Spring 2006 Jewish Studies Courses

Jewish Studies 032.401 Beginning Yiddish II Hellerstein TR 12:00-1:30
Jewish Studies 051.401 Elementary Modern Hebrew I Staff MWF 1:00-2:00 TR 1:30-2:30
Jewish Studies 052.401 Elementary Modern Hebrew II Staff MTWRF 11:00-12:00
Jewish Studies 052.402 Elementary Modern Hebrew II Staff MTWRF 12:00-1:00
Jewish Studies 053.401 Intermediate Modern Hebrew III Staff MWF 1:00-2:00 TR 1:30-2:30
Jewish Studies 054.401 Intermediate Modern Hebrew IV Staff MTWRF 11:00-12:00
Jewish Studies 054.402 Intermediate Modern Hebrew IV Staff MTWRF 12:00-1:00
Jewish Studies 054.403 Intermediate Modern Hebrew IV Staff MTWRF 12:00-1:00
Jewish Studies 059.401 Introduction to Modern Hebrew Literature Engel TR 1:30-3:00
Jewish Studies 124.401 Archaeology and the Bible Porter MW 3:30-5:00
Jewish Studies 126.401 Introduction to Jewish Mysticsm Hecker W 4:00-7:00
Jewish Studies 130.401 American Jewish Experience Perelman TR 9:00-10:30
Jewish Studies 138.401 Secular Judaism Kant/Steinberg MWF 12:00-1:00
Jewish Studies 151.401 Great Books of Judaism Carasik TR 12:00-1:30
Jewish Studies 154.401 Jewish Literature in Translation Gold T 1:30-3:00
Jewish Studies 156.401 History of Jewish Civilization I Dohrmann MW 3:30-5:00
Jewish Studies 172.401 Elementary Biblical Hebrew II Carasik MW 3:30-5:00
Jewish Studies 174.401 Intermediate Biblical Hebrew II Carasik MW 5:00-6:30
Jewish Stduies 200.401 Teaching Jewish Texts Levisohn T 3:00-6:00
Jewish Studies 202.401 Zionist Debates Raz-Krakotzkin M 2:00-5:00
Jewish Studies 253.401 International Politics Middle East Lustick TR 10:30-11:30
Jewish Studies 255.401 The Bible in Translation: Genesis Tigay TR 4:30-6:00
Jewish Studies 257.401 Midrash Halakha Eichler R 3:00-6:00
Jewish Studies 265.401 Eastern European Jewish Lit and Culture Hellerstein TR 10:30-12:00
Jewish Studies 296.401 Jewish Humor Ben-Amos TR 10:30-12:00
Jewish Studies 315.401 Communication in Jewish Civilization Blondheim T 3:00-6:00
Jewish Studies 359.401 Seminar in Modern Hebrew Literature Gold TR 10:30-12:00
Jewish Studies 426.401 Rabbinic Writers on Rabbinic Culture Fishman TR 12:00-1:30
Jewish Studies 472.401 Elementary Biblical Hebrew II Carasik MW 3:00-4:30
Jewish Studies 474.401 Intermediate Biblical Hebrew: II Carasik MW 5:00-6:30
Jewish Studies 523.401 Medieval Jewish Culture Fishman M 2:00-5:00
Jewish Studies 524.401 God & Nature Ruderman R 1:30-4:30
Jewish Studies 525.401 Parabiblical Texts Kraft T 3:00-5:00
Jewish Studies 550.401 Book of the Bible Tigay W 2:00-5:00
Course in the College of General Studies:
Jewish Studies 122.601 Religions of the West Krulak T 5:00-8:00
Jewish Studies 123.601 Introduction to Judaism Peterson W 6:00-9:00
Jewish Studies 211.601 Jewish Art Cohen W 5:00-8:00
Courses Related to Jewish Studies:
German 253 Freud: The Invention of Psychoanalysis Weissberg TR 10:30-12:00

 



