Fall 2008 Jewish Studies Courses
Jewish Studies 031.401 Beginning Yiddish I Hellerstein TR 12:00-1:30
Jewish Studies 033.401 Intermediate Yiddish I Botwinik TR 12:00-1:30
Jewish Studies 051.401 Elementary Modern Hebrew I Staff MTWRF 11:00-12:00
Jewish Studies 051.402 Elementary Modern Hebrew I Staff MTWRF 12:00-1:00
Jewish Studies 052.401 Elemenatary Modern Hebrew II Staff MTWRF 11:00-12:00
Jewish Studies 053.401 Intermediate Modern Hebrew III Staff MTWRF 12:00-1:00
Jewish Studies 053.402 Intermediate Modern Hebrew III Staff MWF 1:00-2:00 and TR 1:30-2:30
Jewish Studies 054.401 Intermediate Modern Hebrew IV Staff MTWRF 12:00-1:00
Jewish Studies 054.402 Intermediate Modern Hebrew IV Staff MWF 1:00-2:00 and TR 1:30-2:30
Jewish Studies 059.401 Advanced Modern Hebrew: Reading and Composition Engel TR 1:30-3:00
Jewish Studies 102.401 The Image of Childhood in Israeli Literature and Film Gold TR 1:30-3:00
Jewish Studies 102.402 Women and Jewish Literature Hellerstein TR 10:30-12:00
Jewish Studies 123.401 Introduction to Judaism Dohrmann MW 3:30-5:00
Jewish Studies 150.401 Introduction to the Bible Tigay TR 4:30-6:00
Jewish Studies 151.401 Great Books of Judaism Stern TR 10:30-12:00
Jewish Studies 153.401 Maimonides and His Image Fishman M 2:00-5:00
Jewish Studies 157.401 History of Jewish Civilization II Ruderman TR 1:30-3:00
Jewish Studies 171.401 Elementary Biblical Hebrew I Carasik MW 3:30-5:00
Jewish Studies 173.401 Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Prose Carasik MW 5:00-6:30
Jewish Studies 202.401 Jewish Family in History Teller W 3:30-6:30
Jewish Studies 204.402 Re-Reading the Holocaust Wenger T 3:00-6:00
Jewish Studies 214.401 Jews and the City Wenger R 1:30-4:30
Jewish Studies 231.680 Beginning Judeo-Spanish I Braverman W 3:00-5:00
Jewish Studies 242.401 Readings in Aramaic Targums Tigay TR 12:00-1:30
Jewish Studies 257.401 Hurban: Responses to the Destruction of the Temple in Rabbinic Literature Stern TR 3:00-4:30
Jewish Studies 259.401 Songs, Poems and National Identity Gold TR 10:30-12:00
Jewish Studies 260.401 Jewish Folklore Ben-Amos TR 10:30-12:00
Jewish Studies 320.401 Spirit and Law Fishman TR 10:30-12:00
Jewish Studies 335.401 Muslims, Christians, Jews Sharkey TR 1:30-4:30
Jewish Studies 533.301 Jews and Christians in Late Antique Syria Reed T 1:30-4:30
Jewish Studies 540.401 Memory, Trauma, Culture Weissberg T 3:00-5:00
Jewish Studies 735.401 Textual Criticism of Biblical and Other Ancient Texts Kraft T 6:00-9:00
| JWST 031.401 |
Beginning Yiddish I |
Hellerstein |
Yiddish is a 1000-year-old language with a rich cultural heritage. YDSH 101, the first in the Beginning Yiddish language series, introduces the student who has no previous knowledge of the language to the skills of reading, writing, and speaking Yiddish. Starting with the alphabet, students study grammar, enriched by cultural materials such as song, literature, folklore, and film, as well as the course's on-line Blackboard site, to acquire basic competency. By the end of the first semester, students will be able to engage in simple conversations in the present tense, know common greetings and expressions, and read simple texts, including literature, newspapers, songs, and letters. Students are encouraged to continue with YDSH 102/ JWST 032/ YDSH 501 in the Spring. Four semesters of Yiddish fulfill the Penn Language Requirement. (YDSH 101, YDSH 501) |
| Time: TR 12:00-1:30 |
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| JWST 033.401 |
Intermediate Yiddish I |
Botwinik |
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A continuation of JWST 032/ YDSH 102, Beginning Yiddish II, this course develops the skills of reading, writing, and speaking Yiddish on the intermediate level through the study of grammar and cultural materials, such as literature, newspapers, films, songs, radio programs. (YDSH 103, YDSH 503) |
| Time: TR 12:00-1:30 |
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| 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: MTWRF 11:00-12:00 |
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| JWST 051.402 |
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: MTWRF 12:00-1:00 |
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| 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 |
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| 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) |
| Time: MTWRF 12:00-1:00 |
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| JWST 053.402 |
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) |
| Time: MWF 1:00-2:00 and TR 1:30-2:30 |
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| 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) |
