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Courses

200-201-202. Judaic Civilization I, II, III. This course sequence fulfills the Common Core requirement in civilization studies. This is a sequential study of periods and communities selected from the history of Judaic civilization, viewed from multiple perspectives--historical, literary, philosophical, religious, and social--and examined in light of the varied ways that civilization is and is not the product of interactions between the Jewish people and surrounding civilizations, nations, and religions. The primary focus is on a close reading of original sources in translation. Specific periods and communities studied may vary from year to year.

200. Judaic Civilization I: Biblical Literature and Religion (=Hum 200). This course provides an overall introduction to the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), with specific attention to its literary, religious, and ideological contents. The diversity of thought and theology in ancient Israel is explored, along with its notions of text, teaching, and tradition. Revision and reinterpretation is found within the Bible itself. Portions of the earliest postbiblical interpretation (in Philo, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and selected pseudepigrapha) are also considered. J. Collins. Autumn.

201. Judaic Civilization II: Rabbinic Judaism from the Mishnah to Maimonides (=Hum 201). Study of the primary texts in the development of classical and medieval rabbinic Judaism from roughly 70 C.E. to the twelfth century. The course centers on selections (in translation) from the Mishneh and tannaitic Midrash, the Babylonian Talmud, Geonic and Karaite writing, the Judeo-Arabic and Hebrew literature of Andalusia, and Maimonides' legal and philosophical compositions. Topics include different conceptions of the Hebrew Bible and its interpretation; the origins and development of the Oral Law; relations between Judaism and both Christianity and Islam; sectarianism; rationalist and antirationalist trends in rabbinic thought; and the emergence of secular pursuits in the rabbinic tradition. J. Stern. Winter.

202. Judaic Civilization III: The German-Jewish Experience (=German 243, Hum 202). PQ: Reading knowledge of German helpful but not required. This course is designed as an exploration of interaction between Jews and Christians within sixteenth through twentieth century Germany. Such interactions helped define the German-Jewish experience: its modes of thought, action, and cultural creativity; and its assimilation to, and difference from, a sometimes friendly, sometimes hostile, ever ambivalent societal environment. Readings include selections from authors, non-Jewish as well as Jewish, such as Reuchlin, Mendelssohn, Kant, Lessing, Herder, Goethe, Borne, Heine, Hermann Cohen, Marx, Freud, Mann, Arendt, Buber, and Scholem. S. Jaffe. Spring.

217. East European Yiddish Language and Culture (=LngLin 217). PQ: Knowledge of languages such as Yiddish, German, or Hebrew not required. An introduction to Yiddish language and to the culture of East European Jews through the reading of a collection of short literary texts in the original Yiddish--the Khumesh lider (Bible poems) of Itsik Manger. Students completing the course should be able to read Yiddish texts with the aid of a dictionary. H. Aronson. Winter.

220-221-222. Elementary Classical Hebrew I, II, III (=Hebrew 250-251-252). This course sequence fulfills the Common Core foreign language requirement. D. Pardee. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

223-224-225. Intermediate Classical Hebrew I, II, III (=Hebrew 253-254-255). D. Pardee. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

228. Book of Daniel. PQ: Reading knowledge of Aramaic and Hebrew. Exegesis of the Hebrew and Aramaic text. J. Collins. Winter.

232. Introduction to Jewish Mystical Literature: The Book of Zohar. PQ: Knowledge of languages such as Aramaic or Hebrew not required. Readings in the book of Zohar with close attention to the types of mystical language and mystical experience in the readings. The course considers this classical work within the context of Jewish and general mysticism. M. Fishbane. Winter.

233. Apocalyptism and Christian Origins. This course offers discussion of the development of apocalyptism in Hellenistic Judaism and the impact of apocalyptism on early Christianity. J. Collins. Autumn.

234. The World of the Biblical Prophets (=Hum 234, NCD 280). This course offers an in-depth analysis of the biblical prophets. Each prophet is set in historical time and within a particular societal context, and against this background a profile of the man is drawn. What was he like as a social reformer and religious thinker? What did he say no to in society and organized worship? And to what did he say yes? How was his message received, and what influence did it have in its day? Finally, are the prophets merely historical figures, curiosities of antiquity, or do they speak to us in our own age? H. Moltz. Autumn.

235. The Radicalism of Job and Ecclesiastes (=Fndmtl 246, Hum 235, NCD 277). Both Job and Ecclesiastes dispute a central doctrine of the Hebrew Bible, namely, the doctrine of retributive justice. Each book argues that a person's fate is not a consequence of his or her religio-moral acts and thus the piety, whatever else it is, must be disinterested. In brief, the authors of Job and Ecclesiastes, each in his own way, not only "de-mythologizes," but "de-moralizes" the world. The students read the books in translation and discuss their theological and philosophical implications. H. Moltz. Spring.

240. Mythological Traditions and the Bible. Participants study the mythic tradition of the ancient world and how the Bible adopted, adapted, and ultimately transformed this. The course concentrates on the first eleven chapters in the book of Genesis and on poetry sections of the Bible. T. Frymer-Kensky. Spring.

