Course Offerings
FALL 2026 | SUMMER 2026 | SPRING 2026
Check for the latest updates, course descriptions, details and registration.
FALL 2026
Judaic Studies | Israel Studies | Yiddish | Hebrew |Religious Studies
* pending GenEds
JUDAIC STUDIES
JUST 101 Intro to Judaic Studies
Dina Danon | TR 9:45-11:15am | D, H, FYA | Cross listed: RELG 180A
This course, which is appropriate for first and second year students, provides a broad survey of Jewish history, religion, and culture beginning in the ancient period and continuing through the modern period. We will draw on a wide array of sources, ranging from the Hebrew Bible, rabbinic literature, and philosophical works, to poetry, memoir, and other forms of artistic expression. We will pay special attention to the diversity of Jewish experiences across multiple geographical and cultural contexts.
JUST 180B Elementary Persian I
Omid Ghaemmaghami | MWF 12:15-1:15pm | W, FYA | Cross listed: PERS 101, PERS 501
PERS 101/501 (Elementary Persian I): It鈥檚 easy to learn and difficult to forget! This course introduces students to Persian鈥攖he official language of Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan; spoken by over 130 million speakers worldwide; and the language of many of the most famous and enduring works of poetry, prose, and film. Students will develop basic proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing Persian. They will learn the Persian alphabet and writing system, and begin learning essential vocabulary, fundamental grammatical structures, and basic conversation skills. They will be introduced to aspects of a rich and exciting cultural heritage, including many common customs and traditions. By the end of the semester, students will engage in simple conversations, read basic texts, and gain knowledge and understanding of the Persian-speaking world. No prior knowledge of Persian is required or expected. Completion of PERS 101 fulfills the World Languages WL1 (first-level course) General Education requirement and likewise one of the requirements of the new major or minor tracks in Middle East Studies (MES).
JUST 201 Jewish History Ancient to 1500
Michael J. Kelly | TR 1:30-3:00pm | N, GL, W, FYA | Cross listed: RELG 280A, HIST 285D, MDVL 280J
This course offers an introduction to Jewish history from the Bible to the end of the Middle Ages. It surveys some of the major issues that defined Judaism, including the nature and development of biblical texts; the effort of small Jewish states in the age of great ancient empires; the impact of (Greek culture) Hellenism on Judaism and the rise of Christianity from it; the emergence of the Diaspora; and Jewish life under and interaction with medieval Islam and Christendom. The course's two major themes are: 1) the evolution and development of Judaism, and 2) the shifting character of Jewish identity and peoplehood. No previous knowledge of Jewish history and religion is required or assumed. This course satisfies the core and survey requirements for Judaic Studies majors and minors.
JUST 251 The Jewish Short Story
C. Beth Burch | R 4:30-7:30pm | C, H, FYA | Cross listed: COLI 281F, ENG 280Y
The Jewish Short Story explores the genre of the Jewish short story as it evolves from folktale into contemporary art form. The Jewish story or tale is vital to Jewish tradition, for as the saying goes, 鈥淕鈥恉 made man because He loves stories.鈥 We will study the technical aspects of the short story (character, setting, plot, etc.) and read deeply to examine how these short pieces of fiction articulate Jewish life, history, and tradition through the centuries, including our own. All stories will be in English, some in translation. 20 pages of writing, mid-term and final exams. Offered regularly. 4 credits.
JUST 280C Modern Middle East1800-Present
Kent Schull | MW 9:45-10:45am | I, N, T | Cross listed: ISRL 280C, HIST 275, PPL 280E, SOC 280C
The purpose of this course is to trace the history of the Middle East during the 20th century to the present day. Topics to be considered include the integration of the Middle East into the modern world system; the nature, impact, and lasting effects of European imperialism; the legacies of the Ottoman and Qajar Empires for the modern Middle East; World War I and its effects; the origins and evolution of states and the Middle East state system; Decolonization; the Revolutions of Mid-Century; the Arab-Israeli dispute; the effects of oil exploitation; the Iranian Revolution, the recent Arab uprisings, as well as the US relationship to the region.
JUST 280Q East European Jewish History
Eliyana Adler | TR 11:45am-1:15pm | *D, *N, FYA |
Cross listed: HIST 281A, EEES 280A, GERM 281G, GMAP 281C, RUSS 280E
This course will seek to examine East European Jewry from the inside and from the outside. We will see how a minority community weathered the storms of modernity, while at the same time noting how their experiences reflect on the broader culture and forces around them.
JUST 284A The Nazi State
Harald Zils | MW 11:45am-1:15pm | H, N, FYA | Cross listed: GERM 281A, GMAP 281 A, HIST 281K
This course examines the rise and consolidation of the National Socialist regime in Germany, with particular emphasis on the critical period of 1930-1938. At its core, it addresses a fundamental question: How did German society transform to not merely accept but actively participate in the Holocaust? The curriculum moves beyond traditional chronological narratives to analyze the complex mechanisms of power, institutional transformations, and social dynamics that enabled and sustained the Nazi state. Key areas of investigation include the regime's methods of securing popular consent, the process of Gleichschaltung (enforced coordination) across German society, the implementation of racial policies, and the transformation of legal and bureaucratic structures. Through close readings of primary sources鈥攊ncluding government documents and propaganda materials鈥攕tudents will analyze how ordinary Germans became complicit in extraordinary crimes. The course emphasizes historiographical debates and competing interpretations, engaging with both classic and recent scholarship to understand how individual choices, institutional pressures, and broader societal changes combined to make the Holocaust possible. 4 credits.
JUST 310 The Jewish American Novel
C. Beth Burch | T 4:30-7:30pm | C, H | Cross listed: COLI 381N, ENG 380P
In 1977, critic of Jewish culture Irving Howe lamented what he feared was the end of American Jewish literature: 鈥淲hat,鈥 he worried, 鈥渋s the likely future of American Jewish writing? Can we expect a new generation of writers to appear who will contribute to American literature a distinctive sensibility and style derived from the Jewish experience in this country?鈥 We address that question by reading Jewish American novels from early immigration through the golden era of Jewish American literature (1960s and 1970s) to present day. Reading- and writing-intensive: ten novels, in-class close readings/writings, two papers.
JUST 311 Faith and Reason
Randy Friedman | TR 1:30-3:00pm | C, H | Cross listed: RELG 311, PHIL 311
This reading-intensive seminar will explore some fundamental questions in philosophy of religion, focusing on the work of Maimonides, Spinoza and Kant. Topics will include the nature of divinity, metaphysics, the supernatural, creation, revelation, religious experience, and feminist philosophy of religion. Some questions will include: what is God? How does one know about God? How do we account for and understand revelation? What is the relation between God and morality and the good. In addition to the content of this course, students will practice the process skills of reading and writing critically. Students will be expected to read the texts carefully and to come to class prepared to ask and answer questions. The course will require at least 100 pages of reading each week. This course meets Judaic Studies major/minor survey requirement.
JUST 331 Jews and Muslims
Dina Danon | TR 11:45am-1:15pm | I, N, T | Cross listed: HIST 385G
This course offers a survey of Jewish-Muslim relations from the emergence of Islam through the modern period. Beginning with the medieval period, topics covered include the relationship between Islam and peoples of the Book, Jewish communal life and self-government, participation in Mediterranean trade, the world of the Cairo Geniza, and intellectual and cultural achievements of the 鈥淕olden Age of Spain.鈥 Moving to the early modern and modern periods, topics covered will include Jewish life in the Ottoman lands, the rise of European imperialism, the dissolution of empire and the emergence of nationalism. Through a rich array of primary sources, such as diplomatic documents, personal correspondence, memoirs, as well as films and photographs, we will aim to identify the many ways in which these Jewish communities renegotiated their cultural identities and political affiliations through the middle of the twentieth century. We will also examine how the changes of the modern period impacted relations between the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities of these regions.
