Winter 2024 Undergraduate Course Descriptions

Description: This course will serve as a general introduction to the nature and history of Jewish Law. Among the topics to be addressed are: Narrative and Law, Religion, and Morality; Redemption of Hostages; Medical Ethics (End of life Issues and Issues of Consent); and AID (Artificial Insemination from Donor). Other issues will be discussed depending on time and will be chosen in consultation with the students. While secondary material will be assigned for background, the focus will be on the close reading of selected Jewish legal texts from the Mishnah and Talmud as well as such post-Talmudic texts as Maimonides’ great code of Jewish Law, the Mishneh Torah, and a variety of both medieval and modern responsa (judicial opinions). A key goal will be to acquire a “feel” for characteristic modes of halakhic (Jewish legal) thinking and reasoning, precisely through immersing oneself in the primary sources. A special feature of this course will be its havruta style: that is, for part of some classes, students will study and prepare the primary texts in havrutot (small groups).

Evaluation:
10%: Class Attendance and Participation
20%: Take Home Mid-Term
30%: Eight to ten-page analysis of a primary text or important secondary discussion
40%: Three Hour Take-Home Final

Description: The objective is to master basic communication in Modern Hebrew language. Students will develop the four language skills of understanding, speaking, reading and writing through the acquisition of basic structures of the language, i.e., grammar, syntax, vocabulary, as well as idiomatic expressions, in order to be able to communicate in Modern Hebrew orally and in writing. Communicative activities, oral practice, written exercises and compositions will be assigned regularly, in order to help integrate skills and reinforce learning. In addition, because the acquisition of a modern language also entails awareness of the culture of its linguistic community, the students will become aware of cultural elements associated with the language. 

Texts: Shlomit Chayat et al. Hebrew from Scratch, Part I

Evaluation:
60% 4 class tests
15% essays
20% oral presentation
5% class participation

Description: An interdisciplinary course examining both the historical Jerusalem and "Jerusalem" as a symbol. There will be lectures by faculty members from a variety of disciplines including History, Islamic Studies, Music, Religious Studies, English, Jewish Studies and Art History. Students will prepare research papers in the area they choose, and there will be a final examination on the readings assigned in the course (50+50).

Description: An introduction to Yiddish, the millennium-old language of Ashkenazic Jews. This course will cover the fundamentals of Yiddish grammar and vocabulary and will include practice in speaking, reading, and writing. The course materials draw on Yiddish literature, songs, and films, allowing students to combine the acquisition of practical language skills with an exploration of Yiddish culture—from its beginnings in medieval Germany through its past and present in Central and Eastern Europe, the Americas, Israel, and all over the world. An important component of the course is the opportunity students will have to pursue Yiddish-related artistic or research projects (individually or in small groups), combining exploration of Yiddish with creative writing, translation, acting, filmmaking, religion, anthropology, history, painting, and journalism, to name just some of the options.

Texts: Course Pack; online resources.

Evaluation: 
Attendance and Homework (40%)
In-Class Quizzes (20%)
Final Project (20%)
Final Exam (20%)

Format: Language course.

Description: At mid-twentieth century, half a million Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Jews arrived in Israel and enabled the fledgling state to triple its size in its first decade of existence. Today, more than half of Israelis trace their origins to this group, known collectively as Mizrahim (lit. Easterners). Through engagement with music, film, fiction, and the latest in historical scholarship, we will examine the ways in which the Mizrahim have long stood at the forefront of dramatic social, cultural, and political changes in Israel despite being underserved and subject to discrimination.

Texts: Bryan K. Roby, The Mizrahi Era of Rebellion: Israel's Forgotten Civil Rights Struggle, 1948-1966 (Syracuse University Press, 2015); Orit Bashkin, Impossible Exodus: Iraqi Jews in Israel (Stanford University Press, 2020); Sasson Somekh and Deborah A. Starr (editors), Mongrels or Marvels: The Levantine Writings of Jacqueline Shohet Kahanoff (Stanford University Press, 2020).

Evaluation: Reading responses, midterm, research paper, and final exam.

Description: The objective is to master communication in Modern Hebrew language.

Students will develop the four language skills of understanding, speaking, reading and writing through the acquisition of basic structures of the language, i.e., grammar, syntax, vocabulary, as well as idiomatic expressions, in order to be able to communicate in Modern Hebrew orally and in writing. Communicative activities, oral practice, written exercises and article analysis will be assigned in order to help integrate skills and reinforce learning. In addition, because the acquisition of a modern language also entails awareness of the culture of its linguistic community, the students will become aware of cultural elements associated with the language and the diversity of the Israeli society.

Texts: Shlomit Chayat et al. Hebrew from Scratch, Part I + CD

Evaluation: 
48% - 4 Class Tests (6%, 10%, 14%, 18%)
12% - Quizzes
12% - 2 In-Class Essays
10% - Compositions
10% - Oral Presentation
​8% - Class Participation

Description:

The many gaps in the Hebrew Bible have long inspired more than stopgap measures. Early rabbinic midrashim continue to compel, even as contemporary literary reimaginings flourish. The Bible is particularly reticent on women, and recent fiction on the Bible often reimagines these women’s stories. In this class we will read biblical narratives on certain women to identify what is unsaid, and then read fiction that amply fills the silence. We will consider how well the fiction answers questions raised by the Bible, how the fiction coheres on its own terms, what the fiction—and its reception—says of our own times, and the counter-narratives we might ourselves imagine. We will also read poetry, short stories, and scholarship (rabbinic, literary, feminist).