JWST 032.401 Beginning Yiddish II Hellerstein
Yiddish is a 1000-year-old language, with a rich heritage. Learn the basic skills of reading, writing, and speaking Yiddish. Discover the treasures of Yiddish culture: songs, literature, folklore, and films. We will learn to sing various songs from the vast Yiddish music repertoire, travel to New York to see a Yiddish play, and have a special presentation with Bob Freedman in the Special Collections Department of Van Pelt Library. (GRMN 402)
Time: TR 12:00-1:30
JWST 051.401 Elementary Modern Hebrew I Staff
An introduction to the skills of reading, writing, and conversing in modern Hebrew. This course assumes no previous knowledge of Hebrew. (HEBR 051, HEBR 651)
Time: MWF 1:00-2:00 TR 1:30-2:30
JWST 052.401 Elementary Modern Hebrew II Staff
A continuation of HEBR 051, First Year Modern Hebrew, which assumes basic skills of reading and speaking and the use of the present tense. Open to all students who have completed one semester of Hebrew at Penn with a grade of B- or above and new students with equivalent competency. HEBR 051 or permission of instructor. (HEBR 052, HEBR 652)
Time: MTWRF 11:00-12:00
JWST 052.402 Elementary Modern Hebrew II Staff
A continuation of HEBR 051, First Year Modern Hebrew, which assumes basic skills of reading and speaking and the use of the present tense. Open to all students who have completed one semester of Hebrew at Penn with a grade of B- or above and new students with equivalent competency. HEBR 051 or permission of instructor. (HEBR 052, HEBR 652)
Time: MTWRF 12:00-1:00
JWST 053.401 Intermediate Modern Hebrew III Staff
Development of the skills of reading, writing, and conversing in modern Hebrew on an intermediate level. Open to all students who have completed two semesters of Hebrew at Penn with a grade of B- or above and new students with equivalent competency. HEBR 052 or permission of the instructor. (HEBR 053, HEBR 653)
Tme: MWF 1:00-2:00 TR 1:30-2:30
JWST 054.401 Intermediate Modern Hebrew IV Staff
This course constitutes the final semester of Intermediate Modern Hebrew. Hence, one of the main goals of the course is to prepare the students for the proficiency exam in Hebrew. Emphasis will be placed on grammar skills and ability to read literary texts. Open to all students who have completed three semesters of Hebrew at Penn with a grade of B- or above and new students with equivalent competency. HEBR 053 or permission of instructor. (HEBR 054, HEBR 654)
Tme: MTWRF 11:00-12:00
JWST 054.402 Intermediate Modern Hebrew IV Staff
This course constitutes the final semester of Intermediate Modern Hebrew. Hence, one of the main goals of the course is to prepare the students for the proficiency exam in Hebrew. Emphasis will be placed on grammar skills and ability to read literary texts. Open to all students who have completed three semesters of Hebrew at Penn with a grade of B- or above and new students with equivalent competency. HEBR 053 or permission of instructor. (HEBR 054, HEBR 654)
Tme: MTWRF 12:00-1:00
JWST 054.403 Intermediate Modern Hebrew IV Staff
This course constitutes the final semester of Intermediate Modern Hebrew. Hence, one of the main goals of the course is to prepare the students for the proficiency exam in Hebrew. Emphasis will be placed on grammar skills and ability to read literary texts. Open to all students who have completed three semesters of Hebrew at Penn with a grade of B- or above and new students with equivalent competency. HEBR 053 or permission of instructor. (HEBR 054, HEBR 654)
Tme: MTWRF 12:00-1:00
JWST 059.401 Introduction to Modern Hebrew Literature Engel
Further development of reading, writing, and speaking skills in modern Hebrew. The course is designed for students who have completed the basic language courses and passed the proficiency examination (or passed the Department's placement test at the appropriate level). The readings are based on literary texts and poetry. Special attention is given to the recurrence of biblical themes in modern Hebrew writing. HEBR 054 or permission of instructor. Since the content of this course may change from year to year students may take it for credit more than once (if the course is indeed different). (HEBR 059, HEBR 552)
Tme: TR 1:30-3:00
JWST 122.601 Religions of the West Krulak
Introduction to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the three major traditions that originated in the Middle East. Attention to sacred scriptures, historical development, and modern expressions. (RELS 002)
Time: T 5:00-8:00
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JWST 123.601 Introduction to Judaism Peterson
In this course we will develop an understanding of major content areas of Judaism, through close reading and thematic study. After exploring the vexed question of "Who is a Jew?" we begin by examining the Jewish Holidays, their meaning, origin, and current practice. The theme that runs throughout is known as halakha, the Way of Judaism or Jewish practice, as the spine that supports the "denominational" varieties of Judaism, in most rabbis' view of Judaism. We will spend some time with the Torah--bible as used in Jewish worship and as the base for Jewish law, legend, myth, and cosmology. The great touchstone of Judaism, the work that forms the curriculum for the Jewish clergy (rabbis) is the Talmud, our next focus of attention. Kabbala is a closeted theme in Judaism, hemmed around with restrictions, yet the study of Kabbala goes as deep as the study of the Talmud. Finally, we will explore the modern era and the American developments of varieties of Judaism.
Time: W 6:00-9:00 Peterson
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JWST 124.401 Archaeology and the Bible Porter
The Hebrew Bible (Tanak) and archaeological research provide distinct, and at times conflicting, accounts of the origins and development of ancient Israel and its neighbors. Religion, culture and politics ensures that such accounts of the past have significant implications for the world we live in today. In this course we will discuss the latest archaeological research from Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Jordan as it relates to the Bible, moving from Creation to the Babylonian Exile. Students will critically engage the best of both biblical and archaeological scholarship, while being exposed to the interpretive traditions of Anthropology as an alternative approach to the available evidence. Open discussions of the religious, social and political implications of the material covered will be an important aspect of the course. (ANTH 124, RELS 024, NELC 155)
Time: MW 3:30-5:00

