texts such as Elie Wiesel's Night, Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem, and Art Spiegelman's Maus. We will also view selected films, among them Claude Lanzmann's Shoah, and Alain Resnais' Night and Fog. This course is the same as HIS 294 and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.

JDS 216 The Origins of Ethics and Politics 
Richard Cohen
Tuesday Thursday 
2:00-3:20pm
Norton 216
Class #23604
The meaning of goodness and justice and their relation to the formation and purpose of political community determine the central theoretical-practical questions animating Western philosophers, theologians and political agents from the ancient world to today. What purpose does politics serve?  What role do morality, virtue, justice and law play in the distribution and application of power?  How do we know what is good and evil, right and wrong?  Is there one standard that unites different value systems, and if not are all systems equally valid?  These basic questions will be examined in light of classic texts of political thinking, from the ancient Greek philosophers (Plato and Aristotle) and the Bible, to modernity (Hobbes, Spinoza, Mill) and contemporary thought (Nietzsche, Schmitt, Levinas), to help understand today’s global world of multi-cultural states.   

JDS 250 Introduction to Biblical Hebrew
Lilia Dolgopolskaia
Monday Wednesday
12:00-1:20pm
Academ 235
Class #23620
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.

JDS284: Justice in Bibles, Law, and Philosophy
Sergey Dolgopolski
Tuesday Thursday 
12:30-1:50pm
​Academ 328
Class #17888
A comparative study of the relationship between justice, law, and society in pagan, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Thought. This course is the same as RSP 284 and LAW 284, and course repeat rules will apply.  Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.

JDS313: World Religions
STA1                                                   STA2                                      
Tuesday Thursday                          Monday Wednesday
5:00-6:20pm                                     9:30-10:50am
Online Real Time                           Online Real Time
Class #22087                                     Class #19952
In what ways are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam religions—or something else? In this course, we will examine Judaism from Ethiopia to Iraq, Christianity from Nagasaki to Palestine, and Islam from Tehran to Los Angeles. Students will become familiar with the narratives, practices, and beliefs unique to these three religions. We will also explore the status and contributions of women within Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and compare Jewish, Christian, and Muslim accounts of the end of times (eschatology). Students will develop a deeper understanding of these movements by delving into a wide range of sources including sacred texts, literature, travel journals, and films.

JDS329 Medieval Judaism
Sergey Dolgopolski
Tuesday Thursday
9:30-10:50am
Clemens 708 
Class # 23640
Medieval Judaism is an exploration of Judaism as a minority religion living between the Crescent and Cross, the Islamic and Christian empires between the 9th to 16th centuries. We will explore the dual nature of the medieval period for Jews: part intellectual and cultural flourishing and part persecution and tragedy. Topics to be discussed include: the origins of anti-Semitism, the crusades, philosophy vs. mysticism, the Maimonidean controversy, Jewish-Christian dialogue and polemics, the inquisitions, marranos, responses to tragedy and the Renaissance. This course is the same as HIS 329 and RSP 329, and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.

HEB 102 Elementary Modern Hebrew 2
Lilia Dolgopolskaia
Monday Wednesday Friday
9:00-10:25am
Park440
Class #12658
Hebrew 102 is the second part of the Elementary Hebrew course at UB. This course aims to further present students with the basis of Modern Israeli Hebrew and to assist them in developing the fundamental linguistic skills of Hebrew aural and reading comprehension, conversation and writing in a communicative approach. To supplement the course packet, enrichment activities ranging from traditional handouts to the use of new digital technology are incorporated in the course.

HEB 202 Intermediate Hebrew 2
Lilia Dolgopolskaia
Monday Wednesday 
10:30-11:50am
Clemens  708
Class #22051
An introduction to Israeli culture via learning language. This class is for the students with Hebrew background, who wish to review, systematize and expand their knowledge of the language through authentic materials.   A content and task-based course will help students improve their oral and written linguistic skills and their cultural awareness through a variety of materials related to Hebrew/Israeli literature, culture, history, and politics.   Prerequisite: HEBR 102 or equivalent