| Time: MTWRF 12:00-1:00 |
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| 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) |
| Time: MWF 1:00-2:00 and TR 1:30-2:30 |
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| JWST 059.401 |
Advanced Modern Hebrew: Reading and Composition |
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 more than once (but only once for credit). Fulfills Distribution CRS Arts & Letters -- Class of '09 and prior. (HEBR 059, HEBR 552) |
| Time: TR 1:30-3:00 |
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| JWST 102.401 |
The Image of Childhood in Israeli Literature & Film |
Gold |
This course examines cinematic and literary portrayals of childhood and it will take advantage of the recent boom in Israeli filmmaking. Israeli works constitute more then half of the course's material but European film and fiction play important comparative roles. The course analyzes how film, poetry and prose use their respective languages in their effort to reconstruct the image of childhood, retrieve fragments of past events and penetrate the child's psyche. Many of the works are placed, and therefore discussed, against a backdrop of national, collective, or historical conflicts. Nonetheless, private traumas (such as madness, abuse, or loss) or an adult's longing for an idealized time are often the central foci of the stories. These personal issues and the nature of individual memory will be discussed from a psychological point of view. There are 5-6 film screenings; the films will also be on reserve at the library for those students unable to attend the screenings. The content of the course changes from year to year, and therefore, students may take it for credit more than once. Fulfills Arts & Letters Sector (all classes); Cross Cultural Analysis - Class of '10 and after. (NELC 159, COML 282, CINE 329) |
| Time: TR 1:30-3:00 |
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| JWST 102.402 |
Women and Jewish Literature |
Hellerstein |
"Jewish woman, who knows your life?
In darkness you have come, in darkness do you go." J. L. Gordon (1890)
This course introduces students of literature, gender studies, and Jewish studies to the long tradition of women as readers, writers, and subjects in Jewish literature. All texts will be in translation from Yiddish and Hebrew, or in English. Through a variety of genres -- devotional literature, memoir, fiction, and poetry -- we study women's roles and selves, the relations of women and men, and the interaction between Jewish texts and women's lives. The legacy of women in traditional Jewish literature will serve as background for our reading of modern Jewish fiction and poetry from the past century. The course is divided into five segments. The first presents a case study of the Matriarchs Rachel and Leah, as they are portrayed in the Hebrew Bible, in rabbinic commentary, in pre-modern prayers, and in modern poems. We then examine a modern novel that recasts the story of Dinah, Leah's daughter. Next we turn to the seventeenth century Glikl of Hamel, the first Jewish woman memoirist. The third segment focuses on devotional literature for and by women. In the fourth segment, we read modern women poets in Yiddish, Hebrew, and English. The course concludes with a fifth segment on fiction and memoir written by women in Yiddish, Hebrew, and English. Benjamin Franklin Seminar. Fulfills Arts & Letters Sector (all classes); and Cross Cultural Analysis - Class of '10 and after. (GRMN 262, GSOC 162, NELC 154)
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| Time: TR 10:30-12:00 |
| JWST 123.401 |
Introduction to Judaism |
Dohrmann |
Introduction to Judaism is a broad introduction to Judaism -- touching on key religious themes, ideas, and practices as they develop throughout Judaism's long history. Our major emphasis will be to see the religion as an evolving dialogue that happens across and within its diverse corpus of sacred and central texts from the Bible and Talmuds, through Medieval Kabbalah and Medieval Philosophy, and into Modern Jewish Literatures. Fulfills Distribution CRS History & Tradition -- Class of e09 and prior. (RELS 123, NELC 283) |
| Time: MW 3:30-5:00 |
| JWST 150.401 |
Introduction to the Bible |
Tigay |
| This course will introduce students to the Hebrew Bible (the "Old Testament"), its major themes and ideas, and the methods, discoveries and theories of modern Biblical scholarship. Special attention will be paid to the historical background of the Bible, archaeology, ancient Near Eastern parallels to the Bible, and Biblical criticism; the narratives and civil and religious laws of the Torah; the historical books; prophecy; the Psalms; wisdom literature, including Job; Biblical religion; postbiblical Jewish and Christian interpretation of the Bible; and the Bible in Western civilization. The course is truly introductory: no prior knowledge of the subject matter, nor of Hebrew, is presupposed. Fulfills Cross Cultural Analysis -- Class of '10 & after. Fulfills Humanities & Social Science Sector (new curriculum only). (NELC 150, NELC 450, RELS 125) |
