Please click on any of the years below to see a comprehensive list of all Jewish Studies courses and courses that count towards the Jewish Studies Minor.
Judeo-Spanish, also known as Ladino, is the linguistic legacy of the Jews expelled from Spain and Portugal in the late fifteenth century. In this translation-driven course, students will learn to read and analyze Judeo-Spanish literary and cultural texts...
Spring 2023 Undergraduate Courses Jewish Studies 100 Introduction to Jewish Religion and Cultures
Instructor: Sarah Levin CN# 23856 Meeting Time: Tuesdays/Thursdays 11:00a to 12:30p Location: Dwinelle 109 Units: 4
The course is intended to give Jewish studies minors a general introduction to the field through a survey of religious and cultural expressions of Jews across time and geographies. No previous knowledge of Judaism or Jewish Studies is necessary....
Spring 2022 Undergraduate Courses Jewish Studies 100 Jews and Their Neighbors
Instructor: Sarah F. Levin CN# 26877 Meeting Time: Tuesdays/Thursdays 9:30a to 11:00a Location: Cory 289 Units: 4
This course introduces students to the diversity of Jewish communities across time and geographies through a survey of literatures, histories, and cultures. Jewish cultures have always been co-produced in interaction with their non-Jewish neighbors. Through this study of...
Jews and Muslims of the medieval Islamic world produced a vast literature reimagining and embellishing the tales of famous biblical and quranic figures like Abraham, Joseph, Moses and David. This “holy fanfiction” ranges from...
Spring 2019 Jewish Studies 39 “Jews, Super-Heroes and Other Curiosities”
Instructor: Oren Yirmiya
Time: Mondays 3-5pm Dwinelle 243
Units: 2 CN #31880
Considering the involvement of Jewish creators and editors in the history of American comics is mesmerizing. Superman was created by Jerry Siegel (originally Segalovich) and Joe Shuster (Shusterowich), and Batman by Bill Finger and Bob Kane (Kahn). Captain America was created by Jack Kirby (Kurtzberg) with Joe Simon, and The Fantastic Four, Black Panther...
This course will expose students to an overview of Jewish life, covering both cultural and religious topics, in addition to case studies to illuminate the content. This course will cover some key, basic concepts in Judaism, including lifecycle rituals and the Spring holidays, looking at multiple perspectives within each topic. This course will allow Jewish...
Undergraduate Courses, Spring 2017 Jewish Jewish Studies 39P: “Reading the Bible through the Talmud”
Wed 10-12, 247 Dwinelle
CN: 31078, 2 units
Instructor: Shmary Brownstein
What is the Talmud? How does it relate to the Bible? This class will explore the history of the Talmud, where, when, how, and why it was produced. We will pay special attention to the issue of the Talmud’s strategies for interpreting the Bible. Students will deepen their understanding of how the Talmud came to shape Jewish thinking about the Bible...
Undergraduate Courses Spring 2016 Jewish Studies 39M
Freshman/Sophomore Seminar: “Hasidism and the Modern Age” W 2-4 p.m., 332 Giannini CCN: 47803, 2 units
Instructor: Shmary Brownstein This class will explore the history, thought, and social organization of the Hasidic movement, at its 18th century beginnings and today. We will focus on the question of whether and how contemporary Jewish life has been influenced by Hasidism. Attendance mandatory first two weeks of semester. Students will be dropped for non-attendance.
Freshmen & Sophomore Seminar: Hasidism and the Modern Age W 2:00-4:00pm, 180 Barrows CCN:47803, 2 units
Instructor: Shmary Brownstein, Kenneth Bamberger Course Description: What is Hasidism, and why does it interest us? Is it the last hurrah of traditional society, or does the advent of Hasidism reflect and impact the way people live today? This class will explore the history, thought, and social organization of the Hasidic movement, at its eighteenth century beginnings and today. We will focus on the question of whether and how...
Courses Spring 2014 Comparative Literature Gender and Identity in Modern Jewish and Israeli Drama (Comp Lit 155/S. Aronson-Lehavi)
In this course we will discuss dramatic works by Jewish and Israeli playwrights, authors, and performance artists, in which relations between gender, religion, and cultural identity are explored. By engaging with performance theory we shall discuss topics such as gender and ethnicity, feminism and religion, identity politics in historical and contemporary contexts, and performance as a vehicle for exploring self-identity. In order to discuss plays which...