This class will be co-taught by a specialist of the Hebrew Bible and a specialist of literature.

Texts: TBD

Evaluation: Two written assignments, several short (ca. 500-word) responses, class preparation and participation.

Format: Lecture and discussion.

All texts in English translation; Hebrew proficiency not required.

Description: We tend to think of Jews and Muslims in the Middle East and North Africa as enemies, not neighbours. This course examines the modern history of Jewish-Muslim relations beyond just conflict. Students will explore the interconnected and entangled worlds of Jews and Muslims––from Morocco to Iran––as the two communities navigated colonialism, nationalism, war, and decolonization. Through close readings of a wide variety of sources (including letters, memoirs, fiction, music, and film) and historical scholarship, we will approach Jewish-Muslim relations from a number of vantage points––including those of politics and culture. In doing so, we will seek to challenge our assumptions about the ways in which Jews and Muslims lived together in the not too distant past.

Texts:

• Sephardi Lives, A Documentary History: 1700-1950, ed. Julia Philips Cohen and Sarah Abrevaya Stein (Stanford University Press, 2014);
• Modern Middle Eastern Jewish Thought: Writings on Identity, Politics, and Culture, 1893–1958, ed. Moshe Behar and Zvi Ben-Dor Benite (Brandeis University Press, 2013);
• Orit Bashkin, New Babylonians: A History of Jews in Modern Iraq (Stanford University Press, 2012);
• Ethan Katz, The Burdens of Brotherhood: Jews and Muslims from North Africa to France (Harvard University Press, 2015).

Description: Spinoza (1632-1677) is arguably the most notorious Jewish thinker. Excommunicated from the Jewish community in Amsterdam for "monstrous deeds" and "abominable heresies" at age 24, he was reviled (and, more recently, applauded) as an atheist ever since. Spinoza himself, however, categorically rejected the label and seems to have lived an almost saintly life devoted to science and philosophy--what he called the "intellectual love of God."

Spinoza's Theological-Political Treatise (TTP) is likely the most scandalous book in the history of philosophy. When it came out in 1670, it was denounced as "a book forged in hell … by the devil himself." The text includes Spinoza’s notorious treatment of scripture and miracles as thoroughly natural phenomena, explicable like everything in the universe in terms of natural causes and effects. Although published anonymously, Spinoza was soon identified as the author and became infamous throughout Europe as a religious subversive and political radical who sought to promote atheism. The remainder of his work would have to be guarded by his friends and published after his death.

The goal of the TTP is a distinctly modern one: a defense of freedom of thought and expression against attempts of religious and political leaders to suppress them. Spinoza argues that in a well-ordered state citizens should not be persecuted for what they think and say. Besides miracles and scripture, the TTP critically discusses a wide range of other central Jewish themes, including prophecy, the election of the Jewish people, providence, the divine law, and the ancient Hebrew state. The TTP’s critique of religion also came to play an important role in the history of Jewish philosophy, marking the end of the interpretation of Judaism as a philosophical religion as set forth by the medieval Jewish philosopher Maimonides. Finally the TTP made a lasting contribution to fundamental issues in political theory: in addition to freedom of thought and expression, the relationship between church and state, religious pluralism, and toleration.

In this class we will closely read and discuss Spinoza's seminal work, and also consider select scholarly interpretations of the TTP.

Texts:

• Spinoza, Theological-Political Treatise
• Select secondary sources

Evaluation:
10% Active Participation
15% Oral Presentation
20% Short Paper (800-1000 words)
15% Oral presentation of final paper project
40% Final paper (ca. 2000 words)

Description: The objective is to communicate on familiar topics in Modern Hebrew language. Students will develop the four language skills of understanding, speaking, reading and writing through the acquisition of the advanced structures of the language, i.e., grammar, syntax, vocabulary, as well as idiomatic expressions, in order to be able to communicate in Modern Hebrew orally and in writing. Communicative activities, oral practice, written exercises and compositions will be assigned regularly, in order to help integrate skills and reinforce learning. In addition, because the acquisition of a modern language also entails awareness of the culture of its linguistic community, the students will become aware of cultural elements associated with the language.

Texts: Edna Amir Coffin. Lessons in Modern Hebrew: Level II (2) Publisher: University of Michigan Press

Recommended Text: Hebrew Dictionary (Oxford, Eng-Heb, Heb-Eng Dictionary, Kernerman – Lonnie Kahn)

Evaluation:
48% - 4 Class Tests (6%, 10%, 14%, 18%)
12% - Quizzes
12% - 2 In-Class Essays
14% - Compositions
10% - Oral Presentation
4% - Class Participation

Description: This course introduces students to short literary forms in Hebrew written from the mid-20^th Century to the present. We will discuss short stories and poems in terms of their literary qualities as well as in relation to their cultural, social, political and historical contexts with the ultimate aim of fostering an improved ability to read, write and speak in Hebrew. (This is primarily a language class and advanced Hebrew is required to enrol in this course; if you are unsure about your level of Hebrew please consult with the instructor.)