JUST 341 Holocaust Literature
Paul W. Burch | W 4:30-7:30pm | C, H | Cross listed: ISRL 380C, COLI 380B, ENG 380O
Students in this course read literature of the Holocaust, the Churban, or the Shoah鈥攊ncluding diaries, journals, memoirs, fiction, poetry, and works of popular culture, informed by the belief that literary responses to the Holocaust are, as the poet Paul Celan has written, in themselves "material evidence of thatwhich-occurred." The course includes works by First Generation writers, victims and survivors of the Shoah who bear direct witness to the horror, as well as pieces by Second Generation writers鈥攖hat is, children and 鈥渙ffspring鈥 of Holocaust survivors who bear witness to the witnesses and to events that they did not live through but that shaped their lives. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing. Cross-listed with English and Comparative Literature. THIS COURSE IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS.
JUST 386A Jews in German Literature
Harald Zils | MW 3:15-4:45pm | H, O | Cross listed: GERM 380E, COLI 380I, ENG 300U
This course examines the complex interplay between Jewish identity and German culture from the Enlightenment through the 21st century. It considers how Jewish figures have been represented in various literary genres and periods, and how Jewish writers have shaped the German literary landscape. We will analyze texts by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Heinrich Heine, Else Lasker-Sch眉ler, and contemporary authors. The course includes critical reading of primary texts alongside secondary scholarly analyses, fostering an understanding of the historical and cultural dynamics that influenced the literary depiction of Jews in Germany. We will focus on literary responses to significant historical events, including Emancipation, the rise of antisemitism, the Holocaust, and the re-unification of Germany. Course taught in English.
JUST 484D Refugees: Post WWI
Eliyana Adler | T 2:45-5:45pm | C, I, N, T, *D | Cross listed: HIST 486B & 501E, EEES 480B, GMAP 481F & 538D
This course examines refugee situations in the aftermath of the First World War and in the context of post-imperial migration. It will focus on the development of governmental policies, humanitarian organizations, and the lived experience of refugees. While seeking to represent the panoply of refugee populations, it will also use the Jewish experience as a case study and basis for comparison.
ISRAEL STUDIES
ISRL 120 Intro to Israeli Literature
Lior Libman | MW 9:45-11:15am | H, GL, FYA, *D, *T | Cross listed: JUST 120, COLI 180P
This survey course introduces students to texts (poems, short stories, novels) and themes (nation-building, conflict, gender constructions, ethnic and religious tensions) in Israeli literature from 1948 to the present. We will place literary works within their historical, cultural and political contexts and examine them to illustrate the main features of the time. Texts will be read in translation. No previous knowledge is required.The course is a Core Course for the Minor in Israel Studies, a Literature Course for the Major/Minor in Hebrew, and an Area Course in Israel Studies for the Major/Minor in Judaic Studies.
ISRL 150 Modern Israel
Shay Rabineau | TR 11:45am-1:15pm | N, FYA | Cross listed: JUST 150, HIST 150, HMRT 289B
This course presents an overview of the history of Israel from its origins in the Zionist movement to the present. Key topics include: political relations and international diplomacy leading to the establishment of the state in 1948; Israel's wars with its neighbors; conflict with the Palestinians; religion and government; internal divisions between Ashkenazic and Sephardi/Mizrachi Jews; and Israeli cultural life. No previous knowledge is assumed or required. Students who had taken the course under the original number will not receive credit for re-taking the course with the new number.
ISRL 180C First-year Arabic I
Farida Badr | Section 01 MTWR 9:45-10:45am, Section 02 MTWR 11:00am -12:00pm |
WL1, FYA
Cross listed: ARAB 101, ARAB 501
Arabic is the fastest growing language in the United States and the fifth most spoken language in the world. ARAB 101 /ARAB 501 is the first in a sequence of courses in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), the language of all official forms of communication and media throughout the Arab world, the register of Arabic taught in countries where Arabic is an official language, the liturgical language of more than two billion Muslims worldwide and millions of Arab Christians, and one of the six official languages of the United Nations. In this course, students will be introduced to the letters, sounds, and symbols that make up the Arabic writing system, and acquire basic skills in the areas of speaking, reading, writing, and listening. They will develop the ability to speak about themselves, their lives, and their environment; to initiate and sustain conversations on daily-life topics with educated native speakers; to read simple, authentic texts on familiar topics; to write formal notes and sentences on subjects connected to daily life; to comprehend and produce accurately the basic sentence structures of Arabic; and to understand aspects of Arab culture connected to everyday life, including culturally significant idioms used among friends and acquaintances and important expressions for polite interaction with speakers of Arabic. NO PREREQUISITES.
ISRL 227 Israeli Cultures
Talia Katz | TR 9:45-11:15am | N, T, GL, FYA
Cross listed: JUST 227, HMRT 289C, MES 280B, WGSS 280B
This course uses the anthropological method to explore how identity and difference are lived and produced in modern Israel. In contrast to media accounts that often reinscribe generalized figures of 鈥渢he Israeli鈥 or 鈥渢he Palestinian,鈥 this course engages ethnography, social history, film, and literature to investigate the fine grains of experience within a diversity of communities. These include 鈥 but are not limited to 鈥 Holocaust survivors, Palestinian citizens of Israel, the ultra-Orthodox, immigrants from the former Soviet Union, African asylum seekers, and Thai migrant workers. We begin by examining the foundational displacements and migrations that shaped the contours and categories of contemporary Israeli society. We then explore how individuals and communities navigate and respond to these forces in their everyday lives. No prior background required, all are welcome. Note: "Israeli Cultures" is the same course as "Cultures and Society in Israel" and may not be repeated for credit.
ISRL 313 Early Zionist Thought
Randy Friedman | TR 9:45-11:15am | H, GL, W | Cross listed: JUST 313
This course will explore early Zionist thought in its historical contexts, focusing on debates between political, cultural, and religious Zionists. The course is intended to provide a grounding in the foundational nineteenth and early twentieth century texts of Zionism and to understand the philosophical and religious background, ideas, consequences (and debates between) some of the various voices in early Zionist thought. Topics and themes will include: emancipation, anti-Semitism, assimilation, sources of authority, models and visions of nation and nationalism, religion and secularism, exile, diaspora, and relation to ancient history and tradition. Students who have taken ISRL 211 or JUST 211 will not receive credit for taking ISRL 313 or JUST 313.
ISRL 346 Encountering Israel & Palestine
Talia Katz | TR 1:30-3:00pm | N, T, O, GL
Cross listed: JUST 386M, ANTH 380B, ARAB 380E, GMAP 381F, HMRT 389X
In this course, we carefully read and analyze ethnographies of Israeli and Palestinian lives, attending to how ethnographic fieldwork challenges dominant narratives of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Ethnography, the hallmark knowledge production practice of cultural anthropologists, seeks to describe people鈥檚 everyday lives through long-term, immersive encounters in the field. These encounters last a minimum of twelve months, but may extend decades or a lifetime. What difference does the intimacy and duration of the research process make for what we can know about life in a given place? This course treats the borders of modern nation-states not as fixed containers of Israeli and Palestinian life, but as objects of intellectual inquiry. We read ethnographies of Palestinian refugee camps in southern Lebanon, Israeli diaspora communities in Berlin, and Jewish life in Morocco post-1948 to explore the constitution of identity across space. Topics of study include: catastrophic memory of the Shoah and Nakba, the place of myth and archeology in Israeli nation-building practices, humanitarian aid, how war shapes kinship relations, gender, and more.
ISRL 425 Hebrew Literature in Hebrew
Lior Libman | MW 1:30-3:00pm | WL3, *H, *D, *T | Cross listed: HEBR 380A
This upper level seminar, conducted in Hebrew, provides students with pre-existing advanced Hebrew language skills the opportunity to engage with literary texts in Hebrew. We will focus on literature written in Israel and which relates major issues in culture and society in Israel from 1948 till today.