| Time: TR 4:30-6:00 |
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| JWST 151.401 |
Great Books of Judaism |
Stern |
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. No background or Hebrew is necessary. Benjamin Franklin Seminars. Fulfills General Requirement III: Arts & Letters -- Class of '09 and Prior. (NELC 156, NELC 456, RELS 057, COML 057) |
| Time: TR 10:30-12:00 |
| JWST 153.401 |
Maimonides and His Image |
Fishman |
| Moses Maimonides, a Jewish thinker of twelfth century Andalusia and Egypt, sought to demonstrate the compatibility of Revelation's teachings with the insights of the intellect. But was he an arch-rationalist or a mystic? Through readings in English translation from Maimonides' code of law, his philosophical treatise and other writings, this course will explore his conceptions of the ideal curriculum, the purpose of religious observance, love and fear of God, the nature of idolatry, the role of Christianity and Islam in the divine scheme and the Messianic Age. The course will also consider the image of Maimonides at different moments in the history of Jewish culture. Benjamin Franklin Seminar. Fulfills Distribution CRS Arts & Letters -- Class of e09 and prior. (RELS 223, COML 257, NELC 158, NELC 458) |
| Time: M 2:00-5:00 |
| JWST 157.401 |
History of Jewish Civilization II |
Ruderman |
| Exploration of intellectual, social, and cultural developments in Jewish civilization from the dawn of rabbinic culture in the Near East through the assault on established conceptions of faith and religious authority in 17th century Europe. Particular attention will be paid to the impact of Christian and Muslim ghost societiesh on expressions of Jewish culture. Fulfills History & Tradition Sector (all classes); Cross Cultural Analysis -- Class of e10 and after. (HIST 140, RELS 121, NELC 052) |
| Time: TR 1:30-3:00 |
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| JWST 171.401 |
Elementary Biblical Hebrew I |
Carasik |
| An introduction to the grammar of biblical Hebrew with an emphasis on developing the skills necessary to read and understand Biblical texts. No previous knowledge of Hebrew is expected, though prospective students are recommended to make an effort to become familiar with the Hebrew alphabet and vowel signs. (HEBR 151, HEBR 451, JWST 471) |
| Time: MW 3:30-5:00 |
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| JWST 173.401 |
Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Prose |
Carasik |
| This course is intended as an introduction to the prose literature of the Hebrew Bible. By the end of the class, the successful student can expect to be able to read biblical prose texts independently and take advanced Bible exegesis courses. The intent of the course is for students to (1) gain an overall familiarity with the literature of the Hebrew Bible in the original language, and specifically with the genres of history, narrative, and law; (2) develop the skills necessary for close reading of biblical prose texts; (3) approach biblical prose texts as literary creations; and (4) understand biblical prose in its aspect as a window an ancient and non-European culture. In addition, students will become familiar with standard biblical idiom through a series of translation exercises based on the patriarchal narratives of Genesis 12-36. Prerequisite: Successful completion of HEBR 152 or permission of the instructor. (HEBR 153, HEBR 453, JWST 473) |
| Time: MW 5:00-6:30 |
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| JWST 202.401 |
Jewish Family in History |
Teller |
The family has been one of the basic structures of Jewish--and human--society from its very beginning, forming an arena for a range of social, economic, and political interactions that encompassed all members of society. More than that, the family has played a key role in the development of Jewish culture in every age, leaving its mark on the cultural production of Jews from antiquity until today. This seminar will examine how the Jewish family has changed and developed in all these realms over the last four centuries. Using the tools of cultural history and gender analysis, we will look at the Jewish family through the eyes of men and women, examining the changing cultural constructions of masculinity and femininity in Jewish society as well as questions of sexuality and impotence. On the basis of a range of primary sources in English translation, we will discuss the importance of family networks in the transmission not only of wealth and political power, but also of religious and cultural values. Finally, we will see how the sweeping social, demographic and ideological changes that faced Jewish society in Europe and the United States in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, not only affected Jewish family structures but were mediated by them, enabling Jewish society to grow and develop in its new conditions. Seminar. (HIST 202) |
