Courses - Fall 2025
JWST141
Cross-listed with: HIST106.
Credit only granted for: HIST106 or JWST141.
History of the Jews in America from Colonial times to the present. Emphasis on the waves of migration from Germany and Eastern Europe; the changing nature of the American Jewish community and its participation in American social, economic, and political life.
JWST225
Religions of the Ancient Near East
Cross-listed with: RELS225, HIST219I.
Credit only granted for: JWST225, HIST219I, RELS225, or RELS219A.
Formerly: RELS219A.
Introduction to ancient Near Eastern religious systems and mythology, from the third millennium BCE through the fourth century BCE. Particular emphasis on Mesopotamia and ancient Israel.
JWST230
Inventing Traditions: The Making of Rabbinic Judaism
Cross-listed with: HIST281, RELS230.
Credit only granted for: HIST281, JWST230, RELS219C or RELS230.
Formerly: RELS219C.
Introduces the dramatic literary and cultural (as well as political and demographic) innovations that reshaped Judaism in late antiquity. Examines the fundamental works and genres of rabbinic literature and the religious movement that produced them. Special emphasis on the rabbinic uses of "tradition" to enhance authority and legitimacy, and to foster group identity.
JWST256
Zionism and Sexual Revolution
Cross-listed with: ISRL256.
Credit only granted for: ISRL249N, JWST219G, ISRL256, or JWST256.
Formerly: ISRL249N or JWST219G.
A study of the changes within European Jewish communities that influenced the development of particular fantasies about and representations of gender, love, and sex in Palestine and Israel. We will investigate the broader intellectual and cultural contexts needed to understand the gender and sexual revolutions of the 19th and 20th centuries, and will examine how European and, later, Israeli Jews adopted and adapted these ideas and cultural forms. We will closely analyze a variety of texts (stories, plays, photographs, and films) and will consider the relationship between ideology and aesthetics.
JWST262
Introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
Cross-listed with: ENGL262, HEBR298B.
Credit only granted for: JWST262, HEBR298B, or ENGL262.
Origins of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), with attention to literary formations, archaeology, and social-political settings. Explorations of major questions, including who wrote the Bible, and when; relationships of the biblical tradition to the mythology and religious structures of ancient Israel's near eastern neighbors; and dynamics of politics, religious leadership, and law.
JWST274
Jerusalem in Antiquity: The History of Sacred Space in a Holy City
Cross-listed with: RELS274.
Credit only granted for: JWST274, RELS274, JWST289J or RELS289J.
Formerly: JWST289J, RELS289J.
Examines the complex history of Jerusalem's status as a holy city, with a focus on constructions of sacred space in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
JWST281
Yiddish I
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with: GERS141.
Credit only granted for: JWST281, GERM148Y or GERS141.
Introduction to the Yiddish language, with emphasis on speaking, reading, and writing skills. Students will also learn the history of the language, its significance to Jewish culture, its origins and basic structure.
JWST282
Yiddish II
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: JWST281; or permission of ARHU-Meyerhoff Program & Center for Jewish Studies.
Cross-listed with: GERS142.
Credit only granted for: GERM149Z, GERS142 or JWST282.
Introduction to the Yiddish language, with emphasis on speaking, reading, and writing skills. Students will also learn the history of the language, its significance to Jewish culture, its origins and basic structure.
JWST289E
Civil Discourse or Urban Riot: Why Cities Don't (Often) Explode
Cross-listed with: HIST135.
Credit only granted for: HIST135 or JWST289E.
An examination of the mechanisms that promote peaceful co-existence in urban societies and a discussion of how and why city streets sometimes become violent.
JWST319V
Special Topics in Jewish Studies
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with HIST329F. Credit will be only granted for JWST319V or HIST329F. Analysis of the social, cultural, and political forces that led to the emancipation of the Jews?the granting to them of equal rights with all other inhabitants of the countries in which they lived?and the integrationof a once-detested ethnic-religious group into European society. The f ocus of the course will be Europe, where most Jews lived in the period between 1650 and 1870.
JWST319Y
Archaeological Methods and Practice
Prerequisite: ANTH240, ARTH200, CLAS180, or CLAS190.
Cross-listed with: ANTH305, ARTH305, CLAS305.
Credit only granted for: ANTH305, ARTH305, CLAS305, or JWST319Y.
A team-taught, interdisciplinary course discussing theories, methods, and ethical issues in the practice of archaeology.
JWST332
The Israeli Settler Movement: The Road to One State?
Cross-listed with: HIST381, ISRL344.
Credit only granted for: HIST329G, HIST381, ISRL329G, ISRL344, JWST332 or JWST319N.
Formerly: JWST319N.
Explores the Israeli settler movement over the last four decades, from its position on the fringes of Israeli society in the 1970s and 1980s to its rise to prominence in Israeli politics today. Topics will include the history of the Israeli settlement project in the West Bank, the emergence of Gush Emunim and its ideological foundations in Jewish messianism, its violent offshoots, and the influence of the settler movement on the Israeli political system. Study of these topics illuminates some of the most important driving forces of modern history such as nationalism, religious fundamentalism, colonialism and the ability of a determined minority to influence a country's policies.
JWST341
American Jewish Literature
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with ENGL331.
Credit only granted for: ENGL331 or JWST341.
An exploration of the role played by literature in the development of American Jewish ethnic identity. Primary materials include essays, poetry, plays, short stories, novels, films and music.
JWST418
Honors Thesis Research in Jewish Studies
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg
JWST430
Prerequisite: Must have completed one JWST course or one RELS course; or permission of ARHU-Meyerhoff Program & Center for Jewish Studies.
Cross-listed with RELS430.
Credit only granted for: JWST430 or RELS430.
A study of the Dead Sea Scrolls in their ancient and modern settings, and in terms of contemporary scholarly interpretations of their meaning. Interpretations of the historical significance of these documents, their connections to ancient Jewish sectarian movements, and their implications for our understanding of Judaism, Christianity, and the history of the Bible.
JWST498
Advanced Language Module for Jewish Studies
Credits:
1 - 3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Contact department or instructor for details.
A supplementary language module for students enrolled in designated Jewish Studies classes. Language and instruction English, texts in original language.
A supplementary language module for students enrolled in designated Jewish Studies classes. Language and instruction English, texts in original language.
JWST609
Supervised Instruction-Practicum in Jewish Studies
Credits:
1
Grad Meth:
S-F
JWST799
Masters Thesis Research
Credits:
1 - 6
Grad Meth:
S-F
Prerequisite: permission of department.
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