YIDDISH
YIDD 101 Yiddish I
Gina Glasman | MWF 11:00am -12:00pm | WL1, O, GL, FYA
Cross listed: YIDD 501, JUST 180A, EEES 181B, GERM 180C, RUSS 180A
This is an introductory language class. We start from scratch and no prior knowledge or familiarity of any sort is assumed. Students learn simple conversational Yiddish and how to read and write, beginning with the alphabet. This foundation course is also meant as an entry-way into aspects of Yiddish-speaking cultures, past and present, and uses language themed instruction as a means to that end. Among the wide variety of topics that we consider: the phenomenon of Yiddish calques (aka Yinglish or Yiddish inflected speech in English); folk idioms, including street-wise Yiddish with its famous cursing talent, and Yiddish song (a rich musical repertoire born in Jewish Eastern Europe, which now has a home in the contemporary klezmer scene). Through all these mechanisms, students walk away from 101 with a foundational knowledge of Yiddish as a once vital, and still enduring linguistic and cultural phenomenon.
YIDD 351 Jewish New York
Gina Glasman | TR 5:00-6:30pm | D, H, T, *USD, W
Cross listed: JUST 351, EEES 380X, GERM 380Q, HIST 380B, RUSS 380C
A study of ethnic, urban, and material history with a focus on Yiddish speaking, Eastern European immigrant society, and the story of its arrival into America鈥檚 signature metropolis at the turn of the twentieth century. With this broad canvas in mind, we will tackle themes that have a particular as well as universal resonance, such as the collective imagining of home for those who are newly displaced, and of newer identities embraced with the abandonment of the old. To wrap our minds around this historical purpose, we will turn to an eclectic mix of sources: literature and film, urban architecture and everyday objects will become our tools to excavate an emergent 鈥淣ew York-ish鈥 world in all its distinctive detail.
YIDD 380A Shtetl Photography
Gina Glasman | TR 1:30-3:00pm | C, H, *A
Cross listed: JUST 380D, EEES 380E, GERM 380A, GMAP 381C, HIST 386W, RUSS 380D
We Were This Once: Shtetl Photography, Family Memory and Ethnic Self-Representation
The advent of accessible and affordable forms of photographic technology in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries has transformed the ways that people record and remember their own lives. In quick measure, vernacular forms of photography, such as the formal studio picture, or the 鈥渟elfie,鈥 graced the walls of ordinary homes or were pasted into family albums. These repositories of private memory will be the focus of our study in class, as we think through the implications of this once novel cultural artifact, and its transformative effect on individual and collective notions of visual self-representation. With this last theme in mind, we will also consider the broader cultural and social history of photography in relation to Yiddish (Jewish Eastern European) and other comparable urban minority societies, especially from an American perspective.
HEBREW
HEBR 101 Hebrew I
Orly Shoer | MTWR 9:45-10:45am | WL1, FYA | Cross listed: HEBR 501
Hebrew 101 is the first semester of Modern Hebrew. The course is designed only for students with very little or no previous experience in the language. It offers a communicative introduction to Modern Hebrew language and its culture. It emphasizes all facets of the language 鈥 comprehension, speech, reading, grammar and writing. The focus of instruction is on enabling students to develop basic vocabulary and communicative skills in Modern Hebrew centering on the students' immediate surroundings and simple daily activities. By the end of the course students will be able to read and write short stories, voice their opinion, converse and use basic grammar. Prerequisites: None
HEBR 203 Hebrew III
Orly Shoer | MWF 11:00am-12:00pm | WL3, FYA | Cross listed: HEBR 503
Hebrew 203 is the third course in the Modern Hebrew program sequence, and the last course needed to fulfill 麻豆社鈥檚 foreign language requirement. It focuses on increasing students' confidence in using the language in different social settings. This course is designed to advance the Hebrew learner to the intermediate-high level by introducing complex grammatical structure forms and sentences. Grammar teaching covers three of the main verb structures. The course concentrates on improving speaking, writing, as well as, working on text analysis and comprehension skills. Prerequisites: HEBR 102, a placement exam, or permission of the instructor.
HEBR 311 Texts and Conversations I
Orly Shoer | MWF 1:30-2:30pm | WL3 | Cross listed: HEBR 505
Hebrew 311 is an advanced-intermediate Hebrew language and culture course that is intended for students who wish to further develop their vocabulary building and practice all four language skills, with an emphasis on reading comprehension, grammar, syntax, composition, vocabulary building and conversation. Students will advance their Hebrew language skills through reading, discussing and writing about a variety of texts, with some emphasis placed on short articles. Prerequisites: HEBR 204, a placement exam, or permission of the instructor.
RELIGIOUS STUDIES
RELG 101 Religions of the World
Douglas Jones | MWF 2:45pm-3:45pm | H, *GL, FYA | Cross listed: JUST 100, AFST 180E, ANTH 180C
What does it mean to study various religions from an academic perspective? How do we, as outsiders at a public university, discuss different traditions responsibly? Answering questions like these and developing our skills as scholars of religion is of no small importance in an increasingly global society. This class will take a thematic approach to a number of traditions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Prominent themes include the history of Religious Studies as a discipline, religion and popular culture, religion and violence, the history of utopian thought, and the status of new and controversial movements across the globe.
RELG 180B Judaism, Christianity & Islam
Michael J. Kelly | TR 3:15-4:45pm | *C, *H, *GL, FYA | Cross listed: JUST 180F, MDVL 180P
This course introduces you to the historical, theological and religious origins, characters and beliefs of three intimately entangled systems: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Students will learn by reading the primary texts of the religions across a mix of lectures and seminars. No previous knowledge of Christianity, Judaism, Islam or foreign languages is required.
RELG 180D Intro to African Religion
Anthony Ephirim-Donkor | TR 8:00-9:00am | H, FYA | Cross listed: AFST 171, ANTH 280L, SOC 180A
E. A. Wallis Budge defined African religion as 鈥渢he worship of the souls of the dead, commonly called Ancestor Worship.鈥 Also, Diodorus, a Greek historian of the 1st Century BCE, stated that blacks or Ethiopians, 鈥渨ere the first of all men, and the proofs of this statement, they say, are manifest. For that they did not come into their land as immigrants from abroad but were natives of it, and so justly bear the name of 鈥榓utochthones鈥 is, they maintain, conceded by practically all men鈥. And they [i.e., the Greek historians relied on by Diodorus] say that they [i.e., the black peoples] were the first to be taught to honor the gods and to hold sacrifices and processions and festivals and other rites by which men honor the deity; and that in consequence their piety has been published abroad among all men, and it is generally held that the sacrifices practiced among the Ethiopians [i.e., the black peoples] are those which are the most pleasing to heaven.鈥 Thus, students are introduced to the nature and phenomenon of African religion, conceptions of God and gods and goddesses, ancestors and ancestor worship, elders, sacrifices and symbols, and rituals that offer meaning to the lives of Africans.
RELG 221 Philosophy and God
Instructor TBA | F 11:30am-2:30pm | FYA | Cross listed: JUST 280N, PHIL 280A
This introductory level survey course in philosophy of religion introduces students to the many approaches to and questions about God, the divine, and religion in the history of philosophy. Students will read a wide range of texts from Greek thought through existentialism. Topics may include: the nature of God, God鈥檚 possible attributes, human knowledge of God, the relationship between God, religion, and morality, the nature of faith, and the problem of evil.
RELG 280B Muslim Peoples Of The World
Moulay Ali Bouanani | MWF 8:30-9:30am | GL, H, I, T, FYA | Cross listed: AFST 236, HIST 285E
Islam as the last Abrahamic revelation appeared amongst the Arabs in Mecca with Mohammed who would tirelessly fight for its survival at the beginning. It would have its book, the Qur鈥檃n compiled during the Rashidun Khulafa鈥檚 time and as Muslims believe, is a correcting force of the Abrahamic texts before it. Islam would spread across Arabia in a very short time and cross to Persia and the Byzantine provinces between 632 and 640. Cross-disciplinary survey of selected Muslim peoples and organizations in Asia (including 鈥渢he Middle East鈥), Africa, Europe, Oceania and the United States and Latin America. The course will discuss Muslims living as minorities in non-Muslim majority states and the Modern Islamic diaspora in the West, including Australia and New Zealand. Chronologically, the course covers the period from the 7th to the 21st century.
