Undergraduate Courses
See the Online Catalogue
for a complete list of all courses offered by the department.
See the UIC Schedule of Classes
for a complete list of current course offerings.
Courses offered for Fall 2012:
Courses Regularly Offered in
Jewish Studies and in Hebrew Language:
- JST 101: Introduction to Judaism (3 hrs.)
This course will examine significant moments in the development of the Jewish
religion from its biblical beginnings through today. Against the background
of Jewish and world history, we will seek to understand the roots and evolution
of Jewish rituals, customs, traditions, and beliefs. Judaism and Jewishness have
changed so much over the centuries that sometimes this might seem like a course in
comparative religion. Our challenge will be to understand why these changes occurred
while also identifying the continuities that connect Jews across time and space. This
course is open to all undergraduates, regardless of personal background or previous coursework.
Individual and Society course.
- JST 102: Introduction to Jewish Studies: Historical Overview (3 hrs.)
Overview of Jewish history from Biblical times until the present.Topics will range
from ancient Judea through 21st-century Jewish life in America and Israel.
Individual and Society and Past course.
- JST 103: Introduction to Israeli Studies (3 hrs.)
It is hard to overstate the role Hebrew literature played in the growth of Zionism and the establishment
of Israel. Emerging in another territory altogether by a small group of European Jewish writers for whom
Hebrew was not their mother tongue, Hebrew literature "imagined" a new kind of Jewish collective almost
from scratch. Even decades after founding of the state, Hebrew literature continues to rearticulate Israeli
identity again and again. Reading a small collection of novels and short stories in translation along with
secondary materials from a variety of disciplines, we will trace the evolution of the dialogue between
Israeli society and Hebrew fiction over the last sixty years. Our approach will include questions concerning
both the "inside" (point of view, character, plot) and "outside" (history, gender, ethnicity) of each work,
enabling us to use fiction to examine Israeli society and vice versa. While much about Hebrew fiction has
changed during this time-from the language itself to the condition of both its writers and readers-the centrality
of this literature inside Israel has not.
Past, and World Cultures course.
- JST 116: Jewish-American Literature (Same as ENGL 116) (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 (Same as HIST 117) (3 hrs)
Holocaust of European Jewry as the result of anti-semitic ideology and the
development of modern German political forces; implementation of the Final Solution.
Individual and Society, and Past course.
- JST 122: Minority Perspectives in the German Context (Same as GER 122) (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.
Creative Arts, and World Cultures course.
.
- JST 123: Introduction to Yiddish Culture and Literature (Same as GER 123)
(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. Creative Arts, and World Cultures course
.
- JST 124: Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (Same as CL 124 and RELS 124)(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.
Past Course
.
- JST 125: Diaspora, Exile, Genocide (Same as Ger 125)
(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.
Past, and World Cultures course
-
JST 203: Israel Film: Aspects of History, Life and Culture (3 hrs.)
This course focuses on Israeli film achievements, and how it reflects and is
shaped by both historical and modern Jewish culture.
.
- JST 225: Topics in Judaism and Islam in Muslim Iberia (Same as CL 225 and RELS 225) (3 hrs)
Convivencia in Muslim Iberia
Exploring the similarities and differences between Jewish and Muslim cultures in Medieval Iberia is
both challenging and illuminating. Our course will study how Jewish culture rose and flourished,
both under the influence and spurred by the challenge represented by Muslim culture in Sepharad (the name Jews gave to
Iberia under Muslim rule), and how Muslims began to study seriously the Bible, challenging it as with Ibn Hazm and
incorporating it as with Ibn Arabi in al-Andalus (the name Muslims gave to Iberia under their rule).
Same as RELS 225 and CL 225
- JST 230: Philosophical Issues in the Israel/Palestine Conflict (3 hrs)
Is it legitimate for there to be a Jewish state- or, for that matter, Arab or Muslim states? Or should
all states be free of religious and cultural identities? To which group, Jews or Arabs- if either one-
does the land properly "belong"? We will consider moral arguments for and against religious and cultural
nationalism, as well as the many considerations that go into claims to property. The class will include
historical as well as philosophical materials, and students will be encouraged to make efforts to understand
why each side in the conflict sees its claims as just.
Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing or above. Same as PHIL 230
- 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 240: Philosophy and Revelation: Jewish and Christian Perspectives
(Same as PHIL 240 and RELS 240)(3 hrs)
Introduction to philosophical ways of addressing the claim that a book
(the Bible, the Quran) comes from God. Texts by Immanuel Kant, Moses Mendelssohn,
and Soren Kierkegaard, among others
Same as CL 240 and RELS 240.
- JST 242: 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) (Same as POLS 243)
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 (Same as CL 254 and RELS 254) (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 in Western Religion (Same as GWS 311 and RELS 311) (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: Jewish Womens Paths to Religious Leadership (3 hrs)
Students will be required to trace the history of how women gained voice and acknowledgement in non-Orthodox
synagogues in the United States, Germany, Israel, and the UK, as well as their contributions to administrative
and social leadership, and their ascent into both the rabbinate and the cantorate
- JST 402: Jewish-Christian Relations (3 hrs)
Social and Intellectual relationships between Jewish communities and medieval
Christendom, with attnetion to Jewish understandings of diaspora and redemption;
and roles Jewish scholars played in the rise of Christian humanism.
- JST 403: Advanced Topics in Israel Studies (3 hrs)
Focused study of specific topics in Israeli literature, culture, or history.
- JST 410: Advanced Studies in Jewish Culture (3 hrs)
Selected topics in Jewish literature and/or arts,in one or more places and time periods.
Prerequisite(s): One course in Jewish Studies. Recommended Background: JST 102.
- JST 420: Advanced Studies in Jewish Religion (3 hrs)
In-depth study of a period or mode of Jewish religious development of textual production,
or an examination of a religious tenet or practice across various historical periods.
Topics will vary.
Prerequisite(s): JST 101 and JST 230 or 242 or 254
- JST 430: Advanced Topics in Jewish Thought (3 hrs)
Advanced topics in Jewish theology, philosophy, ethics or political thought.
Prerequisite(s): One 100-level and one 200-level course in Jewish Studies
- JST 478: History of Biblical Interpretation (Same as ENGL 478) (3 OR 4 hrs)
What does it mean to consider the Bible in terms of literature? The notion of the Hebrew Bible as literary
document began with the discovery of different authors, or at least distinct literary "sources" by German
scholars in the 19th century. The idea of a written rather than a revealed Bible had profound theological and
political implications and, at the same time, launched the practice of source criticism- the identification of
different authorial voices in the Bible and speculation on when they might have produced their documents. Students
will be introduced to source criticism and to the various writers and factions alleged to speak in the Bible. Others
have argued that considering the Bible in terms of literature involves the close reading of biblical texts and the
identification of their genre, themes and narrative structures. We will engage in such close readings and develop
an analytic vocabulary for considering the Bible as literature. The Bible as literature can also involve the application
of literary theory to biblical texts. To this end, we will read some of the more successful theoretical studies of
the Bible including those by Mieke Bal, Mary Douglas and Ilana Pardes. In the final component of the course, we will
consider how the transmission and interpretation of biblical text contributes to their meaning and contemporary use.
We will focus on the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, and I & II Samuel, with some attention
paid to poetry in Psalms. Students will engage in the study-pair technique, which emulates ancient modes of biblical study.
This technique involves reading texts and answering questions with a study partner and working with this partner on drafts
of the second paper.
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: The Political System and Society in Contemporary Israel
-Crisis of Representation? (3 OR 4 hrs)
The course will present and analyze the main characteristics of the Israeli political
system, focusing on the historical development of the political parties and their relationship with
civil society. It will analyze the transformation of political parties in Israel, from being
central to peoples identity, to the current situation in which there is a pervasive lack of
confidence in the party system. The protests of summer 2011 will serve as a case study, illustrating
the difficulties that the party system has in giving voice to civil society's demands.
Same as POLS 494
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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