Texts: Hebrew Dictionary

Evaluation:
40% - Essay (1500 words min.)
10% - 2 Take-Home compositions  (300 words each)
30% - 2 In-Class Essays  (300 words each)
10% - Text Preparation Assignments  (to be marked at random)
10% - Class Participation

Format: Seminar

Description: An introduction to the various Jewish musical traditions that originated in Eastern Europe and the Americas including folk, theatre, Hassidic, cantorial, and klezmer

Texts: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

Format: TBA

Description: This course will examine key Jewish thinkers of the last 100 years whose social justice work is rooted in their faith. We will also explore how diverse voices in the Jewish community have responded to important recent and contemporary social and political challenges including poverty, the Civil Rights movement, Black Lives Matter, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the environmental crisis, and immigration.

Texts will include:

• Achad Ha’am, “Priest and Prophet.” (1893)
• Emma Goldman, “The Joys of Touring.” (1908)
• Abraham Joshua Heschel, “Interview with Carl Stern.” (1972)
• Elie Wiesel, “Remarks on Receiving the Congressional Gold Medal” (1985)
• Ruth Messinger and Aaron Dorfman, “Am I My Brother’s Keeper if My Brother Lives Halfway Around the World?” (2008)
• Batya Ungar-Sargon, “Why Do Jews Keep Tearing Down Black Leaders?” (2019)
• Kate Rosenblatt, Lila Corwin Berman, and Ronit Stahl, “How Jewish Academia Created a #MeToo Disaster” (2018)
• Peter Beinart, “Yavne: A Jewish Case for Equality in Israel-Palestine” (2020)
• Everett and Mary Gendler, “Teaching Shalom in the Shadow of Tibet: Nonviolent Resistance for National Survival” (1998)
• Mirele Goldsmith, “Stop Now! Shmita and Climate Change” (2015)
• Rabbi Jill Jacobs, There Shall be no Needy. (2009)

Evaluation:
Paper on social justice organization 30%
Book review 35%
Reading responses 20%
Class moderating 5%
Participation 10%

Format: Seminar

The Holocaust was the systematic persecution and genocide of 6 million Jews by the Nazi State and its collaborators, between 1933 and 1945. The Nazis also persecuted and murdered the Roma and Sinti, sexual minorities, people with disabilities, political opponents, Slavs, and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

With what language can one articulate personal experience of and surrounding the Holocaust, experience that exceeds language? And not only how, but why, when, to whom, and as whom? In this course we will ask such questions as we study several diaries and memoirs about or surrounding the Holocaust, as well as reviews and academic studies of these texts. Aesthetics and ethics will guide our discussions, as we think about the effects of genre, stylistic choices, the gap between our knowledge and the writer’s, authorial intent, the difference between historical experience and what the experience felt like, the importance of gender on experience and its communication, and how a story differs across tellings. Further, we will study how the editing, publishing, translating, adapting, and re-discovery of a text has informed how a text has been read. We will also consider oral testimony. This course emphasizes original research.

Texts:

• Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl (originally published in Dutch 1947)
• Elie Wiesel, Night (1956)
• Elie Wiesel, All Rivers Run to the Sea: Memoirs (1994)
• Primo Levi, Survival in Auschwitz: The Nazi Assault on Humanity (1947)
• Primo Levi, The Drowned and the Saved (1986)
• Ruth Kluger, Still Alive: A Holocaust Girlhood Remembered (1992)
• Aharon Appelfeld, The Story of a Life (1999)
• Abraham Sutzkever, From the Vilna Ghetto to Nuremberg: Memoir and Testimony, edited and translated by Justin D. Cammy (1946; 2021)

Evaluation:

Attendance, preparation, participation: 15%

Two 500-word responses on readings: 20%

Paper on reception of one of our books: 25%

Research paper: 40%

Format: Lecture and discussion.

Description: A survey of the history of Hasidism and the social developments connected with it from its beginnings in the eighteenth century to the present. Although the focus generally will be on social history, we will also look at doctrinal developments and changes. Where possible, we will examine primary materials (in translation).

Texts: TBA

Evaluation:
Attendance and participation at all lectures.
Completion of all required readings (See over and Syllabus)
Three five-seven page book reviews 20% each = 60%
Three in-class tests (15 + 15 + 10) =40%

Format: Seminar

Description: The great code of Jewish Law, the Mishneh Torah. by the towering jurist and philosopher, Moses Maimonides (1138-1204) is perhaps the most important work of Jewish law to be written by a single individual. This course will explore two central themes of the work: 1) the interaction between Law and Philosophy; and 2) Maimonides’ legal theory. The Introduction to the work, and extended selections from the code’s first book, the Book of Knowledge and its last book, The Book of Judges will receive particular attention. Relevant selections from the other twelve books of the code and other halakhic (legal) and philosophical writings of Maimonides will be examined as well. All readings will be in English.