RELG 280D UFO Religions
Douglas Jones | TR 11:45am-1:15pm | FYA
This course surveys UFO religions (and, to a lesser degree, Ufology and UFO enthusiasm) from the 1950s to the present. How do popular science and religion mix? What is the role of science fiction in the rise of modern religious movements that purportedly preach scientific 鈥渇act鈥? How has the rise of the internet and social media impacted UFO religions in the 21st century? Topics include the rise of the New Age, scholarship on cults and new religions, Ra毛lianism, the Aetherius Society, the Church of All Worlds, Heaven鈥檚 Gate, and so-called invented religions like Matrixism and Jediism.
RELG 280E Asian Mythology
Kristina Buhrman | MWF 12:15-1:15pm | FYA | Cross listed: AAAS 181A
A survey of the myths and their traditions across Asia, spread over four geographical areas of South Asia, East Asia, Inner Asia and Mongolia, and Southeast Asia. We will examine myths in translation, visual arts and ritual performance to look for cultural specifics as well as larger themes concerning the role of mythology in human cultures. We will compare definitions of myth; discuss the relationship between myths and religion, myths and politics; and explore mythology as a cultural and psychological resource. Modern adaptations of selected myths (movies, animation, and video games) will also be included. No prerequisites.
RELG 320 Protestant Christianity
Douglas Jones | MWF 9:45-10:45am | C, H, T
This course considers the Protestant tradition within Christianity from its origins in the Renaissance and Reformation to its unique expression in the United States. Along the way, we explore some of Protestantism's major themes, including justification by faith, the literal sense of scripture, and the priesthood of all believers. We also consider some of the social and political ramifications of reform, starting with the Peasants' Revolt in the 1520s and ending with the role of evangelicalism in contemporary political discourse. Other themes include the role of women in ministry, the lives of LGBTQ Christians, the rise of various forms of sectarianism and nondenominationalism, and, finally, the global phenomenon of the contemporary prosperity gospel. Note: If you have taken RELG 120 you will not receive credit for taking RELG 320.
RELG 380D African Kingship
Anthony Ephirim-Donkor | TR 11:45am-1:15pm | H | Cross listed: AFST 367
As living ancestors, kings and queens in Africa were鈥攁nd are鈥攕een as socio-political and spiritual leaders. However, this view of kingship has undergone significant changes in recent centuries, to the extent that nowadays traditional rulers do not enjoy the same temporal power and authority as was in the past. The reason for the changing dynamics of African kingship is colonialism. Thus the course examines African concepts of divine kingship, systems of succession, kingship rites, Western contact with African leaders, and how Europeans used policies like assimilation, association, and direct and indirect rules to undermine the power and authority of traditional rulers.
RELG 380E Christ & Jews in Islamic Spain
Moulay Ali Bouanani | TR 5:00-6:30pm | H, I, T, GL | Cross listed: JUST 380E, AFST 370, SOC 380L
This course acquaints students with the contribution of Muslims, Christians and Jews to Al-Andalus (Islamic Spain & Portugal), from the eighth century to the 1400's. In the Islamic far west, Andalusian society was different from what existed in the Arabic-Islamic East and far more developed and sophisticated than any civilization Europe had known. During this time period, Al-Andalus was the most materially advanced area of Europe. Ethnic (Arabs, Iberians, North Africans) and religious minorities such as Christian Muwallads and Mozarabs enjoyed a high degree of tolerance and, like the Jews, formed prosperous and erudite communities. Women were, with the exception of those of Baghdad, the envy of even other Arabic-Muslim women. Cordoba was the most splendid city on the European continent with magnificent buildings, gardens, libraries, baths. There was a stable political system that facilitated opulence, education, beautiful homes, well-designed cities and towns, art and scholarship. This course will examine the civilization and culture of Islamic Spain and the contribution of each of the religious groups to its greatness.
RELG 380G Religion & AI
Michael J. Kelly | TR 11:45am-1:15pm | *C, *I, *O | Cross listed: JUST 380G
Course description TBA
RELG 480A Japanese Ghosts & Monsters
Kristina Buhrman | F 8:15-11:15am | C, N | Cross listed: AAAS 481T
From bird-men and sentient tea kettles to Pokemon, Japanese visual and literary culture is teeming with strange and fantastic creatures. This seminar introduces students to the variety of oral, written, and particularly visual sources for Japanese views of the fantastical. We will cover the foundations of the study of folklore, the history of the field in Japan, and how the otherworldly and monstrous was depicted in medieval, early modern, and modern Japan. Sources encountered in class include visual culture, ethnographic description, and works of literary fiction. Students will learn about the interaction between elite and popular culture, and between popular culture and national identity. After a guided introduction to the analysis of folklore, students will undertake their own original research project on Japanese ghosts and monsters, and produce a paper describing an aspect of early modern or modern Japanese culture reflected in the Japanese fantastical using ethnographic or folklore methodologies.
SUMMER 2026
Summer classes are asyncronous and online, more details here.
YIDD 351 / JUST 351 Jewish New York
Gina Glasman | J, D, T | Term: S1
A study of ethnic, urban, and material history with a focus on Yiddish speaking, Eastern
European immigrant society and the story of its arrival into America鈥檚 signature metropolis
at the turn of the twentieth century. With this broad canvas in mind, we will tackle
themes that have a particular as well as universal resonance, such as the collective
imagining of home for those who are newly displaced, and of newer identities embraced
with the abandonment of the old. To wrap our minds around this historical purpose,
we will turn to an eclectic mix of sources: literature and film, urban architecture
and everyday objects will become our tools to excavate an emergent 鈥淣ew York-ish鈥
world in all its distinctive detail.
RELG 380A / JUST 380A God?
Randy Friedman | C, H | Term: S1
How do we conceptualize the divine? How does God/s function in religion? What if anything can we know about the Divine? This online, asynchronous Summer seminar will explore a set of intriguing intellectual questions drawn from Judaism, American transcendentalism, and other philosophical, poetic, and religious traditions. No background in any religious tradition is necessary or required for this course. We will examine central theological questions in philosophy or religion, including knowledge of the divine, the nature of revelation, religious experience, and the relation between God, humans, and nature. Students will also examine critical philosophy of religion through readings drawn from critical race theory and feminist theology. We will read both Hebrew Biblical and philosophical texts in which these questions are central concerns, including excerpts from Book of Job, Genesis 22, and Isaiah; Philosophical texts will include work by Plato, Maimonides, Spinoza, David Hume, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and John Dewey. In addition to exploring theology in terms of philosophy, we will also examine broader methodological questions about how religion and religious texts are studied in a university.
RELG 101 / JUST 100 Religions of the World
Douglas Jones | GL, H | Term: S2
What does it mean to study various religions from an academic perspective? How do we, as outsiders at a public university, discuss different traditions responsibly? Answering questions like these and developing our skills as scholars of religion is of no small importance in an increasingly global society. This class will take a thematic approach to a number of traditions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Prominent themes include the history of Religious Studies as a discipline, religion and popular culture, religion and violence, the history of utopian thought, and the status of new and controversial movements across the globe.
RELG 280J / JUST 280J Catholicism
Michael J. Kelly | W, FYA | Term: S2
Catholicism is one of the oldest continuous forms of Christianity in the world. In this class, you will learn core aspects of the long history of Catholicism and what makes it unique as a religion, a theology, and a social movement.
SPRING 2026
Mini Courses | Judaic Studies | Israel Studies | Yiddish | Hebrew | Religious Studies
MINI COURSES
These 2 credit mini courses will run from March 23 - May 6.
