Fall 2025 Courses

Hist Roots Place/Placemaking

Credits: 1 to 4 hours

The course will introduce students to contemporary places and placemaking in Modern Israel. The initial third of the course introduces students to the region’s geography, cultural history, and endemic spatial typologies. Having established a typological referential base-line, the course then presents a survey and case studies focused on contemporary Israeli architecture and urbanism documenting the ways in which Modern Israel’s built environment embodies a sense of place rooted in the region’s geographic characteristics and its extensive history of diverse sociocultural spatial practices: from communal settlements typologies, i.e., moshavim and kibbutzim to the recently inaugurated National Library of Israel (Herzog and de Meuron). Finally, towards the end of the semester, students will present their own case studies utilizing the knowledge acquired throughout the semester. Course content will be delivered weekly in person, using mixed media that includes power point presentations, videos, and readings paired with assignments to help students better understand class topics.

Development of Ancient Cities

Credit : 3 hours

Monuments, archaeological remains, and histories illustrating the development of the earliest states and urban centers of the Ancient Mediterranean, including Athens, Rome, Carthage, and Jerusalem.

Same as JS 231.

This course satisfies the General Education Criteria in Fall 2025 for:

• Cultural Studies - Western
• Humanities – Hist & Phil

German-Jewish Literature from Salomon Maimon to Franz Kafka

Credit: 3 hours

GER 472 / 574: German-Jewish Literature from Salomon Maimon to Franz Kafka In English! This course focuses on expressions of the Jewish experience in German-language literature of the long nineteenth century. The main focus of the course will be the “dual identity” (Mendes-Flohr) experienced by German Jews writing in German. The course will reconstruct the historical and cultural environments in which German Jews wrote, including the rise of racism and antisemitism in the nineteenth century. Authors discussed include Salomon Maimon, Rahel Varnhagen, Heinrich Heine, Berthold Auerbach, Arthur Schnitzler, Karl Kraus, Franz Kafka, and Joseph Roth; theoretical readings by Paul R. Mendes-Flohr, Sander L. Gilman, and Ritchie Robertson.

Beginners Hebrew

Credit: 5 hours

This course is scheduled as a remote (synchronous) course. There is no prerequisite for this course. This is the first course in the two-semester sequence of Beginning Modern Hebrew. Emphasis this session will be put on acquisition of the Hebrew alphabet enabling the student to achieve reading and writing skills; acquisition of vocabulary, to facilitate simple conversation and simple written assignments. Students will be introduced to the usage of basic grammatical forms such as nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and some basic verb conjugation. Emphasis will also be put on listening and reading comprehension. This section is offered through the BTAA Course Share Program hosted by the University of Minnesota and will be video-conference/Zoom/online taught for participating universities.

Credit: 4 or 5 hours

This course assumes HEBR 1002-4001 or other equivalent language study. The main objectives are improving the following skills: 1) listening comprehension, 2) speaking, 3) reading, 4) writing. The course materials and activities are designed to help students improve the skills necessary in each of these areas. This section is offered through the BTAA Course Share Program hosted by the University of Minnesota and will be video-conference/Zoom/online taught for participating universities.

The Holocaust

Credit: 3 hours

The Holocaust in Historical Perspective Description: The purpose of this general education course is to provide students from all backgrounds with an introduction to the complex events in twentieth-century Europe now known as the Holocaust, and to explore the various interpretations that scholars have offered to attempt to explain the Holocaust as well as the global legacy of the Holocaust. We will examine perpetrators, bystanders, and victims, the role of anti-Semitism, the interaction of war and genocide, the relationships between German and other European actors, the responses of Jewish communities, and the memory of the Holocaust. There will be a midterm and a final, but the primary focus of the course will be on student engagement with the texts in three short papers spread out across the semester.

Same as JS 252.

This course satisfies the General Education Criteria in Fall 2025 for:

• Cultural Studies - Western
• Humanities – Hist & Phil

Zionism: A Global History

Credit: 3 hours

Examines the history of the Zionist movement. The course is designed for students with no prior knowledge of Jewish, European, or Middle Eastern history. The goal is to survey how Zionism emerged as a widespread political movement and, in the process, helped create an independent state for the Jewish people. In addition to familiarizing students with the backstory of a globally significant movement, this class will teach students historical interpretation skills.

Same as JS 262.

This course satisfies the General Education Criteria in Fall 2025 for:

• Cultural Studies - Western
• Humanities – Hist & Phil

Soviet Jewish History

Credit: 3 hours

An examination of how Jewish life and culture contributed to the creation of the world's first socialist society. Makes use of primary sources, scholarly essays and monographs, archival documents, literature, memoirs, film, and visual culture as a way of introducing students to Soviet Jewish History, from the reign of the last tsar, Nicholas II, to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Special topics to be examined include: the breakup of the Pale of Settlement during the Great War; the role of Jews in revolution and revolutionary culture; Soviet nationality policy; shtetl culture; antisemitism; everyday life; the purges of the 1930s; the Jewish experience in World War II; the Holocaust; and mass emigration.

