Undergraduate Courses
See the UIC Schedule of Classes
for a complete list of courses
offered.
Courses offered for Fall 2009:
Courses Regularly Offered in
Jewish Studies and in Hebrew Language:
- JST 101: Introduction to Jewish Studies: Humanities (3 hrs)
Introduction to major themes, issues, writers and contexts of modern Jewish
literature. Primary focus on the connections between these literary texts and
contemporary Jewish existence.
Cultural Diversity course.
- JST 102: Introduction to Jewish Studies: Religion and Culture (3 hrs.)
This course is a first introduction to Jews and Judaism for students of all
backgrounds and religions. It approaches this subject from the perspective of
modern social sciences including sociology, anthropology, economics,
political science, demography, social psychology, and geography. The goal of
the course is to study the behavioral characteristics of Jews as individuals
and as a group, including relationships between individual Jews and their
families,their communities, and their non-Jewish neighbors.
Cultural Diversity course.
- JST 103: Israel Studies: Narratives of a Complex Society (3 hrs.)
Past, and World Cultures course.
- JST 115: Understanding the Bible as Literature (3 hrs)
A broad overview of various literary genres in the Bible such as origin narrative,
historical narrative, poetry, wisdom literature, prophetic/apocalyptic literature,
parable, and epistle.
Same as ENGL 115, and RELS 115.
- JST 116: Jewish-American Literature of the 20th Century (3 hrs)
Introduction to ways of analyzing literature within the specific thematic and
cultural lens of Judaism, focusing on major works of literature in a variety of
genres (from short stories, novels, and memoirs to adaptations on Hollywood and
Broadway) throughout the twentieth century.
Same as ENGL 116.
- JST 117: Understanding the Holocaust (3 hrs)
Holocaust of European Jewry as the result of antisemitic ideology and the
development of modern German political forces; implementation of the Final Solution.
Same as HIST 117.
- JST 122: Minority Perspectives in the Germanic Context (3 hrs)
Investigation of the challenges and/or opportunities of multicultural
societies by examining in a socio-historical context texts created by
members of Europe's ethnic,religious, and national minorities. No credit
toward a major or minor program offered by the Department of Germanic Studies.
Lectures, discussion, and readings in English.
Cultural Diversity course.
Same as GER 122.
- JST 123: Introduction to Yiddish Culture and Literature
(3 hrs)
Yiddish culture in Europe and the U.S. in
socio-historical context.
Focus on the role of Yiddish in
conceptions of secular, cultural,
religious, national Jewish
identities. Cultural Diversity course
Same as GER 123. No graduation credit toward a
major or minor program offered by the
Department of Germanic Studies. Lectures, discussion, and readings in
English.
- JST 124: Hebrew Bible (3 hrs)
A study of the Five
Books of Moses (a.k.a Torah or Pentateuch) within
the
contexts of the ancient Near East and biblical
literature. Taught in English.
Same as CL 124 and RELS
124.
- JST 125: Diaspora, Exile, Genocide: Aspects of the European Jewish Experience in
Literature and Film (3 hrs)
Literature and films on European Jewish responses to anti-Semitism and persecution in a historical
context to reveal the condition of post-Enlightenment German-speaking Jewish and Yiddish-speaking
societies. Course participants will read, screen, and discuss works by representataives of Central
European literature and filmmaking of different eras in the context of the social and political debates.
- JST 141: Philosophy and Revelation: Jewish and Christian
Perspectives (3 hrs)
Many philosophers, in past
centuries, at least, have argued that there is a God,
but
the God they have defended with their arguments is an
unchangeable, immaterial
Being that could not possibly
intervene in history, speak to human beings, or take
human
form. What relation can this God of reason bear to the God
described in the
Torah and the Gospels? This question has
vexed Jewish and Christian thinkers for
much of the past 200
years. We will look in this class at a sampling of the most
ingenious theories that have been proposed for how either
Scripture should be
re-interpreted, or the "God of
philosophers" revised, to bring religious and
philosophical
understandings of God together. Readings from Moses Mendelssohn,
Immanuel Kant, Soren Kierkegaard, Hermann Cohen, and
Mordechai Kaplan.
Required Texts: Religion of Reason out of
the Sources of Judaism, Hermann Cohen;
Lessing's Theological
Writings, Gotthold Lessing; Nathan The Wise, Gotthold Lessing;
Religion within the Limits of Reason Alone, Immanuel Kant;
Philosophical Fragments,
Soren Kierkegaard. Recommended
Text: Jerusalem, Moses Mendelssohn
Same as PHIL 141 and
RELS 141.
-
JST 203: Israel Film: Aspects of History, Life, and Culture (3 hrs.)
This course focuses on Israeli film achievementts, and how it reflects and is shaped by both historical and modern Jewish culture.
World Cultures course.
- JST 225: Topics in Jewish/Muslim Relations: Judaism & Islam: Interactions and
Intersections (3 hrs)
This course examines the history of interaction between Judaism and Islam touching
on some paradigmatic moments when shared geography and shared ideas brought Islam
and Judaism into the sphere of mutual influence. We will examine how the hostility
between Jews and Muslims has been constructed as well as the origins of this
hostility while also considering the history of coexistence and the places where
Jews and Muslims lived together. While central theological and philosophical texts
from the two traditions will be studied, we will also question the idea of a
discrete 'tradition' that exists in isolation bounded by its own tenets. The
history of interaction between Islam and Judaism includes shared prophets, sacred
geography, legal tenets, philosophic revolutions and marginalization during the
periods in which the conception of the "European" and "Westerner" were formed.