JUST 281A Jewish Stories: It's Been Fun
C. Beth Burch | MW 1:30-3:30pm | W
The Jewish story or tale is vital to Jewish tradition, for as the saying goes, 鈥淕鈥恉 made man because He loves stories.鈥 The Jewish Short Story explores the genre of the Jewish short story as it evolves from folktale to contemporary art form. We will study technical aspects of the short story (character, setting, plot, etc.) and read deeply to examine how these short pieces of fiction articulate Jewish life, history, and tradition through the centuries, including our own. All stories will be in English, some in translation.
JUST 281C Antisemitism Then and Now
Allan Arkush | MW 4:15-6:15pm | W
This course will survey the history of antisemitism from antiquity to the present. It will examine Greek and Roman antagonism toward the Jews, Christian and Muslim theological animus toward them, and the emergence in modern Europe and the United States of secular antisemitic ideologies and movements. It will conclude with a consideration of the relationship between antisemitism and anti-Zionism.
JUDAIC STUDIES
JUST 111 Philosophy of Religion
Randy Friedman | MW 9:45-11:15am | H, T, FYA, W | Cross listed: RELG 111, PHIL 111, COLI 180L
This introductory course will explore the many philosophical questions which emerge
from a study of religious thought. Topics will include the nature of religious subjectivity,
divinity, prayer, sacrifice, and faith. We will study some central biblical and non-Western
stories and narratives and literary, philosophical, and theological responses to them.
Students will practice techniques of textual exegesis and directly engage texts.
JUST 140 Survey of American Jewish Lit
C. Beth Burch | R 4:30-7:30pm | C, H, FYA | Cross listed: ENG 180B, COLI 180R
Through the Golden Door: Survey of American Jewish Literature: This course traces
through literature the realities and challenges of being Jewish in America from after
the Civil War to the present. We will read in all genres, exploring topics such as
the immigrant experience, acculturation and assimilation, anti-Semitism, generational
conflicts and differences, gender issues, and continuing themes in the body of work.
Quizzes, short pieces of writing, mid-term examination, and final examination.
JUST 180B History of Holocaust
Eliyana Adler | MW 12:15-1:15pm | D, I, N, T, FYA, W | Cross listed: HIST 181C, EEES 181C
This course will provide the crucial historical context for understanding the genesis
and development of genocide in mid-century Europe. We will also look at the responses
of different victim groups, both during and after the Holocaust.
JUST 202 Jewish History 1500 to Modernity
Allan Arkush | TR 1:30-3:00pm | G, N, I, T, FYA | Cross listed: HIST 285E
This course surveys the major historical developments encountered by Jewish communities
beginning with the Spanish Expulsion in 1492 up until the present day. We will first
explore the features of the 鈥渆arly modern鈥 period, such as mercantilism and large-scale
demographic shifts, and chart the ways in which they transformed the traditional position
of the Jew in society. We will then shift to the modern period, which saw a dramatic
reordering of political, social, economic, and cultural life. We will study the various
ways in which Jews across the world engaged with emerging notions of nationality,
equality, and citizenship, as well as with new ideologies such as liberalism, socialism,
nationalism, imperialism and antisemitism. We will examine differing patterns of
acculturation and assimilation, as Jews adopted numerous ways to negotiate the tension
between the 鈥減articular鈥 and the 鈥渦niversal.鈥 By focusing both on European Jewry as
well as the Jewish communities of the Middle East and North Africa, we will chart
not one all-encompassing model of Jewish modernity, but a more complex story that
unfolded from Marrakesh to Berlin, from Istanbul to Vilna and beyond. This course
satisfies the core and survey requirements for Judaic Studies majors and minors.
JUST 280G Sephardic Roots & Routes
Dina Danon & Bryan Kirschen | TR 11:45am-1:15pm | N, T, WL2, CEL, FYA |
Cross listed: HIST 285C, SPAN 281A
This interdisciplinary course foregrounds the language and history of Sephardi Jews,
or Jews who were expelled from the Iberian Peninsula in 1492 and later dispersed across
the Mediterranean. From the perspective of language, Professor Kirschen will guide
students in learning Judeo-Spanish, commonly known as Ladino, the vernacular used
by Sephardi Jews in the lands of their dispersion until the present day. Students
will also have the opportunity to meet and interact with contemporary speakers of
the language. Professor Danon will introduce students to the historical experiences
of Sephardi Jews, covering key topics spanning from the medieval 鈥淕olden Age,鈥 the
Expulsion, the reconstitution of Sephardi communities in Ottoman lands, the rise of
new nation states, and the Holocaust. Students will gain not only proficiency in an
endangered language that spans the Jewish and Hispanophone worlds, but also wide-ranging
exposure to a rich and often-overlooked civilization that thrived for hundreds of
years. This course will be taught in English; no prior knowledge of Hebrew or Spanish
is necessary.
JUST 280J Intermediate Persian I
Omid Ghaemmaghami | MW 9:45-11:15am | FYA | Cross listed: PERS 203
This course advances students from the high-elementary to the intermediate level in
reading, writing, speaking, and listening Persian. Building on PERS 102/502, students
expand their vocabulary and mastery of core grammar (including compound verbs, past
and future narration, the subjunctive, relative clauses, and register shifts between
colloquial and formal Persian). Classwork emphasizes paragraph-level communication:
students read and discuss short authentic texts (news items, essays, dialogues, and
brief literary excerpts), write summaries and short compositions, and engage in pair/group
tasks that develop conversational fluency and narrative ability across everyday and
academic topics. Audio-visual materials鈥攎usic, film clips, and contemporary media鈥攁re
integrated to strengthen comprehension and deepen cultural understanding of practices
and perspectives in Iran and other Persian-speaking societies. Successful completion
of PERS 102/502 (Elementary Persian II) or equivalent proficiency is required. Completion
of PERS 203 fulfills the World Languages WL3 (third-level course) General Education
requirement and also meets a requirement of the major and minor tracks in Middle East
Studies (MES).
JUST 284E AncientMiddleEast: FromTheEast
John Starks | TR 3:15-4:45pm | G, I, N, T, FYA | Cross listed: ARAB 281A, AMS 283A, HIST 285A, PERS 280A, ANTH 280M
In this social and cultural history course, student and instructor will investigate
the extensive achievements, complex power networks and rivalries, and significant
challenges discernible for several major cultures of what Greeks and later 鈥淲estern鈥
writers termed 鈥渢he East,鈥 based on their own biases about their own exceptional qualities
and the 鈥渙therness/alterity鈥 of cultures to their geographic east. While guided by
expert contemporary scholars through archaeological and historical study of these
cultures鈥 documents, literatures (when extant), and material artifacts, and the extensive
writings of their Greek, Roman, Israelite/Judaic, and other rivals, we will seek to
understand 鈥淧hoenicians,鈥 Carthaginians, 鈥淪yrians鈥 (broadly construed, as in antiquity),
and Persians, and from their own perspectives, as often as possible; this will always
require critical filtering of the elite and inimical biases, inside and outside their
cultures, that still influence perceptions of these powerful ancient civilizations
which, at one time or another, exerted their own imperial control and cultural influence
over wide expanses around the Mediterranean from the late second millennium BCE to
the fifth century CE and beyond, in some form. Investigations will include delving
into all aspects of daily life: religion and traditions; politics, law and governmental
systems; warfare and diplomacy; economics, labor, crafts, and trade; languages; ethnic
identity, suppression, and adaption; socioeconomic differentials in autocratic, oligarchic/plutocratic,
and enslaving societies; arts and entertainment; urban planning and architecture,
public, monumental, private, and domestic; gender and sexuality; health and living
conditions; modes of dress and gesture/expression; aging, death, and memorialization.
To this end, we will utilize modern and contemporary artistic, literary, musical,
and cinematic/visual performance materials to interrogate the pervasive reach of 鈥淥rientalism鈥
in shaping, re-molding, and warping impressions and understandings of these cultures
and their later ancestors to the detriment of global peace, interdependence, and human
rights. Students will show their command of material and learning outcomes through
extensive readings and daily class discussion/debate, regular quizzes, two term essay
exams, and a short, group project on a documentary, epigraphical, or material object
independent investigation on a topic regarding one of these or other cultures in the
larger geographic regions studied during the term, which will be shared on the final
exam day.