Same as JS 355

Religion & Society in West I

Credit: 3 hours

Same as ANTH 108, PHIL 108, and REL 108. See REL 108.

This course satisfies the General Education Criteria in Fall 2025 for:

• Cultural Studies - Western
• Humanities – Hist & Phil

Jewish American and US Minority Literatures in Dialogue\

Credit: 3 hours

How does Jewish American Literature compare with/influence/be influenced by other U.S. Minority Literatures? What can we say about the similarities and differences between the Jewish American experience and that of many other US minority literatures? What does the dialogue between them sound like? By looking at some examples of Jewish American Literature and comparing and analyzing the dialogue between Jewish American Literature and myriad U.S. Minority literatures this course aims to grapple with these and other questions. We will explore the experiences, conditions, and perspectives of the U.S. Minority literatures we are able to peruse. We will encourage comparison across these different contexts while also preserving the distinctions inherent in each minority group.

Same as CWL 209 and ENGL 222.

This course satisfies the General Education Criteria in Fall 2025 for:

• Cultural Studies - US Minority
• Humanities – Lit & Arts

The Holocaust in Context

Credit: 3 hours

Same as CWL 273, ENGL 269, and GER 261. See GER 261.

This course satisfies the General Education Criteria in Fall 2025 for:

• Cultural Studies - Western
• Humanities – Lit & Arts

Archaeology and the Bible

Credit: 3 hours

Examination of archaeological evidence, especially from Syria-Palestine, and discussion of its use in the interpretation of Biblical literature.

A History of Judaism

Credit: 3 hours

Examines the social, political, economic, and intellectual history of the Jews from Abraham to the present-day, with particular attention to Jewish thought and society.

Same as HIST 168 and JS 120.

This course satisfies the General Education Criteria in Fall 2025 for:

• Advanced Composition
• Humanities – Hist & Phil

Jewish Sacred Literature (Term B)

Credit: 3 hours

Literary study of the major post-biblical sacred texts of Judaism; includes readings in translation from Mishnah, Tosefta, Talmudim, midrashim, piyyutim, and mystical treatises. Emphasizes nature, history, function, and development of literary patterns and forms and the relationships between form and content in these texts.

Same as CWL 283.

This course satisfies the General Education Criteria in Fall 2025 for:

• Humanities – Lit & Arts

Afterlife in Early Judaism

Credit: 3 or 4 hours

Examines Israelite and Jewish attitudes to death and the afterlife from Ancient Israelite belief until the rise of Islam. Topics include death, divine judgement, immortality of the soul, resurrection, and hell. We will also selectively compare Jewish afterlife traditions to those found in early Christianity. Particular attention will be paid to the transformations of belief over time, and to the changing contexts that gave rise to new Jewish soteriologies and eschatologies.

3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

Modern Judaism: Religion, Culture, Politics

Credit: 3 or 4 hours

Various topics in religious thought.

3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. May be repeated as topics vary.

Introduction to Middle East Studies

Credit: 3 hours

Introduction to the study of the region known as the "Middle East." Students will gain an appreciation of the variety of cultures, ethnicities, and religious traditions in the region, as well as how recent history has changed long standing norms, and the resulting challenges.

This course satisfies the General Education Criteria in Fall 2025 for:

• Cultural Studies - Non-West

Kyiv: A Biography of a City

Credit: 3 or 4 hours

Selected topics in the literatures of Russia and Eastern Europe. Topics covered will range from in-depth studies of specific authors, time periods, and thematic discussions of specific genre and literary traditions. Readings in English unless specified.

Same as CWL 453. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. May be repeated to a maximum of 6 undergraduate hours or 8 graduate hours in same term; or 9 undergraduate hours or 12 graduate hours in separate terms. Prerequisite: Two years of literature, preferably Russian or East European; or consent of instructor.

Diasporic and Exilic Literature

Credit: 3 or 4 hours

Selected topics in the literatures of Russia and Eastern Europe. Topics covered will range from in-depth studies of specific authors, time periods, and thematic discussions of specific genre and literary traditions. Readings in English unless specified.

Same as CWL 453. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. May be repeated to a maximum of 6 undergraduate hours or 8 graduate hours in same term; or 9 undergraduate hours or 12 graduate hours in separate terms. Prerequisite: Two years of literature, preferably Russian or East European; or consent of instructor.