JWST 126.401 Introduction to Jewish Mysticsm Hecker
Survey of major periods of development of mystical speculation and experience within Judaism. Mystical symbolism as a basis for theosophical interpretations of Torah, Immanentist theologies, mystical ethics. Types of experiences and practices which were cultivated by Jewish mystics in order to achieve intimate communion with the Divine and to facilitate a sacred transformation of themselves and the world. Includes "Riders of the Chariot," The Zohar (Book of Splendor), Lurianic Kabbalah, Hasidism. (RELS 126)
Time: W 4:00-7:00
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JWST 130.401 American Jewish Experience Perelman
Beginning in the seventeenth century, this course will trace Jews' American experiences through recent times. In the process students will engage several key issues: immigration, community building, culture, race and ethnicity, gender, politics, and international relations. Using a broad assortment of primary and secondary sources, fiction and film, this course will explore the changing ways in Jews adapted to American life, constructed American Jewish identities, and participated in the history of the United States. (HIST 150, RELS 124)
Time: TR 9:00-10:30
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JWST 138.401 Secular Judaism Kant/Steinberg
Can Judaism exist without the religion? Are there secular Jews? Is it possible for people to consider themselves to be Jewish without any formal affiliation with either a religious or other specifically Jewish institution? If so, what sort of Jews are they? These questions trouble all those interested in the history, present position and future prospect of the Jews as a people. There have been many answers: Zionist, non-Zionist, cultural, ethnic, sociological, theological (both Christian and Jewish) and others less respectable. We have no answers but we have a different way to put the question, a biographical way, which may help to define the parameters of a possible answer. We ask how have individual Jews defined themselves and how have they chosen to live their lives. Such choices only became possible in the Western world after the Enlightenment, the American and the French Revolutions had created the category of "citizen," a new, free, universal, abstract person,who had the right to be what he or she chose. This course will try to address these questions in a strictly historical way, following a selection of lives of important Jews who at different times and places attempted their own answers to these questions. These lives will be drawn mainly from Western Europe, where until the Second World War, the majority of Jews lived. We shall also consider some American lives since during the Twentieth Century the American Jewish community became the place where choice of identity became an unusually important issue. We shall also look at the lives of some who chose Israel as the "national" answer to the question of Jewish identity. (HIST 138)
Time: MWF 12:00-1:00

JWST 151.401 Great Books of Judaism Carasik
The study of four paradigmatic and classic Jewish texts so as to introduce students to the literature of classic Judaism. Each text will be studied historically -- "excavated" for its sources and roots -- and holistically, as a canonical document in Jewish tradition. While each text will inevitably raise its own set of issues, we will deal throughout the semester with two basic questions: What makes a "Jewish" text? And how do these texts represent different aspects of Jewish identity? All readings will be in translation. (NELC 156, COML 057)
Time: TR 12:00-1:30
JWST 154.401 Modern Hebrew Literature & Culture in Translation: Image of Childhood in Israeli Film and Literature Gold
This course examines literary and cinematic portrayals of childhood images and memories. While Israeli works constitute more then half of the course's material, American & European film and fiction play comparative roles. The works are placed against a backdrop of national or historical conflicts, yet the foci of many stories is individual trauma (such as loss or abuse) or longing for an idealized time. We look at how authors and directors struggle with their desire to retrieve fragments of past events and penetrate a child's psyche. We study how they use symbols, metaphors, color, light, close-ups and flashbacks to reconstruct memory. There will be 5-6 film screenings. Since the content of this course may change from year to year students may take it for credit more than once (if the course is indeed different.) Fulfills Distribution III: Arts & Letters. (NELC 159, COML 282, FILM 329, ENGL 279)
Time: T 1:30-3:00
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JWST 156.401 History of Jewish Civilization I Dohrmann
A broad introduction to the history of Jewish civilization from its Biblical beginnings until the Middle Ages, with the main focus on the formative period of classical rabbinic Judaism and on the symbiotic relationship between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. General Requirement II: History & Tradition (HIST 156, RELS 120)
Time: MW 3:30-5:00