JUST 343 Post Holocaust Literature
Paul W. Burch | T 4:30-7:30pm | C, H | Cross listed: ISRL 386K, COLI 331F, ENG 380W
This course addresses primarily fiction and memoir written after the Holocaust by second-
and third-generation descendants of survivors of the Shoah. Central to our reading
will be issues of representation, authenticity, the role of memory, the problems and
limits of language, questions of trauma, the phenomenon of post-memory, and the development
of post-Holocaust Jewish identities. Note: Not appropriate for first-year students.
JUST 352 American Jewish Thought
Randy Friedman | MW 1:30-3:00pm | C, D, H, T, USD | Cross listed: RELG 380D
This course offers both a historical and a theological study of the American Jewish
community, from its origins through contemporary times. We engage central historical
and sociological studies of American Jews in relation to Protestant, Catholic, and
Baptist Americans, as well as other minority groups. We will also examine central
philosophical and theological texts in American Judaism. Students will also read short
works of American Jewish literature. We will examine how specific Judaic thinkers
transform aspects of the Judaic tradition to fit the challenges of religious life
in the modern and democratic age, and the response(s) to this transformation. Questions
include: the relationship between theology and democratic culture, challenges to inherited
religious traditions, the influence of feminist thought on religious practice, and
the place and function of religious authority. The final third of the term will be
spent analyzing rabbinic rulings on homosexuality and same-sex marriage.
JUST 380U 鈥 Jews, Family & Sex in E.ModWor
Jonathan Karp | MW 5:00-6:30pm | G, W | Cross listed: HIST 381V
This course surveys the entirety of the early modern Jewish world, particularly Christian
Europe and the Ottoman Mediterranean and Middle East, discussing the family as an
institution within Jewish law, the promulgation of sexual norms and deviations from
them, and the institutions of marriage and child rearing. We will consider the perception
of continuity in Jewish family structures over long periods of time as measured against
the palpable influence of the institutions and practices of the non-Jewish communities
among which Jews lived, with special emphasis on the place of women in Jewish societies.
We will also look at the impact of kabbalah, asceticism, and messianic movements on
sexual attitudes and practices. The course utilizes rabbinic legal literature, including
responsa, ethical musar texts, mystical writings, and the handful of surviving memoirs,
among other sources. No previous knowledge of Jewish history is assumed or required.
This course meets Judaic Studies major/minor survey requirements.
JUST 384D Nazi Culture
Harald Zils | MW 5:00-6:30pm | H, W | Cross listed: GERM 380X, HIST 381Q, COLI 381R, GMAP 381N
The National Socialists' takeover of Germany had enormous impact on society. This
also included the transformation of the cultural sphere: the complete takeover of
German film production by the regime; the persecution of authors, artists and intellectuals;
the banning of numerous works; the 鈥淕leichschaltung鈥 of schools, universities, publishers
and other cultural institutions. As part of their war of conquest, the Nazis soon
wanted to control the cultural production of all of occupied Europe. At this point,
the regime's influence had already spread into everyday German life, even leading
to the development of a unique form of medicine, supposedly a better fit for Aryan
bodies. The course examines the impact of the political on the cultural. What measures
did the new rulers use to ensure the new direction of social discourse? How did the
established institutions respond? Was there resistance -- and if so, what did it look
like? We analyze primary sources: Propaganda films such as 鈥淗itlerjunge Quex,鈥 鈥淭riumph
of the Will,鈥 and 鈥淚 Accuse,鈥 decrees and laws, newspaper articles, radio programs
and private diary entries of the 鈥渋nner exile,鈥 as well as excerpts from literary
texts that carefully skirted censorship. Course taught in English.
JUST 384G Bitcoin & Jewish History
Michael J. Kelly | MW 3:15-4:45pm | H, I, O | Cross listed: ISRL 385A, HIST 385L
In this course, students will learn what blockchain, crypto and the decentralization
movement are and what they can mean for History and the Humanities, with Jewish History
as our historical case study. The next stage in the development of the Digital Humanities
is its integration of distributed ledger technology in the form of blockchain. The
Humanities are only beginning to think about how to productively communicate with
and deploy the world of blockchain and its decentralized technology and political
mission in its profession. But what is already clear is that blockchain and its array
of tools will force the Humanities and Higher Education as a whole to rethink and
transform or face becoming outmoded and disconnected from the public, becoming historical
relics instead of historical agents. But, how precisely will blockchain decentralize
History and the Humanities, and what will this mean for Jewish History?
JUST 385C 鈥 Jews and Others in US PopMusic
Jonathan Karp | MW 3:15-4:45pm | D, N, W | Cross listed: HIST 380G
American Jews have played a prominent if not predominant role in the development of
twentieth-century popular music. What distinguishes the Jewish contribution is that
it was divided almost equally between the creative and business sides of the music
industry. This course broadly surveys the history of modern American popular music,
from ragtime to hip-hop, and examines how producing music for sale offers insights
into key dimensions of American life, including ethnic and race relations, shifts
in the realm of fashion and style, in gender identities and sexuality, and the transformative
force of American capitalism. No technical background or specific knowledge of pop
music history is assumed or required. But we will listen to a lot of it!
JUST 432 Sephardi Diasporas
Dina Danon | R 4:30-7:30pm | C, G, I, N, T | Cross listed: HIST 441, HIST 560B
Sephardi Diasporas Professor Dina Danon Spring 2026 Course Description: This course
traces the Sephardi community from its medieval origins until the present day. Starting
with al-Andalus and the 鈥淕olden Age鈥 of Spain, we will track developments such as
the Reconquista, the Inquisition, and the Expulsion of 1492. We will then follow the
paths Sephardi took Jews after the Expulsion, to both western Europe and the Americas
and to Ottoman lands. Among the themes we will discuss in this post-Expulsion period
are the emergence of converso and crypto-Jewish identities as well as the importance
of mercantile and kinship networks. Moving to the Ottoman Empire, we will trace the
reconstitution of Sepharadi in the lands of Islam and the establishment of a Ladino-speaking
heartland in the eastern Mediterranean. Moving to the modern period, we will study
how Sephardi Jews navigated the profound political and cultural changes of the modern
period, among them westernization, colonialism, and nationalism. We will explore the
dislocation wrought by the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire in the wake of World
War I through the eyes of its Sephardi subjects, and then study their devastating
and often forgotten experience of the Holocaust. Finally, we will study the position
of Sephardi and 鈥淥riental鈥 Jews in the State of Israel as well as in 21st century
Jewish communities across the globe.
JUST 441 Holocaust Fiction
Paul W. Burch | R 4:30-7:30pm | C, H | Cross listed: ISRL 385B, COLI 480T, ENG 450Y
Issues of memory, representation, and voice are addressed in the reading of Holocaust
fiction. The class reads through the prism of the literature of witness novels and
short stories鈥攎ost by Holocaust survivors鈥攊ncluding works by Appelfeld, Fink, Borowski,
Grynberg, Lustig, Nomberg- Przytyk, Rawicz, Kosinski, and Wiesel. Several short papers,
mid-term examination, and final examination are required. Accompanied by a speaker/lecture
series. Notes: prerequisite, sophomore standing; not appropriate for first-year students.
Required texts may include: Lawrence Langer, Art from the Ashes (Anthology), Piotr
Rawicz, Blood from the Sky, Jerzy Kosi艅ski, The Painted Bird, Elie Wiesel, Gates of
the Forest, Hans Keilson, The Death of the Adversary, David Grossman, See Under: Love,
Andr茅 Schwarz-Bart, The Last of the Just.
JUST 480E Women and the Holocaust
Eliyana Adler | MW 3:15-4:45pm | C, D | Cross listed: HIST 572A, HIST 485A, WGSS 480H, GMAP 538E, EEES 480A
This course will offer students the opportunity and ability to explore the roles of
gender and sexuality in Holocaust Studies. Specifically, we will focus on two distinct
but related questions. Firstly, is it possible to study women鈥檚 experience during
the Holocaust? Secondly, if so, how does that knowledge advance our understanding
of the larger event?
