Undergraduate Course Directory

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Courses by Subject Area

Click on the links below for a list of courses in that subject area. You may then click “View Classes” to see scheduled classes for individual courses.

1001. Elementary Modern Hebrew I

4.00 credits

Prerequisites: Not open for credit to students who have had three of more years of Hebrew in high school. May not be taken out of sequence after passing HEJS 1002, 1003, or 1004.

Grading Basis: Graded

Phonetic reading, cursive script, basic conjugations, simple syntax, and vocabulary. Oral and written expression through videos, songs, and exposure to Israeli culture.

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1002. Elementary Modern Hebrew II

4.00 credits

Prerequisites: HEJS 1001 or equivalent. Not open to students who have had three or more years of Hebrew in high school. May not be taken out of sequence after passing HEJS 1003 or 1004.

Grading Basis: Graded

More complex grammatical structures including the construct state, verb patterns, and more advanced vocabulary. Oral and written expression through study of videos and popular culture.

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1003. Intermediate Modern Hebrew I

4.00 credits

Prerequisites: HEJS 1002 or the equivalent. May not be taken out of sequence after passing HEJS 1004. May not be taken for credit after passing HEJS 3251.

Grading Basis: Graded

Building on first-year skills, more advanced grammar, vocabulary, and conversation. Examples from popular media and culture along with short readings continue to enhance students' language acquisition. Formerly offered as HEJS 1153.

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1004. Intermediate Modern Hebrew II

4.00 credits

Prerequisites: HEJS 1003. Not open for credit to students who have passed HEJS 3251.

Grading Basis: Graded

More advanced communicative proficiency using readings and examples from media and popular culture. Focus on grammar, vocabulary, and conversation with more context from the history, culture, and religious traditions of the Jewish people.

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1103. Who Are the Jews? Jewish Identity through the Ages

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: None.

Grading Basis: Graded

The major concepts, personalities and literary works that inform Jewish identity from the Biblical and Talmudic periods to the present. Taught in English.CA 1. CA 4.

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1149. Elementary Biblical Hebrew I

4.00 credits

Prerequisites: Not open for credit to students who have had three of more years of Hebrew in high school.

Grading Basis: Graded

An introduction to the biblical language for the student with no previous background. Grammar and drills, using simple texts, prepare the student for independent reading of Hebrew Scripture in the original.

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1150. Elementary Biblical Hebrew II

4.00 credits

Prerequisites: HEJS 1149. Not open for credit to students who have had three or more years of Hebrew in high school.

Grading Basis: Graded

An introduction to the biblical language for the student with no previous background. Grammar and drills, using simple texts, prepare the student for independent reading of Hebrew Scripture in the original.

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1193. Foreign Study

1.00 - 6.00 credits | May be repeated for credit.

Prerequisites: None.

Grading Basis: Graded

Special topics taken in a foreign study program. Consent of Department Head required, normally before the student's departure.

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2104. Modern Jewish Thought

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: Recommended preparation: HEJS 1103. Not open for credit for students who have passed HEJS 1104.

Grading Basis: Graded

Nationalism, culture, ethics and philosophy in the writings of the major Jewish thinkers from Spinoza to the present. Emphasis will be placed on the work of Moses Mendelssohn, Hermann Cohen, Franz Rosenzweig, Martin Buber, Mordecai Kaplan, Judith Plaskow, and others. CA 1. CA 4-INT.

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2200. Israel: History and Society

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: None.

Grading Basis: Graded

Major themes in Zionist and Israeli history and the development of Israeli art, literature, film, popular music, dance, theater, and popular culture, with a focus on the central questions that have both unified and divided Israeli society and politics. CA 1. CA 4-INT.

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2203. The Holocaust in Print, Theater, and Film

Also offered as: DRAM 2203, HRTS 2203

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: None.

Grading Basis: Graded

Representations of the Holocaust, including first-hand accounts and documentaries; artistic choices in genre, structure, imagery, point of view, and the limits of representation. CA 1. CA 4-INT.

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2204. Jewish Culture in American Film

Also offered as: AMST 2204, CLCS 2204

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: None.

Grading Basis: Graded

Representations of the diversity of Jewish culture (historical, religious, secular) in American film. Introduction to film analysis and interpretation. CA 1. CA 4.

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2301. Jewish Humor

Also offered as: CLCS 2301

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: Not open to students who have passed HEJS 3295 when taught as this topic.

Grading Basis: Graded

The history of Jewish humor in modern times with attention given to its various forms, including oral traditions, fiction and humor writing, stand-up comedy, live performance, television, film, and music. CA 1. CA 4.

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3050. Anthropology of Jews and Jewishness

Also offered as: ANTH 3050

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: Recommended preparation: ANTH 1000 or 1006; ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011 or 2011.

Grading Basis: Graded

Survey of the rich and growing ethnographic literature on Jews and Jewishness around the globe. Course materials include ethnographic texts, music, and videos/films.

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3201. Selected Books of the Hebrew Bible

3.00 credits | May be repeated for credit.

Prerequisites: INTD 3260 or HIST 3301 or HEJS 1103, which may be taken concurrrently, or instructor consent.

Grading Basis: Graded

Literary structure and content of biblical book(s) using modern approaches as well as midrashic and medieval exegesis. Historical and archaeological material. With a change in content, may be repeated for credit and consent of instructor. A knowledge of Hebrew is not required. Taught in English. May not be used to meet the foreign language requirement. CA 1.

