Courses - Spring 2026
JWST187
God, Land, Power, and the People: Moral Issues in the Jewish Historical Experience
Cross-listed with: HIST187, ISRL187.
Credit only granted for: HIST187, JWST187 or ISRL187.
Examines the complicated relationship between theology, nationalism, sovereignty, and the ethical exercise of social control using case studies drawn from the Jewish historical experience. The universal and age-old issues implicit in the exercise of power have gained special moral force for Jews with the creation of the State of Israel, a Jewish and a democratic state with substantial non-Jewish minorities and hundreds of thousands of non-citizen subjects. Can these be reconciled? Jewish efforts over the ages and in recent times to define justice provide concrete examples through which to examine and discuss crucial abstract principles.
JWST219M
Special Topics in Jewish Studies; Introduction to Yiddish Literature
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
This engagement with classic Yiddish texts offers the opportunity to reflect on the major social challenges, religious developments, and political complexities that colored the lives of Eastern European Jewry from the Middle Ages through the 20th century. Readings include texts by prominent writers such as Sholem Aleichem, S.Y. Abramovitsch, and I.L. Peretz, but also a mix of lesser-known authors in a variety of genres. Taught in English.
Cross-listed with GERS299M and ENGL278G. Credit granted only for JWST219M, GERS299M, or ENGL278G.
Cross-listed with GERS299M and ENGL278G. Credit granted only for JWST219M, GERS299M, or ENGL278G.
JWST233
Why the Jews? Historical and Cultural Investigations
Restriction: Must not have completed HIST282, HIST283, JWST234, or JWST235.
Cross-listed with HIST287.
Credit only granted for: JWST233 or HIST287.
Examines the history and culture of the Jews from the thirteenth century BCE/BC to the present through an examination of significant themes or problems (such as "religion" or "diaspora") that shape our understanding of the Jewish people. A primary focus in the course will be on texts, artifacts, and other cultural products by Jews and others that illustrate the history of the Jews help understand their cultural heritage.
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.
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.
Cross listed with GERS141. Credit only granted for JWST281 or GERS141.
JWST319A
Special Topics in Jewish Studies; Jews and Sports: Identities, Nationalisms, and Masculinities
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with HIST329Q. Credit only granted for JWST319A or HIST329Q.
Modern Jewish culture is marked by competing visions of Jewish masculinity, from the traditional learned scholar to the muscle Jew of the 19th century. Athleticism plays an important role in this cultural formation. Attention to Jewish engagement in and with sports including boxing, baseball, basketball, and soccer allows for a better understanding of modern Jewish identity and its development and challenges.
Modern Jewish culture is marked by competing visions of Jewish masculinity, from the traditional learned scholar to the muscle Jew of the 19th century. Athleticism plays an important role in this cultural formation. Attention to Jewish engagement in and with sports including boxing, baseball, basketball, and soccer allows for a better understanding of modern Jewish identity and its development and challenges.
JWST319P
Arts & Humanities in Social Innovation, Change, and Justice: Do Good Now
Cross-listed with: ARHU380.
Credit only granted for: ARHU380, BSOS388B, JWST319P, or PLCY388D.
The course serves as the core course for the Arts-and-Humanities track in PLCY's minor in "Nonprofit Leadership and Social Innovation." Students will be introduced to the role that the Arts and Humanities can play in social innovation and social change, while exploring various mechanisms for achieving impact with a focus on advancing social justice, equity and systems change. This course deepens understandings of nonprofit leadership, entrepreneurship and social innovation by guiding students through the creation and implementation of social change projects and ventures of their choice.
JWST319W
Special Topics in Jewish Studies; Israeli Slang
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with HEBR398W and ISRL349W. Credit only granted for HEBR398W, ISRL349W, or JWST319W.
Examination of the history, linguistics, politics and sociology of Modern Israeli Hebrew slang, including influences from popular American culture, technology, the military, Arabic and immigrant group languages. Taught in English; course materials in Hebrew with translation.
Examination of the history, linguistics, politics and sociology of Modern Israeli Hebrew slang, including influences from popular American culture, technology, the military, Arabic and immigrant group languages. Taught in English; course materials in Hebrew with translation.