243. Historical Introduction to Modern Hebrew Literature. This course covers Hebrew literature from the Biblical, Midrashic, medieval, and modern periods. Intertextual relationships between the different epochs are examined as layers of a continuous literature, focusing on themes and forms that are present in ancient Hebrew literature through modern Hebrew literature. Geographical and demographical backgrounds to Hebrew literature are discussed. M. Brinker. Winter.

244. Sociology of Second Temple Judaism. J. Collins, M. Riesebrodt. Winter.

250-251-252. Introduction to Modern Hebrew (=LngLin 202-203-204). This course sequence aims to introduce students to speaking, reading, and writing modern Hebrew. To that end, all four language skills are emphasized: comprehension of written and oral materials; reading of non-diacritical text; writing of directed sentences, paragraphs, and compositions; and speaking. At the end of the year, students can conduct short conversation in Hebrew, read materials designed for their level, and write short compositions. A. Finkelstein. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

253-254-255. Intermediate Modern Hebrew (=LngLin 205-206-207). This course is devised for students who had previously taken either modern or biblical Hebrew courses. The main objective is to provide students with the skills necessary to approach modern Hebrew prose, both fiction and non-fiction. In order to achieve this formidable task, students are provided with a systematic examination of the complete verb structure. Many syntactic structures are introduced, including simple clauses, coordinate and compound sentences. At this level students not only write and speak extensively, but are also required to analyze grammatically and contextually all of the materials assigned. A. Finkelstein. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

256-257-258. Advanced Modern Hebrew (=LngLin 311-312-313). This course assumes that students have full mastery of the grammatical and lexical content of the intermediate level. However, there is a shift from a reliance on the cognitive approach to an emphasis on the expansion of various grammatical and vocabulary subjects. First, the students are introduced to sophisticated and more complex syntactic structures, and instructed how to transform simple sentences into more complicated ones. Second, the vocabulary included in the reading course is much more extensive than in the intermediate level. The exercises stress the creative effort on the part of the students, and the reading segments are longer and more sophisticated in both style and content. A. Finkelstein. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

262. Maimonides's Code (=SocTh 346). PQ: Knowledge of Hebrew helpful but not required. A study of the first and last books of the Mishneh Torah, the book of Knowledge and the book of Judges. R. Lerner. Spring.

270. Freud, Herzl, and Turn-of-the-Century Culture (=GS Hum 277, German 280, HiPSS 298). PQ: Third- or fourth-year standing and knowledge of German. A reading of a series of major texts from the turn of the century in the light of the question of racial anti-Semitism, gender, and their relationship to fin de siècle culture. Among the texts read are Freud and Schnitzler on hysteria, Herzl on the new Zion, Strauss's reading of Oscar Wilde's Salome, and Lou Andreas-Salome on Nietzsche. Texts in English and the original. S. Gilman. Not offered 1996-97; will be offered 1997-98.

275. Poetry of the Jews, Germans, and Other "Others" (=GS Hum 279/379, German 275/375, Hum 254). PQ: Reading knowledge of German helpful but not required. The course consists of a series of close readings in several subgenres of verse, mostly (but not exclusively) from the modern period. Its aim is to explore how problematic identities such as those of Germans, of Jews, and of other "Others" creatively reinvent and reinscribe themselves within that most personal and intimate of canonical genres, lyric poetry. Poets read include Heine, Lazarus, Bialik, Lasker-Schüler, Celan, Reznikoff, Shapiro, McElroy, Amichai, Pagis, and Percy. Suggestions for poems are welcome. Texts in English and the original. S. Jaffe. Winter.

282. The Psalms. PQ: Knowledge of biblical Hebrew. In this course we study the book of Psalms as a whole and also read representative Psalms. T. Frymer-Kensky. Autumn.

286. Song of Songs I. PQ: Knowledge of biblical Hebrew. This course offers a close reading of Song of Songs, with special attention paid to poetics and structure. The text is examined in light of ancient Near Eastern love poetry and medieval and modern readings concerned with the primary contextual senses of the work. M. Fishbane. Autumn.

287. Song of Songs II: Midrash. PQ: Knowledge of Hebrew. This course studies selected passages from ancient and medieval Midrashic commentaries to the Song of Songs. Theological transformation and hermeneutical techniques are examined. Method in the study of Midrash is considered. M. Fishbane. Autumn.

298. General Reading/Research Course. PQ: Consent of instructor and committee chairman. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

299. B.A. Paper Preparation Course. PQ: Consent of instructor and committee chairman. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Staff. Winter, Spring.

316. Biblical Religion: The Hebrew Bible. This is the first course in a new sequence sponsored by the Committee on the Ancient Mediterranean World. T. Frymer-Kensky. Autumn.

341. Leviticus. PQ: Knowledge of biblical Hebrew. This course is a study of the book of Leviticus, its composition, its theology, and its version of Israel's history and mission. T. Frymer-Kensky. Spring.

399. History, Meaning, and the Impact of the Holocaust. This seminar focuses on the unfolding of the Holocaust as represented in historical and personal documents. T. Frymer-Kensky. Spring.

See the quarterly Time Schedules for additional course listings in Hebrew Bible, Hebrew literature, history, and Jewish thought.

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