| Time: W 3:30-6:30 |
| JWST 204.401 |
Re-Reading the Holocaust |
Wenger |
This course explores how the Holocaust has been constructed as an historical event. Beginning in the mid-1940s, with the first attempts to narrate what had transpired during the Nazi era, this seminar traces the ways that the Holocaust became codified as a distinct episode in history. We will examine documentary films, memoirs, survivor testimonies, as well as other scholarly and popular representations of the Holocaust. Students will be introduced to unfamiliar sources and also asked to reconsider some well-known Holocaust documents and institutions. (HIST 204) |
| Time: T 3:00-6:00 |
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| JWST 214.401 |
Jews and the City |
Wenger |
Jews have always been an extraordinarily urban people. This seminar explores various aspects of the Jewish encounter with the city, examining the ways that Jewish culture has been shaped by and has helped to shape urban culture. We will focus on both European and American cities and consider Jewish involvement in political, social and cultural life, the various neighborhoods in which Jews have lived, relations with other ethnic groups, as well as many other topics. We will read some classic works in the field along with contemporary scholarship. Benjamin Franklin Seminar. (HIST 214, URBS 220) |
| Time: R 1:30-4:30 |
| JWST 231.680 |
Beginning Judeo-Spanish I |
Braverman |
| The course will begin with and historical introduction to Sephardic Jewry. It will discuss the history and language of the Jews in Spain prior to their expulsion in 1492 and follow up with their history in the Ottoman Empire. It will then introduce the students to the phonology of the language both in a descriptive and historical perspective. There will also be discussion of the contrast with Castillian Spanish. After a discussion of the grammar, there will be lessons designed to teach the students conversational Judeo-Spanish, using dialogs, pictures, videos, music, visits with native speakers and other interactive methods. Seminar. |
| Time: W 3:00-5:00 |
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| JWST 242.401 |
Readings in the Aramiac Targums |
Tigay |
In late antiquity, both in Israel and in Babylonia, the custom developed of accompanying the Bible reading in synagogues with simultaneous oral translation (targum) into the Aramaic spoken language of the day. The translators negotiated their way between literal translation and various degrees of interpretive translation based on the different styles and idioms of Hebrew and Aramaic and considerations of theology, law, and other matters. Those targums produced in the land of Israel expanded the text considerably by introducing aggadic lore in the translation. They were studied by the laiety, exerted a strong influence on the medieval Bible commentators and are still regularly studied in some Jewish circles today. They constitute a valuable resource for the study of the Hebrew Bible and for understanding Jewish belief, practice, and folklore. The translators' methods, especially as explained by S.D. Luzzatto (Shadal) in the 19th century, are a virtual encyclopedia of the philosophy and techniques of translation. The prerequisite for this course is the ability to read and understand Biblical Hebrew. It will begin with a brief orientation in the grammar of the targums to enable students to recognize the main differences between Hebrew and Aramaic. The main focus of the course will be on studying and comparing selected narrative, poetic and legal passages from the most important targums and analyzing their interpretive emphases, their religious ideas, and their methods of translation. (ANEL 242, ANEL 642) |
| Time: TR 12:00-1:30 |
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| JWST 257.401 |
Hurban: Responses to the Destruction of the Temple in Rabbinic Literature |
Stern |