JWST319X
Special Topics in Jewish Studies; History of Antisemitism
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Hatred of the Jews has a long history, stretching from antiquity to the present. Based on many causes -- religious animosity, economic challenges, racial fears, political anxieties -- antisemitism may have waxed and waned over the past two thousand years, but it has proven a remarkably resilient and often deadly concept. This course will examine the main claims of the antisemites from antiquity to the present, the causes for the emergence of antisemitic invective and behavior in different periods and places, and the ways Jews devised to cope with the threat that anti-Jewish hostility posed. We will focus on primary sources as well as scholarly analyses. Hopefully we will come to understand how different societies coped with an unusual religo-ethnic minority group and how that minority group understood its place in those societies.
JWST345
The Holocaust of European Jewry
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with: HIST307.
Credit only granted for: HIST307 or JWST345.
Roots of Nazi Jewish policy in the 1930's and during World War II: the process of destruction and the implementation of the "final solution of the Jewish problem" in Europe, and the responses made by the Jews to their concentration and annihilation.
JWST386
Experiential Learning in Jewish Studies
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: Permission of ARHU-Meyerhoff Program & Center for Jewish Studies.
Restriction: Junior standing or higher.
The Jewish Studies Program's internship program. Pre-professional experience in research, analysis, and writing related to Jewish Studies in a variety of work settings.
JWST418
Honors Thesis Research in Jewish Studies
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg
JWST419F
Special Topics in Jewish Studies; Modern Jewish Philosophy
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
An introduction to modern Jewish philosophy, focusing in particular on the efforts of modern Jewish philosophers to reconceptualize their religious tradition along the lines of modern philosophy. Philosophers to be studied in this course include Baruch Spinoza, Moses Mendelssohn, Hermann Cohen, Franz Rosenzweig, Martin Buber, Hannah Arendt, Leo Strauss, and Emmanuel Levinas.
Cross-listed with JWST619F and PHIL328J. Credit granted only for JWST419F, JWST619F, or PHIL328J.
Cross-listed with JWST619F and PHIL328J. Credit granted only for JWST419F, JWST619F, or PHIL328J.
JWST429F
Advanced Topics in Jewish Studies; Fighting Words:Debated Topics in Jewish Thought
Credits:
3 - 4
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
An examination of the constant debate over the meaning of the sacred texts and the rulings of rabbinic authorities in Jewish thought. After a general introduction, this course focuses on modern claims to authority in the US and Israel.
Cross listed with HIST428D, RELS429C, and JWST658A. Credit granted for only JWST429F, HIST428D, RELS429C, or JWST658A.
Cross listed with HIST428D, RELS429C, and JWST658A. Credit granted for only JWST429F, HIST428D, RELS429C, or JWST658A.
JWST498
Advanced Language Module for Jewish Studies
Credits:
1 - 3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: HEBR212 or JWST282; or permission of department. 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.
JWST499
Independent Study in Jewish Studies
Credits:
1 - 3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
JWST609
Supervised Instruction-Practicum in Jewish Studies
Credits:
1
Grad Meth:
S-F
JWST619F
Directed Readings in Jewish Studies
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, S-F
An introduction to modern Jewish philosophy, focusing in particular on the efforts of modern Jewish philosophers to reconceptualize their religious tradition along the lines of modern philosophy. Philosophers to be studied in this course include Baruch Spinoza, Moses Mendelssohn, Hermann Cohen, Franz Rosenzweig, Martin Buber, Hannah Arendt, Leo Strauss, and Emmanuel Levinas.
Cross-listed with JWST419F and PHIL328J. Credit granted only for JWST619F, JWST419F, or PHIL328J.
Cross-listed with JWST419F and PHIL328J. Credit granted only for JWST619F, JWST419F, or PHIL328J.
JWST658A
Readings in Jewish Thought and Culture; Fighting Words: Debated Topics in Jewish Thought
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, S-F
An examination of the constant debate over the meaning of the sacred texts and the rulings of rabbinic authorities in Jewish thought. After a general introduction, this course focuses on modern claims to authority in the US and Israel.
Cross listed with HIST428D, RELS429C, and JWST429F. Credit granted for only JWST658A , HIST428D, RELS429C , or JWST429F.
Cross listed with HIST428D, RELS429C, and JWST429F. Credit granted for only JWST658A , HIST428D, RELS429C , or JWST429F.
JWST799
Masters Thesis Research
Credits:
1 - 6
Grad Meth:
S-F
Prerequisite: permission of department.
Flagship Institution of the University System of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
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