Introduction to Jewish History and Civilization
![Text Box: Course Overview
The course provides a general introduction to Judaism in its many ancient and modern expressions. Students are introduced both to the historical narrative of the Jewish people and the beliefs and practices of the Jewish religion. Special attention is paid to identifying the diverse forms of Judaism and what unites them all as Jewish. We also attempt to understand the social, literary, historical, and cultural influences that have helped shape the varieties of Jewish traditions. The central ideas and motifs of Judaism to be addressed include: the Jewish Bible and rabbinic literature, theology, law, messianism, Jewish culture and identity, the synagogue, ritual and worship, Jewish nationalism, and Judaism in America. Students engage with these topics through reading a wide selection of primary texts in translation, multimedia, and classroom discussion. Our study of contemporary Judaism will also draw upon “real-time” data such as the Internet, YouTube, and more.
Textbooks
Dan Cohn-Sherbok, Judaism: History, Belief, and Practice (London: Routledge: 2003) ISBN (paper) 0415236614 [Cohn-Sherbok]
Dana Evan Kaplan, ed. The Cambridge Companion to American Judaism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005) ISBN (paper) 0521529514 [Kaplan]
Course Requirements
Midterm exam (20%)
Final exam (25%)
Short writing assignments (45%)
Participation and attendance (10%)
Writing Assignments
For the 1034 students, there will be four short (4-5 pp.) writing assignments for this course. For the 3034 students, there will be a fifth research assignment (4-5 pp.).
A brief description of the assignments and their methods are described here. Follow links for more detailed directions.
Note that papers 1-3 have a mandatory “peer-review” day linked to them. Students will be expected to come to class with a summary of their findings and a draft of their paper to share with other students.
Assignment 1: “Tracing the Threads of Jewish Biblical Interpretation”
This assignment will call upon you to reconstruct the world of ancient Jewish interpretation of the Bible. You will be provided with a biblical passage and several different ancient Jewish interpretations regarding it. Your task will be to uncover the interpretive difficulties facing the ancient interpreter and identify the various techniques and strategies employed in response. No outside sources will be used.
Assignment 2: “Who is the “Jewish” Candidate in the 2008 Presidential Race?”
This assignment will ask you to assess which 2008 presidential candidate’s platform (including non-major parties) is most “Jewish.” In thinking about this issue, you will need to come up with a notion of what can be identified as a Jewish approach to, for example, economics, social issues, foreign-policy, etc. This is not about which candidate is better for the Jews (or Israel). Your knowledge of the candidates will come from their own websites or other material that they have published (i.e., no newspaper articles, blogs, etc.). Your construction of Judaism will draw from your textbooks and class discussion.
Assignment 3: “What is Judaism?: A Field Report”
Your paper will seek to answer the question: What is Judaism? Namely, what makes someone or something Jewish? What makes a group or community Jewish? What do Jews do? In order to answer these questions, you will turn to real-life source material (interviews with people and the Internet) in order to view Judaism in practice. No secondary sources will be utilized for this assignment
Assignment 4: “Synagogue Visit and Report”
This paper will require you to visit a local synagogue and observe Jewish ritual and practice in a real-time setting. I have made arrangements with several area synagogues for students to visit on specific days. Your reports will analyze aspects of the synagogue ritual, practice, architecture, social activity, and more.
Assignment 5 (only for 3034 students): “What does Judaism believe about…?”
For this paper, you will select one issue/topic/theme and research the Jewish perspective(s) on it. Your paper will draw upon biblical and rabbinic views (where applicable) and modern applications. You will be expected to use a limited amount of secondary sources.
Class Schedule (follow hyperlinks for daily PowerPoint lectures)
All readings should be done by the date on which they are listed.
1. What is Judaism: Introduction to Course
I. From the Bible to Rabbinic Judaism: The Textual Foundations of Judaism
2. What is the Jewish Bible?
Readings: Steven Weitzman, et al., The Jews: A History, 30-47
3. The Bible in Judaism
Reading: James Kugel, How to Read the Bible, 90-106, 120-28
4. From the Bible/Israel to Judaism
Readings: Cohn-Sherbok, 73-83
5. Judaism in the Hellenistic Period
Readings: Cohn-Sherbok, 84-101
6. The Varieties of Judaism in the Ancient World
Readings: Cohn-Sherbok, 102-15
7. The Adaptable Bible: Ancient Jewish Biblical Interpretation
Readings: Shaye Cohen, From the Maccabees to the Mishnah, 201-13
8. The Origins of Rabbinic Judaism
Readings: Cohn-Sherbok, 115-36
9. The Classics of Rabbinic Literature
Readings: Robert Seltzer, Judaism: A People and its History, 101-16
10. Paper One: Peer-Review Day
12. Paper One Due: Class discussion and debate
II. From Medieval to Modern: Church, State, and the Making of Modern Judaism
13. Jews in the Middle Ages I: Under the Crescent
Readings: Cohn-Sherbok, 139-53
14. Jews in the Middle Ages II: Under the Cross
Readings: Cohn-Sherbok, 154-74
15. Medieval Intellectual Models: Kabbalah and Philosophy
Readings: Cohn-Sherbok, 175-200, 205-9
16. The Challenge of Modernity
Readings: Cohn-Sherbok, 225-32, 253-58
17. Religious Reform and Counter-Reformation
Readings: Cohn-Sherbok, 259-72, 233-40
18. Anti-Semitism, the Modern State, and the Holocaust
Readings: Cohn-Sherbok, 273-77, 295-311
19. Emancipation and the Creation of the Jewish Citizen
Readings: Cohn-Sherbok, 241-52
20. Jewish Nationalism and the Jewish State
Readings: Cohn-Sherbok, 278-94
Paper Two: Peer-Review Day
21. A New Judaism is Born in America: Hester Street, Part 1
Readings: Kaplan, 23-42
22. A New Judaism is Born in America: Hester Street, Part 2
Readings: Kaplan, 43-60
22. Paper Two Due: Class discussion and debate
23. Midterm
III. Is There a Jewish Theology?
24. What does Judaism believe about…?
Readings: Cohn-Sherbok, 343-56, 391-403
25. Adapting Jewish Theologies
Readings: Cohn-Sherbok, 420-31, 456-60
26. Modern Theologies of Judaism Part 1
Readings: Readings: Cohn-Sherbok, 461-67, Kaplan, 81-100
27. Modern Theologies of Judaism Part 2
Readings: Kaplan, 117-32
28. Jews without Judaism: Ethnicity and modern Judaism
Readings: Kaplan, 169-85
29. Paper Three: Peer-Review Day
30. So, what does Judaism actually believe about … messianism?
Readings: Cohn-Sherbok, 449-55
31. Paper Three Due: Class discussion and debate
IV. Sacred Time, Spaces, and People
32. From Temple to Synagogue: Worship and Prayer in Classical Judaism
Readings: Cohn-Sherbok, 483-93
33. Hasidic Judaism in America: Hasidism: A Life Apart Part 1
34. Hasidic Judaism in America: Hasidism: A Life Apart Part 2
35. …and back to Temple: Modern Transformations in Worship
Readings: Marc Lee Raphael, Judaism in America, 97-114
36. The Jewish Home and Body
Readings: Cohn-Sherbok 549-58
37. From Birth to Bar/Bat Mitzvah
Readings: Cohn-Sherbok, 533-37
38. A Jewish Wedding
Readings: Cohn-Sherbok, 533-37
39. The Jewish Calendar and the Sabbath
Readings: Cohn-Sherbok, 474-82, 494-506
40. Paper Four Due: Class discussion and debate](image2124.gif)