This course will deal with what was arguably the watershed event in the history of early Judaism, the Destruction of the Temple in the year 70 C.E. and the responses to that event recorded in Rabbinic literature, both in the Midrash on Lamentations (Eikhah Rabbah) and in the Talmuds and other sources. We will also consider what modern historians believe actually occurred as well as such ancient historians as Josephus and Tacitus and Christian writers like Eusebius. In this way, we will use the course's topic as a lens through which to consider how modern scholarship approaches Rabbinic Judaism and its literature, and consider the nature of Rabbinic memor--how the Rabbis chose to remember their past and to preserve it for future generations. The class will be held in English but many of the readings will be in the original Hebrew or Aramaic. (If you know Greek or Latin, you're also free to read those texts in the original.) No previous background in Rabbinic literature is required but students must be able to read an unpointed Hebrew text. If you have questions about your Hebrew ability, please contact the instructor. Seminar.Fulfills General Requirement III: Arts & Letters -- Class of '09 and Prior. (RELS 226, HEBR 257, HEBR 557) |
| Time: TR 3:00-4:30 |
| JWST 259.401 |
Songs, Poems and National Identity |
Gold |
Considering the historical and political background, this course shows the leading role of Hebrew songs in the creation and development of the Zionist-Jewish-Israeli national identity. Many of the formative literary texts that accompanied the Modern Zionist movement and the State of Israel were put to music and sung. (For example: Hatikva, the Israeli anthem, was originally a Zionist poem; Gouri's poem Bab El-Wad became a secular gprayerh featured at Israeli war memorials.) As the country evolved, so did its music, but poetry continued to be transformed into Hebrew songs. The course analyzes the genre's ideological and psychological functions by studying the lyrics and the relationship between word and melody. Works span over a hundred years; from classics like Bialik, Alterman and Amichai to Hanoch and Idan Reichel. The content of this course changes from year to year, thus students may take it for credit more than once. Seminar. Fulfills Cross Cultural Analysis -- Class of '10 and after; Arts & Letters Sector (all classes) -- Class of '09 and prior; and Literatures of the World. (HEBR 259, COML 266, HEBR 559, COLL 227) |
| Time: TR 10:30-12:00 |
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| JWST 260.401 |
Jewish Folklore |
Ben-Amos |
| The Jews are among the few nations and ethnic groups whose oral tradition occurs in literary and religious texts dating back more than two thousand years. This tradition changed and diversified over the years in terms of the migrations of Jews into different countries and the historical, social, and cultural changes that these countries underwent. The course attempts to capture the historical and ethnic diversity of Jewish folklore in a variety of oral literary forms. A basic book of Hasidic legends from the 18th century will serve as a key text to explore problems in Jewish folklore. Fulfills Cross Cultural Analysis -- Class of '10 & after. Fulfills General Requirement II: History & Tradition -- Class of '09 & prior. (NELC 258, COML 283, FOLK 280, RELS 221) |
| Time: TR 10:30-12:00 |
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| JWST 320.401 |
Spirit and Law |
Fishman |
While accepting the "yoke of the commandments," Jewish thinkers from Antiquity onward have sought to make the teachings of revelation more meaningful in their own lives. Additional impetus has come from overtly polemical challenges to the Law, such as those leveled by Paul, Christian biblical exegetes, Spinoza and Kant. This course explores both the critiques of Jewish law, and Jewish reflections on the meaning and purpose of the commandments, by examining a range of primary sources within their intellectual, historical and cultural contexts. Texts -- in English translation | include selections from midrash, Gospels, Talmud, philosophy, biblical exegesis, kabbalah, hasidic homilies, Enlightenment challenges and responses, and contemporary attempts to revalue. Seminar. (RELS 321, NELC 454, JWST 520) |
| Time: TR 10:30-12:00 |
| JWST 335.401 |
Muslims, Christians, Jews |
Sharkey |