ISRAEL STUDIES
ISRL 180A First-year Arabic II
Farida Badr | Section 01 MTWR 9:45-10:45am, Section 02 MTWR 11:00am-12:00pm | WL2, FYA | Cross listed: ARAB 102
This course is the second in a sequence of courses in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), the language of all official forms of communication and media throughout the Arab world, the register of Arabic taught in countries where Arabic is an official language, the liturgical language of more than two billion Muslims worldwide and millions of Arab Christians, and one of the six official languages of the United Nations. In this course, students will continue to acquire basic skills in the areas of speaking, reading, writing, and listening. They will further develop the ability to speak about themselves, their lives, and their environment; to initiate and sustain conversations on daily-life topics with educated native speakers; to read simple, authentic texts on familiar topics; to write formal notes and sentences on subjects connected to daily life; to comprehend and produce accurately the basic sentence structures of Arabic; and to understand aspects of Arab culture connected to everyday life, including culturally significant idioms used among friends and acquaintances and important expressions for polite interaction with speakers of Arabic. Prerequisite: successful completion of ARAB 101/501 or the equivalent level of proficiency as determined in advance by the Undergraduate Director.
ISRL 205 Becoming Israeli
Lior Libman | TR 11:45am-1:15pm | D, H, T, FYA | Cross listed: JUST 205, COLI 280F
At the center of Becoming Israeli stands a protagonist in the process of becoming: a youngster being educated, learning about themselves, about the world, and about life, overcoming obstacles, maturing, forming their identity. In this class, we will explore the thematic and structural characteristics of such narratives, focusing on Israeli examples in their historical and cultural contexts. We will look at tensions between the individual and their society in the moral and psychological development of the protagonist, and will delve into questions of national affinities, class, gender and sexuality in their passage from childhood to adulthood. The course is an Area Course in Literature for the Minor in Israel Studies, a Literature Course for the Major/Minor in Hebrew, and an Area Course in Israel Studies for the Major/Minor in Judaic Studies.
ISRL 215 Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Shay Rabineau | WF 9:45-11:15am | G, N, FYA | Cross listed: JUST 215, HIST 285B, ARAB 280A
Israel-Palestine comprises the territory that lies between the Mediterranean Sea (on the west), Lebanon (in the north), the Gulf of Aqaba and the Sinai Peninsula (on the south) and the Jordan River (on the east). Although it covers a small geographic area and includes a relatively small population (compare present-day Israel's 8 million citizens with Egypt's 90 million), the dispute between the two rival sets of nationalisms which claim the sole right to control this territory has remained at the forefront of international attention for more than half a century. This course will examine the origins of the Arab-Israeli dispute from the mid-nineteenth century through the founding of the state of Israel and expulsion/flight of three quarters of a million Palestinians from their homes till the present day. Among the topics to be examined: the social history of Palestine up to Zionist colonization, the origins of Zionism and Palestinian nationalism, varieties of Zionism, Zionism and colonialism, seminal events and their consequent symbolic connotations (the 1936 "Great Revolt," the 1948 "Nakba" [disaster]) and creation of the state of Israel, the construction of a national consensus in Israel, 1967 and its aftermath, the intifada, and the redefinition of the conflict as a result of Oslo, the second intifada, the security fence, HAMAS, Hizbollah and the Lebanon War.
ISRL 227 Israeli Cultures
Talia Katz | TR 1:30-3:00 pm | N, G, T, FYA | Cross listed: JUST 227, ARAB 280D, ANTH 280P, HMRT 289X
This course uses the anthropological method to explore how identity and difference are lived and produced in modern Israel. In contrast to media accounts that often reinscribe generalized figures of 鈥渢he Israeli鈥 or 鈥渢he Palestinian,鈥 this course engages ethnography, social history, film, and literature to investigate the fine grains of experience within a diversity of communities. These include 鈥 but are not limited to 鈥 Holocaust survivors, Palestinian citizens of Israel, the ultra-Orthodox, immigrants from the former Soviet Union, African asylum seekers, and Thai migrant workers. We begin by examining the foundational displacements and migrations that shaped the contours and categories of contemporary Israeli society. We then explore how individuals and communities navigate and respond to these forces in their everyday lives. No prior background required, all are welcome. Note: "Israeli Cultures" and "Cultures and Society in Israel" are the same course and may not be repeated for credit.
ISRL 280A Second-year Arabic II
Farida Badr | MTWR 1:30-2:30pm | WL3, FYA | Cross listed: ARAB 204
ISRL 280A is the fourth in a sequence of courses in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), the language of all official forms of communication and media throughout the Arab world, the register of Arabic taught in countries where Arabic is an official language, the liturgical language of more than two billion Muslims worldwide and millions of Arab Christians, and one of the six official languages of the United Nations. In this course, students will continue to acquire more vocabulary and learn fundamental morphological and syntactical structures that allow them to express themselves and respond to communication with ease in predictable situations; request and provide information; write and speak comprehensibly at the sentence level; read basic texts through making use of contextual knowledge and familiar vocabulary; and listen to and comprehend simple and straightforward speech鈥攐ne utterance at a time. As no language exists in a vacuum, learning about Arab culture will constitute an integral component of this course. Prerequisite: successful completion of ARAB 203/503 or the equivalent level of proficiency as determined in advance by the Undergraduate Director.
ISRL 324 The Kibbutz in Israeli Culture
Lior Libman | TR 3:15-4:45pm | D, H, T | Cross listed: JUST 385B
The course focuses on representations of the kibbutz, a unique Israeli social formation which aimed at combining Zionism and Socialism, nation-building and the construction of a new, just society. Throughout the past hundred years, the kibbutz has been portrayed in countless literary texts and visual images. In this class, we will analyze and discuss selected literary and cinematic works from different genres and periods to examine the history of the kibbutz-image and the relationship between it and the kibbutz鈥檚 history, while also asking, in a broader context, how social and political visions are shaped in, and are shaping, images. Texts will be read in translation. No previous knowledge is required, but for students who took Intro to Israeli Lit. This course will be a continuation of their studies. The course is an Area Course in Literature for the Minor in Israel Studies, a Literature Course for the Major/Minor in Hebrew, and an Area Course in Israel Studies for the Major/Minor in Judaic Studies.
ISRL 380B Translation, Media & Politics
Ahmad Ayyad | MF 11:45am-1:15pm | H, O, T, W | Cross listed: ARAB 380B, TRIP 380E, GMAP 381C
This course explores the complex intersections of translation, media, and political discourse in the Middle East. Students will examine how translation practices shape and are shaped by ideological struggles, contested narratives, and power dynamics across languages. Drawing on interdisciplinary frameworks from translation studies, media studies, and political discourse analysis, the course investigates how translation mediates ideologies, constructs narratives, and challenges power structures within a region historically shaped by linguistic tensions and geopolitical conflict. Through critical readings, media analysis, and case studies, students will develop a deeper understanding of translation as a politically charged act鈥攐ne that not only reflects but also constructs power relations and political meaning in the Middle East.
ISRL 380C Law & Life: Israel/Palestine
Talia Katz | TR 9:45-11:15am | I, N, D, T, W | Cross listed: JUST 380C, ARAB 380E, HMRT 389X, ANTH 380B, GMAP 381F
This upper-level seminar introduces students to concepts and methods in legal anthropology, focusing on conflict and mass atrocity in Israel/Palestine. As anthropologists in training, we will explore how law both shapes and is shaped by the societies and cultures in which it exists. Topics of study to include: the foundational place of Holocaust trials (e.g. Eichmann, Kastner) in crafting Israeli collective memory, the later shift from criminal to civil law in the adjudication of Nazi genocide, the creation of the Israeli military court system post-1967, the Oslo Peace Process, how international legal institutions as the ICC and ICJ shape local political discourses, and the tensions between the laws of military occupation and armed conflict. We will ask questions such as: what kinds of compromises do witnesses make when they testify to the 鈥榰nspeakable?鈥 What narratives are produced through the process of building a legal case, and how do these narratives reflect broader political or cultural discourses? How do different groups understand the failures of law, and what kinds of new institutions or practices do they create in response?