Same as RELS 225 and CL 225
- JST 235: Introduction to Jewish Thought I (3 hrs)
This course introduces students to the fundamental Jewish texts, theology, and thought
of the rabbinic period (100CE-900 CE). Topics include: ethics, authority, sexuality,
exegesis, and law.
Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing or above.
- JST 242: History of Biblical Interpretation (3 hrs)
Survey of the span of Jewish history and the wide range of cultural contexts that
have impacted the understanding of the Torah.
Cultural Diversity course
Same as CL 242 and RELS 242.
- JST 243: Politics and Government of the Middle East (3
hrs)
Contemporary Middle East political institutions,
culture, processes, and conflicts.
Emphasis on interaction of
traditional and modern forces, such as Islam,
nationalism,
political elites, ideologies, states. Cultural Diversity course
Same as POLS 243.
Prerequisite(s): POLS 130 or POLS 190; or consent of the instructor.
- JST 254: Prophets in Judaism and Islam (3 hrs)
A
cross-cultural survey of prophets. Texts include the Hebrew
Bible, the Quran and Islamic
and Jewish exegetical
material. Cultural Diversity
course.
Same as CL 254 and RELS 254.
- JST 294: Topics in Jewish Studies (3 hrs)
How Jews
became a modern ethnic group, how their experiences compare with
other ethnic groups,
and how their experiences in modern
times vary from nation to nation.
May be repeated to a
maximum of 6 hours.
- JST 311: Gender and Sexuality in Early Christianity and
Judaism (3 hrs)
Examination of the root of contemporary
perspectives on gender and sexuality in the early
traditions
of Judaism and Christianity including the Bible,
the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Church Fathers, the Talmud,
and
legends of the saints.
Same as GWS 311 and RELS 311.
- JST 394: Topics in Jewish Studies (3 hrs)
Selected
topics in Jewish culture and history. May be repeated to a
maximum of 9 hours.
Students may register in more than one
section per term.
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the
instructor.
- JST 478: The Bible as Literature (3 OR 4
hrs)
Literary analysis of the English Bible (including
the Apocrypha) in its historical and religious
contexts;
study of the King James Version and successive revisions of
it.
Same as ENGL 478, and RELS 478.
Prerequisite(s): Grade
of C or better in ENGL 240; and Grade of C or better in ENGL
241
or Grade of C or better in ENGL 242 or Grade of C or better
in ENGL 243; or consent of the
instructor.
- JST 494: Topics in Jewish Studies (3 OR 4
hrs)
Selected topics in Jewish studies. May be repeated
to a maximum of 6 hours if topics vary.
Prerequisite(s): JST
101 or JST 102 or consent of the instructor.
- HEB 101: Elementary Hebrew I (4 hrs)
Introduction
to the vocalization, basic vocabulary, and grammatical structure
of the Hebrew language.
Spoken and written Hebrew are both
stressed.
Prerequisite(s): For students who have not studied
Hebrew or placement as determined by test score
or consent of
instructor.
- HEB 102: Elementary Hebrew II (4 hrs)
The second
part of an introduction to the study of the basic vocabulary and
grammatical structure
of the Hebrew language. Spoken Hebrew
is also stressed.
Prerequisite(s): HEB 101 or adequate
performance on the placement test or consent of the
instructor.
- HEB 103: Intermediate Hebrew I (4 hrs)
The second
year of Hebrew language study. Study of Hebrew grammar with
emphasis on sentence structure
for speaking and writing
Hebrew.
Prerequisite(s): HEB 102 or adequate performance on
the placement test or consent of instructor.
- HEB 104: Intermediate Hebrew II (4 hrs)
Focused study of Hebrew grammar and reading comprehension. Emphasis on writing and speaking Hebrew with fluency.
Prerequisite(s):
HEB 103 or adequate performance on the placement test or consent
of the instructor.
Courses Which May
Count Toward a Minor in Jewish Studies:
- HON 110: The Holocaust in Law, Literature, Film, & Politics (3 hrs)
- JST 243: Politics and Government of the Middle East (3 hrs)
Same as POLS 243
- POLS 389: Seminar: Topics in International Relations (3 hrs)
Selected topics in international relations. Topics may vary and may cover global
military, economic, cultural, ecological or methodological issues. May be repeated
to a maximum of 6 hours
if topics vary.
Prerequisite(s): POLS
184 and POLS 200.
- GER 404: Yiddish for Reading Knowledge (3 OR 4
hrs)
Preparation for the Graduate Proficiency Exam.
Basic components of Yiddish grammar,
sentence structure,
and vocabulary. Selected texts in the original language will
be studied.
Does not satisfy the graduation requirement in
foreign languages.
Prerequisite(s): GER 211; or consent of
the instructor or graduate standing.
- GER 531: Seminar in Special Topics (4 hrs)
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