| This seminar addresses several recurring questions about Muslim, Christian, and Jewish relations in the Middle East. How have Islam, Christianity, and Judaism influenced each other in the region historically? How have Jews, Christians, and Muslims fared as religious minorities? To what extent have communal relations been characterized by harmony and cooperation, or by strife and discord, and how have these relations changed in different contexts over time? To what extent and under what circumstances have members of these communities converted, intermarried, formed business alliances, and adopted or developed similar customs? How has the emergence of the modern nation-state system affected communal relations as well as the legal or social status of religious minorities in particular countries? How important has religion been as one variable in social identity (along with sect, ethnicity, class, gender, etc.), and to what extent has religious identity figured into regional conflicts and wars? The focus of the class will be on the modern period (c. 1800-present) although we will read about some relevant trends in the early and middle Islamic periods as well. Students will pursue individually tailored research to write a final paper and to share their findings with the class at the end of the semester. Seminar.Fulfills Distribution CRS History & Tradition -- Class of e09 and prior. (NELC 335, RELS 311, HIST 630, NELC 535) |
| Time: TR 1:30-4:30 |
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| JWST 533.401 |
Jews, Christians in Late Antique Syria |
Reed |
This course will explore the early history of Jewish/Christian relations through a focus on Syria. We will consider evidence for contacts, conflicts, and competition between Christians and Jews from the first to the sixth centuries. Readings will include selections from the New Testament, Patristic writings, "pseudepigrapha" and "apocrypha," and classical Rabbinic literature. Areas of special interest will include the question of whether "Jewish-Christian" traditions may have flourished in Roman Syria (esp. Edessa) and how interactions between Babylonian Jews and Syriac Christians in the Persian Empire may have differed from those of their counterparts in the Roman Empire. Seminar.Fulfills Distribution CRS History & Tradition -- Class of e09 and prior. (HIST 533) |
| Time: T 1:30-4:30 |
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| JWST 540.401 |
Memory, Trauma, Culture |
Weissberg |
In recent years, studies of memory (both individual and cultural) have rivaled those of history, and have produced alternative narratives of events. At the same time, research has also focused on the rupture of narrative, the inability to find appropriate forms of telling, and the experience of a loss of words. The notion of trauma (Greek for gwoundh) may stand for such a rupture. Many kinds of narratives, most prominently the recollections of Holocaust survivors, are instances in which memories are invoked not only to come to terms with traumatic events, but also to inscribe trauma in various ways. In this seminar, we will read theoretical work on memory and trauma, discuss their implication for the study of literature, art, and culture, read select examples from Holocaust survivors' autobiographies (i.e. Primo Levi, Eli Wiesel), and discuss visual art (i.e. Boltanski, Kiefer) and film (i.e. Resnais, Lanzmann, Spielberg). Seminar. All readings and lectures in English. (GRMN 540, COML 539, ENGL 588) |
| Time: T 3:00-5:00 |
| JWST 426.401 |
Rabbinic Writers on a Rabbinic Culture |
Fishman |
| The course traces reflections on rabbinic culture produced within Jewish legal literature of the classic rabbinic period -- Midrash, Mishna and Talmud -- and in later juridical genres -- talmudic commentary, codes and responsa. Attention will be paid to the mechanics of different genres, the role played by the underlying prooftext, the inclusion or exclusion of variant opinions, the presence of non-legal information, the balance between precedent and innovation. Reading knowledge of Hebrew required. Seminar. (RELS 426) |
| Time: TR 10:30-12:00 |
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| RELS 735.401 |
Textual Criticism of Biblical and Other Ancient Texts |
Kraft |
Introduction to the textual criticism of ancient texts -- covering theory as well as specific applications, such as how to read and interpret textcritical apparatuses and their evidence. Primary attention will be given to texts preserved in Greek and Latin, including translations from Hebrew to Greek (especially Jewish scriptures in Greek) and between Greek and Latin. Jewish and Christian texts, scriptural and other, will be examined as well as various classical writings. Working knowledge of Greek is necessary; some Latin and/or Hebrew would be helpful but not crucial. Undergraduates require permission of the instructor. (CLST 735)
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| Time: T 6:00-9:00 |
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| 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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