JWST 172.401 Elementary Biblical Hebrew II Carasik
A continued introduction to the grammar of Biblical Hebrew, focusing on the verbal system, with an emphasis on developing language skills in handling Biblical texts. A suitable entry point for students who have had some modern Hebrew. (HEBR 152, HEBR 452, JWST 472)
Time: MW 3:30-5:00
JWST 174.401 Intermediate Biblical Hebrew II Carasik
This course is a continuation of the Fall semester's Intermediate Biblical Hebrew I. It will continue to focus on using the grammar and vocabulary learned at the introductory level to be able to read biblical texts independently and take advanced Bible exegesis courses. We will concentrate this semester on various selections of Biblical poetry, including Exodus 15 and Job 28. We will also continue to translate English prose into Biblical Hebrew. (HEBR 154, HEBR 454, JWST 474)
Time: MW 5:00-6:30
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JWST 200.401 Teaching Jewish Texts Levisohn
This course will provide you with the opportunity to develop as a thoughtful reader and teacher of Jewish texts. Over the course of the semester, we will be considering, concurrently, three different overarching questions: 1) What does it mean to learn something and how does that affect our practice of teaching? 2) What does it mean to study-and to teach-sacred texts? 3) How do we-as learners and prospective teachers-study, interpret, and read actual Jewish texts? We will split time in the course studying texts from the Torah, Mishnah and Talmud and exploring ideas and assumptions about education and teaching. Students must be able to read Hebrew, and some familiarity with Rabbinic literature is recommended. (EDUC 200)
Time: T 3:00-6:00

JWST 202.401 Zionist Debates Raz-Krakotzkin
Many recent studies have challenged the dichotomy between "religion" and "nationalism" and emphasized the interrelations between these two categories. These studies provide a new dimension for the study of Zionism and particularly for the critical analysis of what is known as "secular Zionism." This course will examine the role of the secular-religious debate in the construction of the national identity and the ambivalent attitude of secular Zionism towards messianism. Special attention will be given to the concept "negation of exile" and its various implications in imagining the notion of the Jewish collectivity as national in the modern sense of the world. This discussion will be based on reading of canonical Zionist authors (such as Moses Hess, Ahad Ha-Am, Theodore Herzl, Berl Kazenelson, Gershom Scholem, Martin Buber, Rabbi Reines, Rabbi Kook, Yoseph Haim Brenner, A. D. Gordon and others) and on the growing scholarship dedicated to these issues. The course will also examine the contribution of recent scholarship on nationalism and secularism for the study of Zionism. (HIST 202)
Time: M 2:00-5:00
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JWST 211.601 Jewish Art Cohen
This course will survey Jewish art from the biblical period until the present day. The distinctive features of art produced by and for the Jews will be examined in light of developments in Jewish history and beliefs. Special
attention will be paid to the evolution of Jewish symbols and themes, and their relationship to pagan, Christian, Islamic, and secular art. (ARTH 211)
Time: W 5:00-8:00

JWST 253.401 International Politics Middle East Lustick
This course on international politics in the Middle East will focus primarily on episodes of external intervention by Great Powers in the politics of Middle Eastern states. We shall begin by examining the emergence of the Middle Eastern state system after the disappearance of the Ottoman Empire in the early part of the twentieth century. This discussion will provide opportunities to develop key concepts in the study of international politics and will serve as crucial historical background. We shall then turn our attention to the primary concern of the course-a systematic consideration of the motives, operational results, and long-term implications of a number of important examples of intervention by Great Powers in the Middle East. Among the episodes to be considered will be British policies toward the end of World War I, in Palestine in the 1930s, and, along with the French, in Suez in 1956. Soviet intervention in the first Arab-Israeli war, in 1948, will be analyzed along with Soviet policies toward Egypt in the early 1970s. American intervention in Iran in 1953 and in the Gulf War in 1991 will also be examined. Students will write mid-term and final examinations and prepare a paper applying lessons learned to the question of the likely long-term consequences of the American led intervention in Iraq. (PSCI 253, NELC 282, RELS 243)
Time: TR 10:30-11:30 [plus recitation 402 T 12-1; 403 T 1:30-2:30; 404 W 10-11; 405 W 1-2; 406 R 1:30-2:30; 407 R 4:30-5:30
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JWST 255.401 The Bible in Translation: Genesis Tigay
Careful study of a book of the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament) as a literary and religious work in the light of modern scholarship, ancient Near Eastern documents, comparative literature and religion, and its reverberations in later Judaism, Christianity, and Western (particularly American) Civilization. (NELC 250, NELC 550, RELS 224, COML 380)
Time: TR 4:30-6:00