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3202. Sects and Movements in Judaism

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: None.

Grading Basis: Graded

Varieties of Jewish expression and belief from Biblical times to the present. Topics include: the Dead Sea Sect, Pharisees, Sadducees, Karaites, Marranos, Hasidism and the Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and Reconstructionist movements of the modern era. Taught in English. May not be used to meet the foreign language requirement.

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3203. The Holocaust

Also offered as: HIST 3418

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: None.

Grading Basis: Graded

Origins, development, and legacy of the Holocaust. Topics include the history of modern European anti-Semitism, the creation of the Nazi state, the catalytic role of the Second World War, the actions and attitudes of the perpetrators, victims, and bystanders, and the diverse ways in which scholars and societies have dealt with the legacy of the Holocaust. Taught in English. May not be used to meet the foreign language requirement.

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3241. Jewish Magic: from Late Antiquity through the Early Modern Period

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: None.

Grading Basis: Graded

Jewish magical beliefs and practices from the rabbinic period through the early modern period. Texts include spells, kabbalistic lore, magical books, incantations, legends, prayers, medical texts, exempla.

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3251. Advanced Hebrew

3.00 credits | May be repeated for credit.

Prerequisites: HEJS 1004 or instructor consent.

Grading Basis: Graded

Further grammar study. Practice in composition involving the use of everyday vocabulary and idiomatic expressions. Readings and films relevant to Israeli culture and history.

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3252. Advanced Hebrew

3.00 credits | May be repeated for credit.

Prerequisites: HEJS 3251.

Grading Basis: Graded

Further grammar study. Practice in composition involving the use of everyday vocabulary and idiomatic expressions. Readings and films relevant to Israeli culture and history.

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3279. Modern Israeli Literature in Translation

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: None.

Grading Basis: Graded

Major themes and literary achievements of modern Israeli writing in translation. Authors range from the pre-Statehood period to the present.

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3293. Foreign Study

1.00 - 6.00 credits | May be repeated for credit.

Prerequisites: None.

Grading Basis: Graded

Special topics taken in a foreign study program. Consent of Department Head required, normally granted prior to the student's departure. May count toward the major with consent of the advisor.

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3295. Special Topics

1.00 - 6.00 credits | May be repeated for credit.

Prerequisites: Prerequisites and recommended preparation vary.

Grading Basis: Graded

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3298. Variable Topics

3.00 credits | May be repeated for credit.

Prerequisites: Prerequisites and recommended preparation vary.

Grading Basis: Graded

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3299. Independent Study

1.00 - 6.00 credits | May be repeated for credit.

Prerequisites: None.

Grading Basis: Graded

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3301. The Jewish Middle Ages

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: None.

Grading Basis: Graded

Survey of sacred and secular literature in a wide variety of genres produced by Jews in the medieval period from major centers of European settlement. CA 1. CA 4.

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3330. Palestine Under the Greeks and Romans

Also offered as: CAMS 3330, HIST 3330

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: None.

Grading Basis: Graded

The political, historical and religious currents in Greco-Roman Palestine. Includes the Jewish Revolts, sectarian developments, the rise of Christianity and the Talmudic academies. May not be used to meet the foreign language requirement. Taught in English. Formerly offered as HEJS 3218.

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3330W. Palestine Under the Greeks and Romans

Also offered as: CAMS 3330W, HIST 3330W

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011.

Grading Basis: Graded

The political, historical and religious currents in Greco-Roman Palestine. Includes the Jewish Revolts, sectarian developments, the rise of Christianity and the Talmudic academies. May not be used to meet the foreign language requirement. Taught in English. May not be used to meet the foreign language requirement. Formerly offered as HEJS 3218W/CAMS 3256W.

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3362. The Black Death: Medieval and Modern Responses to Catastrophe

Also offered as: HIST 3362

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: Not open to students who have passed HEJS 3295 when offered as The Black Death: Medieval Responses.

Grading Basis: Graded

The Black Death (1346-50) from its origins in China through Europe. Institutional, medical, religious, literary, and social responses to the plague; how modern scholars reconstruct medieval experience; and new findings by historians and scientists that shed light on the challenges of past, present and future pandemics. CA 1. CA 4-INT.

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3401. Jewish American Literature and Culture

Also offered as: ENGL 3220

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011.

Grading Basis: Graded

Interdisciplinary study of literary and artistic productions by and about Jews in the United States. CA 1. CA 4.

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3401W. Jewish American Literature and Culture

Also offered as: ENGL 3220W

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011.

Grading Basis: Graded

Interdisciplinary study of literary and artistic productions by and about Jews in the United States. CA 1. CA 4.

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3419. Jewish Responses to the Holocaust

Also offered as: HIST 3419

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: None.

Grading Basis: Graded

Interdisciplinary exploration of Jewish responses to the Holocaust. Examines social, religious, theological, political, cultural, psychological, and literary responses both during and after the Second World War. CA 1. CA 4-INT.

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3629. Holocaust Memoir

Also offered as: ENGL 3629

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011 or 2011; open to sophomores or higher. Not open to students who have passed ENGL 3623 or 3619 taught as Holocaust literature.

Grading Basis: Graded

Literature of the Holocaust focusing on memoir in various genres and forms. CA 1. CA 4-INT.

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