YIDDISH
YIDD 102 Yiddish II
Gina Glasman | MW 1:30-3:00pm | O, WL2, FYA
Cross listed: JUST 180A, GERM 281J, RUSS 280A, YIDD 502
Follows on from Yiddish 101 as students sharpen their linguistic skills with more complex sentence structure, a deeper knowledge of tenses and cases, and a broader vocabulary. In addition, we explore Yiddish culture through film, stories, folk sayings and the occasional joke! As always, lyrics from Yiddish popular songs provide the backbone of the class, and individual attention is a feature of the instruction. Note: interested students can join 102 directly without having taken 101. (Instructor permission needed.)
YIDD 280A The Story of Yiddish Cinema
Gina Glasman | TR 5:00-6:30pm | A, C, FYA
Cross listed: JUST 284A, GERM 281D, CINE 285K, RUSS 280D, EEES 280B
Yiddish cinema had its start in the silent movie era of the early twentieth century. Today, a movie with any Yiddish content is a rarity. But in between then and now, Yiddish cinema had a golden age, built upon the cultural appetites of the Jewish Eastern European heartlands, and its Yiddish-speaking, immigrant reinventions in New York City and beyond. Using a multi-disciplinary approach, this class will examine aspects of this ethnic film scene, and what it once meant (and even now means) to speak Yiddish in the 鈥渓anguage鈥 of cinema.
YIDD 354 Modern Yiddish Culture
Gina Glasman | TR 1:30-3:00pm | H, J | Cross listed: JUST 354, GERM 380K, RUSS 381D, EEES 354
In the half century before the Second World War, a Yiddish 颅speaking "Jewish Street" stretched from Buenos Aires to Boston, from London to Lodz, with many cities in between. What characterized the culture of this mostly urban and modernizing society is the subject of this class. Cinema and short stories, poetry and politics provide our vehicle to explore the world of Eastern European Jewry in a time of radical transformation and approaching catastrophe (all material is in English).
HEBREW
HEBR 102 Hebrew II
Orly Shoer | MTWR 9:45-10:45am | WL2, FYA | Cross listed: HEBR 502
Second semester of the communicative introduction to the language and its culture. Provides a thorough grounding in reading, writing, grammar, oral comprehension, and speaking. Prerequisites: HEBR 101 with a grade of C- or equivalent or permission of instructor.
HEBR 204 Intermediate Hebrew
Orly Shoer | MWF 11:00am-12:00pm | WL3, FYA | Cross listed: HEBR 504
Intermediate-level language and culture course with emphasis on the reading of literary and non-literary texts, grammar and writing. Prerequisite: HEBR 103 with a grade of C- or equivalent or permission of instructor.
HEBR 312 Texts and Conversations II
Orly Shoer | MWF 1:30-2:30pm | WL3 | Cross listed: HEBR 506
In this course students will advance their Hebrew language skills through reading, discussing and writing about a variety of short fiction and nonfiction texts and visual material. Writing practice and reviewing of grammar will be incorporated through the presented materials. Taught in Hebrew. Prerequisites: HEBR 204 with a grade of C- or equivalent or permission of instructor.
RELIGIOUS STUDIES
RELG 101 Religions of the World
Michael J. Kelly | MWF 11:00am-12:00pm | G, H, FYA | Cross listed: JUST 100, AFST 180E, ANTH 180C
What does it mean to study religion from a scholarly perspective? What is the difference
between finding truth by a religious facticity process (method) vs finding it through
an academic discipline's science? Answering questions like these and developing our
skills as students and researchers of religion is of no small importance in a society
competing over truth claims and "facts". This class will take a historical and theological
approach to a number of religious traditions with the aim of discovering the foundational
(mathematical?) connectivities of world religions.
RELG 280B Islamic Cultures in Africa
Moulay Ali Bouanani | MWF 9:45-10:45am | D, H, T, FYA | Cross listed: COLI 280J, SOC 280B, ANTH 280V, AFST 251, ARAB 281E
Islam has a rich cultural and artistic heritage in Africa. With a history that goes
back to the seventh century, it is now a vital part of the African cultural landscape.
This introductory course explores a range of Islamic cultural productions from the
advent of Islam to modern times by Muslim men and women in different regions of Africa
from North to South and from East to West. It will focus on religious didactic writings,
literature, music, architecture and documentary films in studying the syncretism of
Islam and indigenous African religions and/or cultures, and in highlighting the unifying
cultural influences of the religion. The course will also attend to the distinctive
character of the vast contemporary post-colonial cultural productions in music (religious
& profane), film, architecture and literature in large African metropolises with significant
Islamic populations, and it will devote attention to the underlying factors and issues
of artistic production of Muslims of Africa.
RELG 312 Radical Religious Movements
Douglas Jones | TR 11:45am-1:15pm | C, H, T
This course focuses on movements that are deemed radical by their contemporaries.
Topics will vary from week to week, though generally we will focus on the self-professed
religious identity of these movements alongside their relationship with the broader
religious culture. Do radical religions consider themselves radical? How do they communicate
with, or seek to influence, the mainstream? Major themes include the proliferation
of utopian and messianic movements in the seventeenth-century, socialism and religion,
religion and violence, religion and suicide, the anti-cult movement in America, and
the relatively recent appearance of sci-fi religions. Students who took RELG 212 course
will not receive credit for 312.
RELG 361 Bible and Its Interpretations
Douglas Jones | MWF 1:30-2:30pm | C, H | Cross listed: JUST 361
This survey course takes a comparative approach to the history of biblical interpretation
by looking at diverse communities within the Jewish and Christian traditions. How
have these communities used the Bible to understand their place in history, address
present tribulations, and even predict the future? What major conflicts have arisen
over the issue of interpretation? Some topics include the theme of movement in the
Torah and rabbinical tradition, 18th and 19th century biblical scholarship, the meaning
of allegory in Catholic and Protestant interpretation, and the so-called literal sense
of scripture. We will also close by considering the issue of biblical interpretation
as it relates to new religious movements in America.
RELG 380B Gods, Kings, and Emperors
Kristina Buhrman | TR 3:15-4:45pm | N | Cross listed: PLSC 389Y, MDVL 381A, AAAS 381A
An exploration of the concept of divine or blessed rulership, or sacred kings, from
god-kings to anointed politicians in the modern day. This course will introduce examples
from Asian history, from the earliest examples of priest-kings in pre-Imperial China,
to the divine Emperor of pre-war Japan, to contemporary Thai kings and the cult of
modern dictators, as in North Korea. We will examine a number of case studies, comparing
them to divine rulers in other parts of the world and various historical periods,
from Mesopotamia to medieval Europe and to 20th-century revolutionary leaders during
the end of the colonial period in Africa and the Middle East. The ways in which concepts
of divinely-mandated rule can be used against leaders will be one topic of study,
as will the boundary between humans and divine beings. Through these examples we will
investigate how leaders take or maintain power, and how they motivate followers to
action. No prerequisites required.
RELG 380H Religion in the Age of Trump
Douglas Jones | MWF 9:45-10:45am | H, T, W | Cross listed: HIST 380E, PLSC 382O
The basic assumption behind this course is that American Christianity has evolved in new and unexpected ways, beginning roughly with Trump's first term as President of the United States. The goal is to understand the diverse expressions of Christianity that both support and critically engage with MAGA culture. Over the course of the semester, we will consider the evolution of prophetic and charismatic Christianity, reevaluate the so-called "spirit of capitalism" in a 21st-century context, listen to religious voices on the right and left that seek to bring religion firmly into the public square, and trace the role of prosperity theology, positive thinking, practical antinomianism, and online sermonizing in our emerging religious landscape.