JWST 257.401 Midrash Halakha Eichler
An introduction to the modern study of Rabbinic literature. Topics range from Midrash to Talmud. No previous background in Rabbinic literature is required but students must be able to read unpointed Hebrew texts. Fulfills General Requirement III: Arts and Letters. Benjamin Franklin Seminar. (HEBR 257, HEBR 557)
Time: R 3:00-6:00
JWST 265.401 Eastern European Jewish Lit and Culture Hellerstein
This course presents the major trends in Yiddish literature and culture in Eastern Europe from the mid-19th century through World War II. Divided into four sections - "The Shtetl," "Religious vs. Secular Jews," "Language and Culture," and "Confronting Destruction" - this course will examine how Jews expressed the central aspects of their experience in Eastern Europe through history, literature (fiction, poetry, drama, memoir), film, and song. Fulfills General Requirement III: Arts and Letters. Benjaimin Franklin Seminar. (GRMN 265, HIST 265)
Time: TR 10:30-12:00
JWST 296.401 Jewish Humor Ben-Amos
In modern American popular culture Jewish humor is considered by Jews and non-Jews as a recognizable and distinct form of humor. Focusing upon folk-humor, in this course we will examine the history of this perception, and study different manifestation of Jewish humor as a particular case study of ethnic in general. Specific topics for analysis will be: humor in the Hebrew Bible, Jewish humor in Europe and in America, JAP and JAM jokes, Jewish tricksters and pranksters, Jewish humor in the Holocaust and Jewish humor in Israel. The term paper will be collecting project of Jewish jokes. Fulfills Distribution III: Arts & Letters. (NELC 254, FOLK 296)
Time: TR 10:30-12:00
JWST 315.401 Communication in Jewish Civilization Blondheim
This course features a scholarly encounter between a young discipline and a veteran civilization. It applies a broad array of theories from communication studies in an effort to reinterpret aspects of the social, religious, and cultural experience of Jews, from antiquity to post-modernity. Designed as a collective research exploration, seminar participants will juggle theory, methodology, and empirical evidence to shed light on the Jewish past and present from a communications perspective. At the same time, it will use the case of Jews and Judaism, across time and space, to test, fine-tune, and enhance communication theory. Seminar. (COML 315)
Time: T 3:00-6:00

JWST 359.401 Seminar in Modern Hebrew Literature: Rebel Children: The Statehood Generation in Hebrew Literature Gold
Dramatic changes in the undercurrents of Israeli society have often been foreshadowed in the writings of the period. "I Want to Die in my Bed", a young Yehuda Amichai's anti-war poem, led the rebellion of Israeli authors who rejected their predecessors' ideological focus in the 1950s and 60s. In order to gain distance from their Zionist father-figures, the short stories of A.B. Yehoshua and Amos Oz turned to anti-heroic and absurdist modes. We will study this "Statehood Generation," whose members have become the central pillars of Israeli literature (Amichai, Oz etc.), and will compare them to the 'rebels' of today. The class will be conducted in Hebrew and the texts read in the original. There will be 3-4 short papers and a final exam.Distribution III: Arts & Letters. Seminar. (HEBR 359, HEBR 659, JWST 556, COML 359)
Time: TR 10:30-12:00
JWST 426.401 Rabbinic Writers on Rabbinic Culture Fishman
This course traces reflections on rabbinic culture produced within Jewish legal literature of the classic rabbinic period -- Midrash, Mishna, and Talmud -- and in later juridical gemres -- Talmudic commentary, codes and responsa. Attention will be paid to the mechanics of different genres, the role of the underlying prooftext, the inclusion or exclusion of variant opinions, the presence of non-legal information, attitudes toward predecessors, balance between precedent and innovation. Seminar. (RELS 426, HEBR 486)
Time: TR 12:00-1:30

