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Judaic Studies
Hebrew
Yiddish/Modern
All JUST undergraduate courses that are 3000 and higher (except JUST 3065, JUST 5532 W, and JUST 5582) and 4000-level HEBR courses are considered capstone courses. Choose any one to satisfy the capstone course requirement for yeshiva/seminary transfer credits from an Israeli institution. Cross-listed courses taught by faculty outside the department do not count as a capstone.
Tuesday, Thursday, 2:15–3:30 p.m. Professor Hanni Garti-Bar In person
Come learn Hebrew in an open and supportive environment! This is an elementary-level Hebrew-language class open to beginners. We will learn the Hebrew alphabet and all the speaking, reading, and writing basics. Class will include small-group work, listening to songs, and watching Israeli TV and films. This course is eligible for LOTE credit. Students are encouraged to e-mail the instructor with any questions. This course is not open to students who have taken the Regents Exam.
Monday, Wednesday, 12:50–2:05 p.m. Associate Professor David Brodsky In person (LOTE, Capstone)
The books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. This course covers a single historical book in a given semester, chosen from the above list. Students may take this class for credit twice but may not repeat topics. Qualifies as a LOTE (Language Other Than English) course for Pathways College Option purposes. In-person instruction.
Monday, Wednesday, 6:30–7:45 p.m. Professor Sharon Flatto Online Pathways: World Cultures & Global Issues
Have you ever wished you had more familiarity with the classical Jewish canon?
A deeper knowledge of its key works, their historical context, and their role in traditional Judaism? This course will address these issues by exploring the masterpieces of Jewish literature that have profoundly influenced world religions, culture, and philosophy. It will begin by analyzing a range of genres of early Jewish sources, from the Bible to Maimonides. Subsequently, students will disentangle the layers and intertextuality of modern Jewish texts and films, which often riff on earlier classics, including thought-provoking works from Shalom Aleichem to the Coen brothers.
Tuesday, Thursday, 6:30–7:45 p.m. Associate Professor David Brodsky In person Pathways: Individual & Society
This course surveys the Jewish approaches to leading moral issues including: truth and lying; self-sacrifice, martyrdom and suicide; the just war; abortion; euthanasia; capital punishment; sexual ethics and morality; and business ethics. In each class we will examine the classical Jewish sources (Bible, Talmud, medieval codes) pertaining to an ethical issue and discuss the range of ethical positions that may be based on the sources. (Not open to students who have completed JUST 4017.) Starting Spring 2021 Satisfies Pathways Flexible Core Individual and Society requirement.
Tuesday, Thursday, 11 a.m.–12:15 p.m. Associate Professor Allan Amanik In person Pathways: US Experience
From a handful of Jewish refugees who arrived to New Amsterdam in 1654 to a robust population of roughly two million by the mid-twentieth century, Jewish New Yorkers made New York City one of the largest and most important Jewish centers in the nation and the world. They also played key roles in areas that elevated New York into America’s premier urban center like labor organizing, tenants’ rights, retail, fashion, theater and popular song. Jewish immigrants and their children saw great promise in New York City while also playing a role shaping the city’s very potential. How did that relationship come to be and how did it inform the position of New York’s Jewish residents—in the city, the nation, and the wider Jewish world?
Tuesday, Thursday 6:30–7:45 p.m. Associate Professor David Brodsky Online Capstone
Students will explore the various kinds of culture and history that Jews lived and of which they formed a part throughout the millennium that spanned the Persian through the Rabbinic Periods (fifth century BCE to the end of the sixth century CE). The writings of this last period came to dominate Judaism to this day.
Tuesday, Thursday, 3:40–4:45 p.m. Professor Sharon Flatto Cross-listed with HIST 3103 Capstone
Kabbalah (a form of Jewish mysticism) is at the root of various messianic ideologies and movements that became highly influential during the Medieval and early modern eras. Examines the central doctrines of Kabbalah, the geographic and social contexts in which kabbalistic and messianic trends evolved, and the factors that led to their popularization. This course is the same as History 3103.
Tuesday, Thursday, 2:15–3:30 p.m. Professor Sharon Flatto Pathways: Individual & Society
A consideration of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in terms of their origins, major beliefs, practices, and history. Introduction to the concepts of myth, symbol, ritual, and doctrine. Relationship of these religions to cultural changes, literary and artistic developments, community life, and individual identity. Course is same as CLAS 3246. Starting fall 2019 satisfies Pathways Flexible Core Individual & Society requirement.
What Can You Do With a Degree in Judaic Studies?
