Robert Alter/Ron Hendel
UCB Hebrew 206: Ancient and Modern Hebrew Literary Texts
Focus on biblical texts seen from a literary point of view, attempting to establish connections with later Hebrew literature.
M 2-5 8B Barrows
Robert Alter/Ron Hendel
UCB Hebrew 206: Ancient and Modern Hebrew Literary Texts
Focus on biblical texts seen from a literary point of view, attempting to establish connections with later Hebrew literature.
M 2-5 8B Barrows
Aaron Brody
GTU Hebrew OT 1115 Introduction to Hebrew Bible
This course is an overview of the history, cultures, societies, and religions that shaped and influence the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. It will also focus on various hermeneutical approaches to and exegetical readings of the biblical texts. Special attention will be given to the contextual nature of reading, including the social location of the reader.
F 9:40-12:30 PSR 6
Annette Schellenberg
GTU OT 1200: Pentateuch and Former Prophets
This course introduces the text, history, and theology of the first 11 books of the Hebrew Bible (Genesis through Kings) in the context of ancient Near Eastern culture; the history of the biblical period from early Israel to the Persian period; and the nature of critical study of the Bible.
T/F 8:30-10 SFTS
Annette Schellenberg
GTU OT 5330: Theological Discussions in OT
This course is about topics (like creation, sin, land, torah, king and messiah, justice, etc.) that are crucial in the OT. The goal is not to reconstruct the theology of the OT, but rather to get an idea about the ancients' theologies (plural!) and their discussions that are mirrored in the OT. [2 semesters of Hebrew; OT Intro]
T 2:10-5 CDSP 223
Deena Aranoff
GTU HSHR 3741: Jewish Biblical Hermeneutics
This class will explore the variety of Jewish Biblical interpretive traditions. We will examine Hellenistic, Rabbinic (legal and homiletic), philosophical, mystical, Hasidic, modern-critical and poetic readings of the Bible. One year of Hebrew advised. Seminar/paper.
T 12:40-3:30 CDSP 116
Daniel Boyarin/Moulie Vidas
UCB Talmud/Hebrew 148/202a this Fall. The Literary Art of the Babylonian Talmud.
W 2-5 8B Barrows. Hebrew/Aramaic reading required
Dan Joslyn-Siemiatkoski/Daniel London
GTU SPHR 4705: Comparative Theology as a Spiritual Discipline
This course will explore comparative theology as a spiritual discipline in which the understanding of one’s own faith tradition is deepened in light of engaged study with another faith tradition. After learning about the method of comparative theology and its challenges, students will practice comparative theology by studying Mishnah Avot in detail and then moving to a comparative study of it with the Gospel of Matthew and the Apothegmata Patrum, an early collection of Christian monastic teachings. Finally, students will compare a sacred text from their home tradition with a sacred text outside of their tradition.
M 2:10-5 CDSP 113
Deena Aranoff/Chris Ocker
GTU HS 5325: Methods: Jewish and Christian Histories
This course will introduce a variety of historical methodologies as they are commonly applied to the study of Christianity and Judaism. The seminar will pay particular attention to current scholarship and works of ongoing methodological importance. It will also refer to works of the previous generations which have formed the background of current cultural-historical study of Christianity and Judaism. The course will survey varieties of cultural history and social history in the medieval period, before turning to the more thematic study of the concepts space and time in the history of Judaism and Christianity, with examples drawn from medieval and early modern Europe. Finally, the course will provide a forum for student research on conceptions, experiences, and formations of space and/or time in a period, religion or social group most relevant to the interests of each student. PhD level course; seminar paper.
M 9:40-12:30 HDCO
Emily Gottreich
UCB MES 130/History 100: Jews and Muslims
Middle Eastern hostilities, and especially the Arab-Israeli conflict, are often said to arise from (and indeed be inevitable because of) “ancient hatreds†endemic to a region where religious war is simply the norm. The overarching goal of this course is to challenge such statements through the close study of Jewish life and Jewish-Muslim relations as they developed in the Middle East and North Africa from the rise of Islam in the seventh century to the present day. We begin with attitudes toward the “other†in each religious tradition and how they have influenced ethnic and religious boundaries between Jews and Muslims. We then turn to the early history of Islam and the creation of an institutional framework for incorporating non-Muslim minorities, investigating how Muhammad and the first Muslims understood Jews and Judaism, as well as how scholars have shaped the discussion around this topic ever since. The middle part of the course surveys Muslim-Jewish relations in a series of different settings, including medieval Spain (al-Andalus), the Ottoman Empire, and modern Morocco, Iran, Egypt, and Iraq. The final part of the course deals with the slippery question of Muslim-Jewish relations during the colonial and post-colonial eras. What choices did Muslims and Jews make as European intervention transformed long-held patterns of faith, nation, and community in the region? What impact did those choices have on each group’s self-perception, and on perceptions of them, as empires crumbled and independent states emerged in their places? In addition to traditional primary and secondary texts, films and memoirs will be emphasized as sources for understanding how the memory of shared cultural heritage is being preserved, and used, today. Graduate students may take it as History 299 with my approval (and some extra work).
Tues-Thurs 11-12:30, 210 W
John Efron
UCB History C175B
This is the fourth course in a four-course sequence in the history of Jewish culture and civilization. It explores the major themes in Jewish history from 1750 to the present, with special attention paid to the transformation of Jewish communal and individual identity in the modern world. Topics to be treated include the breakdown of traditional society, enlightenment and emancipation, assimilation, Hasidism, racial anti-Semitism, colonialism, Zionism, and contemporary Jewish life in Europe, North America, and Israel. The multicultural nature of Jewish history will be highlighted throughout the course through the treatment of non-European Jewish narratives alongside the more familiar Ashkenazi perspective. Also listed as Undergrad Interdisciplinary Studies C155 and Religious Studies C135.
TuTh 330-5P, 88 DWINELLE
John Efron
UCB History of Israel: 100.002
This course will offer an interdisciplinary introduction to the history of the modern state of Israel, beginning with the pre-state origins of Jewish nationalism in the late nineteenth century and concluding in the present. The class will consider, among other topics, the history of Zionism, the development of modern Hebrew culture, religion and ethnicity in Israel, and historical debates in Israeli politics, law and constitutionalism. This foundational course will also feature guest lectures by a number of Berkeley faculty from a variety of disciplines, who will provide specialist perspectives on key topics.
MW 4-530P 156 Dwinelle
Nurit Novis-Deutsch
UCB Psychology 168: The Israeli experience – explorations in psychology of identity -
In this seminar we will explore the psycho-cultural makeup of Israelis through narrative research conducted on the topic. Theories of collective and personal identity will serve as our analytic framework, and will be applied to different aspects of the Israeli experience. We will consider the immigration experience; the post-Holocaust era and collective trauma; the war experience and the military ethos; the double minority experience of Israeli Arab women and religious identities in Israeli society. This course will also teach the basics of narrative research, and students will gain experience in interviewing techniques and in qualitative analysis. As a final project, we will conduct pilot studies of local identity groups, using the Israeli case-study as a source for cross-cultural comparison. Throughout the course, discussion and active participation will be encouraged.
Tu 11-2