JWST 472.401 Elementary Biblical Hebrew II Carasik
A continued introduction to the grammar of Biblical Hebrew, focusing on the verbal system, with an emphasis on developing language skills in handling Biblical texts. A suitable entry point for students who have had some modern Hebrew. (HEBR 152, HEBR 452, JWST 172)
Time: MW 3:30-5:00
JWST 474.401 Intermediate Biblical Hebrew: II Carasik
This course is a continuation of the Fall semester's Intermediate Biblical Hebrew I. It will continue to focus on using the grammar and vocabulary learned at the introductory level to be able to read biblical texts independently and take advanced Bible exegesis courses. We will concentrate this semesteron various selections of Biblical poetry, including Exodus 15 and Job 28. We will also continue to translate English prose into Biblical Hebrew. (HEBR 154, HEBR 454, JWST 174)
Time: MW 5:00-6:30
JWST 523.401 Medieval Jewish Culture Fishman
The seminar has two concurrent aims. The first is to explore the seminal literary products of Jewish culture as it evolved in Christian and Muslim lands from the 9th century to 1492. Genres to be considered include philosophy, biblical exegesis, poetry (liturgical and otherwise), grammar, Talmudic commentary, rabbinic codes, kabbalah, historiography, and religious polemics. (b) The second is to expose students to the secondary literature on these topics and to familiarize them with the cutting methodological and conceptual issues in contemporary scholarship on medieval Jewish culture. Primary source readings from a broad array of medieval Jewish genres. (RELS 523, HEBR 583, HIST 523)
Time: M 2:00-5:00
JWST 524.401 God & Nature Ruderman
Readings of texts chosen to shed light on the relationships between Judaism, magic, and science, primarily in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. An attempt to compare the Jewish pattern of response to science, medicine, and the natural world with Protestant and Catholic responses in the age of "The Scientific Revolution." Knowledge of Hebrew recommended but not required. (HIST 525, RELS 524)
Time: R 1:30-4:30
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JWST 525.401 Parabiblical Texts Kraft
One of the ways in which students of Judaism in the Greco-Roman period have attempted to identify and describe its contours (varieties, continuities and discontinuities) is through examining the mass of literature that has been preserved, often through Christian transmission, or through archaeological good fortune (Dead Sea Scrolls), or in Jewish circles. In this seminar we will focus on the "parabiblical" texts (sometimes called "pseudepigrapha") -- that is, writings that are similar to what became "Bible," but were not included in that collection (e.g. Enochic writings, Jubilees, Testaments of the Patriarchs, War Scroll, Temple Scroll, Sibylline Oracles). The texts will be studied in English translations. Seminar (RELS 525, COML 580)
Time: T 3:00-5:00

JWST 550.401 A Book of the Bible: Deuteronomy Tigay
In-depth study of a book of the Bible studies in the light of modern scholarship (including archaeology and ancient Near Eastern literature) as well as ancient and medieval commentaries. The book varies each semester and the course may be repeated for credit.

Topic for Spring 2006: Deuteronomy

Prerequsites: Thorough command of Biblical Hebrew and prior experience studying the Bible in the original in high school, college or a comparable setting. Qualified undergraduates are welcome but must contact the instructor for permission to register and show how they meet the requirements. Language of instruction is in English. Seminar.
Distribution III: Arts & Letters. (HEBR 550, RELS 521)
Time: W 2:00-5:00
German 253.401 Freud: The Invention of Psychoanalysis Weissberg
No other person of the twentieth century has probably influenced scientific thought, humanitistic scholarship, medical therapy, and popular culture as much as Sigmund Freud. This seminar will study his work, its cultural background, and its impact on us today. In the first part of the course, we will learn about Freud's life and the Viennese culture of his time. We will then move to a discussion of seminal texts, such as excerpts from his Interpretation of Dreams, case studies, as well as essays on psychoanalytic practice, human development, definitions of gender and sex, neuroses, and culture in general. In the final part of the course, we will discuss the impact of Freud's work. Guest lectureres from the medical field, history of science, psychology, and the humnities will offer insights into the reception of Freud's work, and its consequences for various fields of study and therapy. (COML 253, HSSC 253, HSOC 253, COLL 002, WSTD 252).
Time: TR 10:30-12:00

Rossi Rossi, Azariah ben Moses dei, ca. 1511-ca. 1578. Me'or `enayim [A. de Rossi]. [Mantua : s.n., 1573-1575]. Frontispiece. The "Light of the Eyes" established the foundations of critical Jewish historiography. Its author, the sixteenth-century Italian Jew Azariah de' Rossi, was a polymath who was familiar not only with the texts of his own Jewish tradition, but also with Christian and pagan literature.



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