Hebrew and Judaic Studies (HEJS)
HEJS 1001. Elementary Modern Hebrew I. (4 Credits)
Phonetic reading, cursive script, basic conjugations, simple syntax, and vocabulary. Oral and written expression through videos, songs, and exposure to Israeli culture.
Enrollment Requirements: 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.
HEJS 1002. Elementary Modern Hebrew II. (4 Credits)
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.
Enrollment Requirements: 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.
HEJS 1003. Intermediate Modern Hebrew I. (4 Credits)
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.
Enrollment Requirements: 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.
HEJS 1004. Intermediate Modern Hebrew II. (4 Credits)
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.
HEJS 1103. Who Are the Jews? Jewish Identity through the Ages. (3 Credits)
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.
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4: Diversity & Multicultural
HEJS 1193. Foreign Study. (1-6 Credits)
Special topics taken in a foreign study program. Consent of Department Head required, normally before the student's departure.
May be repeated for credit
HEJS 2104. Modern Jewish Thought. (3 Credits)
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.
Enrollment Requirements: Recommended preparation: HEJS 1103. Not open for credit for students who have passed HEJS 1104.
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl
Topics of Inquiry: TOI2: Cultural Dimen Human Exp, TOI3: Div, Equity, Soc Just
HEJS 2200. Israel: History and Society. (3 Credits)
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.
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl
Topics of Inquiry: TOI2: Cultural Dimen Human Exp, TOI3: Div, Equity, Soc Just
HEJS 2201. Diversity and Inclusion in Israeli Society: A Cinematic View. (3 Credits)
Overview of Israeli films with a particular focus on contemporary cultural, social, and political tensions. Topics may include the uneasy relationship between an ancient patriarchal conservative religion and modern western secular society; Jerusalem as a holy city for three monotheistic regions, as a modern metropolis, and as a tourist attraction; the culture of masculinity promoted by the Israeli military; the status of women; attitudes toward the LGBTQ+ community; the treatment of minoritized groups in general, including those based on race or religion; and questions of citizenship and immigration, both legal and illegal. Taught in English.
Content Areas: CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl
Topics of Inquiry: TOI1: Creativity: Des,Expr,Inn, TOI3: Div, Equity, Soc Just
HEJS 2203. The Holocaust in Print, Theater, and Film. (3 Credits)
(Also offered as HRTS 2203.) 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.
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl
Topics of Inquiry: TOI2: Cultural Dimen Human Exp, TOI3: Div, Equity, Soc Just
HEJS 2204. Jewish Culture in American Film. (3 Credits)
(Also offered as AMST 2204.) Representations of the diversity of Jewish culture (historical, religious, secular) in American film. Introduction to film analysis and interpretation. CA 1. CA 4.
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4: Diversity & Multicultural
Topics of Inquiry: TOI2: Cultural Dimen Human Exp, TOI3: Div, Equity, Soc Just
HEJS 2301. Jewish Humor. (3 Credits)
(Also offered as CLCS 2301.) 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.
Enrollment Requirements: Not open to students who have passed HEJS 3295 when taught as this topic.
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4: Diversity & Multicultural
Topics of Inquiry: TOI2: Cultural Dimen Human Exp, TOI3: Div, Equity, Soc Just
HEJS 3050. Anthropology of Jews and Jewishness. (3 Credits)
(Also offered as ANTH 3050.) Survey of the rich and growing ethnographic literature on Jews and Jewishness around the globe. Course materials include ethnographic texts, music, and videos/films.
Enrollment Requirements: Recommended preparation: ANTH 1000 or 1006; ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011 or 2011.
HEJS 3050W. Anthropology of Jews and Jewishness. (3 Credits)
(Also offered as ANTH 3050W.) Survey of the rich and growing ethnographic literature on Jews and Jewishness around the globe. Course materials include ethnographic texts, music, and videos/films.
Enrollment Requirements: ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011 or 2011. Recommended preparation: ANTH 1000 or 1006.
Skill Codes: COMP: Writing Competency
HEJS 3201. Selected Books of the Hebrew Bible. (3 Credits)
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.
Enrollment Requirements: INTD 3260 or HIST 3301 or HEJS 1103, which may be taken concurrrently, or instructor consent.
May be repeated for credit
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities
HEJS 3203. The Holocaust. (3 Credits)
(Also offered as HIST 3418.) 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.
HEJS 3241. Jewish Magic: from Late Antiquity through the Early Modern Period. (3 Credits)
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.
HEJS 3251. Advanced Hebrew. (3 Credits)
Further grammar study. Practice in composition involving the use of everyday vocabulary and idiomatic expressions. Readings and films relevant to Israeli culture and history.
Enrollment Requirements: HEJS 1004 or instructor consent.
May be repeated for credit
HEJS 3252. Advanced Hebrew. (3 Credits)
Further grammar study. Practice in composition involving the use of everyday vocabulary and idiomatic expressions. Readings and films relevant to Israeli culture and history.
Enrollment Requirements: HEJS 3251.
May be repeated for credit
HEJS 3293. Foreign Study. (1-6 Credits)
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.
May be repeated for credit
HEJS 3295. Special Topics. (1-6 Credits)
Enrollment Requirements: Prerequisites and recommended preparation vary.
May be repeated for credit
HEJS 3298. Variable Topics. (3 Credits)
Enrollment Requirements: Prerequisites and recommended preparation vary.
May be repeated for credit
HEJS 3301. The Jewish Middle Ages. (3 Credits)
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.
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4: Diversity & Multicultural
Topics of Inquiry: TOI2: Cultural Dimen Human Exp, TOI3: Div, Equity, Soc Just
HEJS 3330. Palestine Under the Greeks and Romans. (3 Credits)
(Also offered as HIST 3330.) 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.
HEJS 3362. The Black Death: Medieval and Modern Responses to Catastrophe. (3 Credits)
(Also offered as HIST 3362.) 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.
Enrollment Requirements: Not open to students who have passed HEJS 3295 when offered as The Black Death: Medieval Responses.
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl
HEJS 3401. Jewish American Literature and Culture. (3 Credits)
(Also offered as ENGL 3220.) Interdisciplinary study of literary and artistic productions by and about Jews in the United States. CA 1. CA 4.
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4: Diversity & Multicultural
Topics of Inquiry: TOI2: Cultural Dimen Human Exp, TOI3: Div, Equity, Soc Just
HEJS 3401W. Jewish American Literature and Culture. (3 Credits)
(Also offered as ENGL 3220W.) Interdisciplinary study of literary and artistic productions by and about Jews in the United States. CA 1. CA 4.
Skill Codes: COMP: Writing Competency
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4: Diversity & Multicultural
Topics of Inquiry: TOI2: Cultural Dimen Human Exp, TOI3: Div, Equity, Soc Just
HEJS 3419. Jewish Responses to the Holocaust. (3 Credits)
(Also offered as HIST 3419.) 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.
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl
Topics of Inquiry: TOI2: Cultural Dimen Human Exp, TOI3: Div, Equity, Soc Just
HEJS 3629. Holocaust Memoir. (3 Credits)
(Also offered as ENGL 3629.) Literature of the Holocaust focusing on memoir in various genres and forms. CA 1. CA 4-INT.
Enrollment Requirements: 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.
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl