The riches of Jewish Tradition to all and everyone.
JDS 202 Religion, Race, and Nation
Professor Zirkle
ASYNCHRONOUSLY
Class #10002
Religion, race, and nation are categories of identity to which we all relate in some way, but it is difficult to say just what, exactly they areas especially when, as for example in the case of Jewish identity, it is unclear where one ends and the other begins. Why do these categoriesâ eligion, race, national matter so much? How do we define and distinguish them? What do they mean? Where do they come from? How have they changed, across global and historical contexts? How are they implicated in questions of political power, social justice, and cultural representation? This lecture course gives students a basis in the analytical tools necessary for asking and answering these and related questions, by drawing on theories and methods from the humanities as well as the social sciences. We will attend especially, but not exclusively, to two complex historical cases of religious, racial, and national identity from the 18th to the 21st centuries: (1) Jewish identity in Germany and in the United States, and (2) Black identity in America. These cases will be examined separately as well as in their numerous intersections, parallels, and tensions
JDS 208 Holocaust: Hist, Culture, Mem.
Professor Pines
T/R 11:00am-12:20pm
Clemens 708
Class # 10004
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 240 Scripture and Interpretation
Professor Catlin
T/R 2:00pm-3:20pm
Park 250
Class #22941
What is scripture? What makes a religious text different from other kinds of human writing? What gives it its special kind of authority, and how do interpreters leverage this authority toward political ends? How does history change the meanings we can derive from scripture, and how does scripture continue to be meaningful in globally diverse geographic and cultural settings? What happens when scripture is interpreted in conflicting ways? Can genres and media beyond the written-for instance, visual arts and film, performing arts, or material culture-be understood as modes of scriptural interpretation? This course addresses these and related questions by introducing students to key ideas and methods for understanding religious scripture and the interpretative communities scripture creates. The course is organized around a specific scriptural text-for example, a book from the Bible-and tracks the interpretation of this text over time. We will consider how scripture is interpreted and contested in a variety of genres, which may include literature and philosophy, commentaries and sermons, the visual arts and music, and more.
JDS284 Justice
Professor Dolgopolski
M/W/F 1:00pm-1:50pm
Obrian 210
Class #10003
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
JDS 295 Ecocriticism, Sustainability, and Jewish Environmental Ethics
Professor Zirkle
T/R 12:30pm-1:50pm
Baldy 123
Class #23898
This course explores ecological criticism and environmental sustainability through the resources of Jewish thought. Students will gain a thorough understanding of ecocritical problems, temporalities, grounds, lives, and traditions, as well as their attendant catastrophes, mourning, and possible hope. This course combines theory with practice through site visits to local community gardens and nature preserves and a capstone "Ecological Repair Project" in which students apply their learning to local environmental contexts.
JDS 303 Money and Ethics
Professor Cohen
ASYNCHRONOUSLY
Class # 22542
From paying rent to applying for jobs, we are all occupied with the earning and spending of money, but is there an ethics to our economics? Does accumulating wealth require moral compromises? What are our responsibilities toward impoverished members of our communities? And who decides what counts as work? This course explores these questions through the sources of Jewish thought, including biblical passages and philosophical texts, films and sermons, historical documents and literature. This highly interactive course has been designed so that through our critical exploration of the relationships between religion and economics, students also master the fundamentals of academic writing and oral communication.
JDS 329 Medieval Judaism
Professor Dolgopolski
M/W/F 11:00am-11:50am
Baldy 125
Class #20736
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.
JDS 385 Maimonides: The Guide of the Perplexed
Professor Cohen
T/R 3:30pm-4:50pm
Room TBD
Class # 24155
Moses Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed is one of the most important philosophical and theological works of the Jewish Middle Ages. It examines the conflict between the Hebrew Bible and Greek philosophy, without dismissing either. By means of careful reading, explanation and discussion, this course reviews its central topics, important for Islamic, Jewish and Christian self-understanding, 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 Sacred Scripture. The eminent Maimonides scholar Isadore Twersky observed that although religious rationalism did not begin with Maimonides, it came to be totally identified with him. His thought continues to be influential and controversial to today. This course is the same as RSP 384, and course repeat rules will apply. Satisfies: “Medieval” requirement for Jewish Thought minor/major; and UB Communication Literacy II requirement
JDS 389 American Jewish Experience
Professor Catlin
T/R 9:30am-10:50am
Talbert 113
Class #21762
During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, many Jews who fled persecution in Europe immigrated to America. By the 1950s, the United States became home to the largest Jewish community in modern history. In this course, we will explore the ways in which life in a liberal political and capitalist economic order shaped the Jewish experience in America, and how Jews, in turn, came to influence American culture, politics, and society. This course is the same as HIS 335, and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.
Spring 2025 Hebrew Courses
HEB 102 Elem Modern Hebrew 2
Professor Dolgopolskaia
M/W/F 10:00am-11:25am
Clemens 708
Class #12272
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.
JDS 250 Intro to Biblical Hebrew
Professor Dolgopolskaia
M/W/F 12:00pm-12:50pm
Clemens 708
Class #23334
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.