Courses

Explore the challenges and complexities of justice, democracy, and human rights in Israel and the West Bank through field trips, course work and service learning projects with Jerusalem based non-profit organizations. Acquire new knowledge and lived experience on critical issues facing Israelis and Palestinians with the wider scope of Middle East politics. Recommended prereqs., ANTH/JWST 4050 and IAFS/JWST 3600. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: contemporary societies.

Learn the history of this crossroads of Europe and Asia from the late Ottoman Empire to the present. Main topics include nationalism and colonialism, development of Zionist ideology, development of Palestinian nationalism, establishment of the Jewish settlement (Yishuv) under British rule, the founding of the Jewish nation-state, relations with neighbors, and the aftermath of the 1956, 1967, 1973, and 1982 wars. Prereqs., HIST 1108 or 1308 or JWST 2350. HIST 4338 and JWST 4338 are the same course.

Covers topics in Jewish history from biblical beginnings to present day. Topics vary each semester. Consult the online Schedule Planner for specific topics. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours within the degree. Prereqs., HIST 1108 or 1308 or JWST 2350. Same as HIST 4348. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomore, Junior or Senior) only.

Examines Jewish communities of the Mediterranean basin and Middle East in modern times. Topics covered include culture and identity of these communities, as well as their encounter with empire, westernization, and nationalism, among other political and social currents. Exploration of images and representations of Sephardi and Eastern Jewries. Sources include memoirs, diaries, films, 19th century press and correspondence, and travelogues. Same as HIST 4378.

Takes students on a journey from Medieval Spain to contemporary United States to explore how Jews, living in different societies, have attempted to reshape and interpret central Jewish values and beliefs in accordance with the prevailing ideas of their host societies. Focuses on the historical context of each Jewish society that produced the thinkers and ideas considered in this course. Prereq., HIST 1010 or 1020, or HIST/JWST 1108, or HEBR/JWST 2350. JWST 4454 and HIST 4454 are the same course.

Jews have produced culture in Yiddish, the vernacular language of eastern European Jewry, for 1000 years and the language continues to shape Jewish culture today. In this course, we will look at the literature, film, theater, music, art, sound, and laughter that defined the culture of eastern European Jewry and, in the 20th century, Jews around the world. Recommended prereqs., HIST 1108 or HEBR 2350. Same as HIST 4544.

Focuses on the Holocaust during the Third Reich, which involved the murder of millions of people, including six million Jews. Reviews the Holocaust's history, dynamics, and consequences as well as other genocides of the 20th century, using an anthropological approach. Restricted to juniors/seniors. Same as ANTH 4580. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

Explores the experience of Jews in the United States from the 1880's when the great migration of Jews from Eastern Europe began, through the twentieth century. Students will explore the changing ways in which Jews adapted to life in the U.S., constructed American Jewish identities, and helped to participate in the construction of the United States as a nation. Recommended prereqs., HIST 1025 or HIST/JWST 1108 or HEBR/JWST 2350. JWST 4827 and HIST 4827 are the same course.