Judaic Studies Courses: Winter 2004
Advanced Electives can be viewed here.
HEBREW
JUDC 102 Elementary Hebrew Dr. Kaplan MWF 10-10:50
In this course, students will acquire basic conversational and grammatical Hebrew skills. Students will learn primary grammatical structures and develop a vocabulary that will allow them to carry basic conversations in modern Hebrew. In addition to the linguistic aspects of the course, students will be introduced to various facets of modern Israeli culture - the culture in which modern Hebrew developed and continues to evolve. Continuation of JUDC 101JUDC 202 Intermediate Hebrew Mrs. Gutmark MWF 9-9:50
Games, Israeli movies, songs, and newspapers, recordings of conversations, art, Israeli feast, celebrating holidays, live Israeli radio; these are some of the means by which Modern Hebrew is taught in this Intermediate-level class. This course is a dynamic combination of grammar, syntax, vocabulary, prose and poetry, and Israeli culture. Emphasis is put on developing the basic skills: listening, reading, writing, comprehension, and conversation. Students have the opportunity to teach their class-mates and give oral presentations regularly. Group work, cooperative learning and discussions are used in every class. In-class work is supplemented by multimedia activities in the mandatory language lab, using the audio-visual and interactive web sites, in order to give students multiple learning opportunities, suited to a variety of learning styles.JUDC 332 Advanced Modern Hebrew Mrs. Gutmark MWF 10-10:50
Agnon, Zach, Amichai, Zelda, Oz, Avidan, Pagis, Cahana-Carmon, Birshtein, Gutman, Goldberg, Buber, Shahar, and Librecht are a few of the poets, authors, philosophers and artists whose works will be read and discussed in this class. Advanced Hebrew is a content-based course which focuses on Israeli prose, poetry, art and culture. The students will write short essays in Hebrew and discuss them in class. There will be extensive coverage, discussions and oral presentations of newspaper articles. Israeli politics and government will be analysed weekly. Students will listen to live Israeli radio, watch movies and video clips, learn songs, eat Israeli food, play games, learn about the holidays and go on field trips. Grammar, syntax, and vocabulary will be presented through texts. The course is tailored to accomodate students in different advanced levels, including native speakers, who need help in reading and writing.CORE COURSES
JUDC 127 History of Jewish Civilization I Dr. Bowman H 6:30-9:10
The story of the Jews spans over three and a half millennia. This first segment of the survey course, which may be taken independently, treats of the emergence of the Jewish people against the background of the ancient Near East civilizations, their mutual relations and influences on each other. The challenges of Greek civilization will constitue the second part of the course. We shall also examine the growth of the biblical corpus as the national and religious memory of the Jews and as the roots of the two great religious civilizations that trace themselves to that corpus: Judaism and Christianity.JUDC 128 History of Jewish Civilization II Dr. Klein MWF 11-11:50
The Middle Ages are the bridge between the worlds of the Bible and the rabbis and the Judaism of today. This second part of the survey will trace the development of Jewish civilization from the rise of Islam until the eve of the Enlightenment. It will focus on three aspects of medieval Jewish life: political and cultural relations with the external world; community building; and Jewish thought. You will meet famous figures from Rashi to Maimonides, as well as ordinary Jewish men and women; you will encounter mystics and mothers, poets and philosophers, communal leaders and criminals.JUDC 128H Honors Jewish Civilization II Dr. Klein MWF 11-11:50 + M 2-4Students in Honors Jewish Civilization take JUDC 128, plus an additional tutorial in which students will have a chance to discuss selected texts in depth and to explore some of the themes of JUDC 128 further. Assignments are selected to introduce different genres of medieval writing by and about Jews. 128H is required for majors.
JUDC 497 Capstone Seminar Dr. Bowman TTH 2-3:15
This seminar is required for juniors and seniors majoring in Judaic Studies. It is open to advanced students, with some familiarity with Jewish History. The theme this year will be “Jews and Greeks.” Greeks and Jews constitute a double helix for western civilization. We shall explore aspects of their interaction for the past three millennia with emphasis on the biblical, hellenistic, byzantine, and modern periods.ELECTIVES
JUDC 229 Hebrew Scriptures Mr. Brolley T 6:30-9:10
This course provides the student with an overview of the Hebrew Bible in English translation, without neglecting the significance of biblical Hebrew. We will examine and discuss basic issues of scripture and canon, and will occasionally compare Judaismâs and Christianityâs approaches to the biblical writings. There will also be extensive discussion of such topics as literary genre, authorship and editorial activity, and historical context. Throughout the quarter, we will engage a broad range of scholarly opinion concerning the Bibleâs composition and content.JUDC 321 Demons Mr. Brolley FRESHMAN SEMINAR: TTH 11-12:15
This course focuses on the figure of the demon in Near Eastern writings of several time periods. Our main emphasis is on the interaction between the Bibleâs portrayal and non-biblical writingsâ portrayals of demons and the demonic. For example: why does the Book of Job offer a picture of Satan that is so different from those offered in New Testament writings? How long a history does the figure of Lilith have, and why do English translations of the Bible translate her name as ãscreech owlä or ãtailless apeä? And how do later religious writings ö Jewish, Christian, and Muslim -- reflect the Bibleâs take on demons?JUDC 328 Women in the Bible Dr. Bowman T 6:30-9:10
The Bible is a religious document as well as a literary collection of texts. We shall examine the stories about women in their ancient context as well as their influence on attitudes towards and by women in subsequent periods.JUDC 348 The New Testament in its Jewish Matrix Dr. Fine W 6:30-9:10
This course will focus on the Jewish aspects of the New Testament, with special reference to the Gospels. We will set Jesus within the Judaism of his day through study of selected New Testametn texts against the background of Second Temple period texts and archaeology. Special emphasis will be placed upon the institutional frameworks in which Jesus operated, the Temple and the synagogue. We will also study the writings of Paul against the background of Judaism in the Roman diaspora. Fieldtrips.JUDC 349 Introduction to Rabbinic Literature Dr. Fine TTH 9:30-10:50
This course will focus on the Rabbis of the Mishnah, Talmud and Midrashim. These Sages gave Judaism its essential form for all time. We will read a variety of primary sources in depth in an attempt to understand the thought world and social context of these framers of Judaism. Fieldtrips.JUDC 392 The Apocrypha Dr. Lund M 6:30-9:10
What is the Apocrypha? The Apocrypha consists of Jewish books of the Greco-Roman period that were not included in the Jewish and Protestant Bibles (but are considered Biblical by Catholic and Orthodox Christians). This course will explore the books of the Apocrypha, their value for the history and religious milieu of the Second Temple period including background to the New Testament, and their relationship to the Biblical canon in Judaism and Christianity. Texts to be discussed include I and II Maccabees, Tobit, Judith and Ecclesiasticus (Ben Sira).JUDC 405 The Bible and the Ancient World Dr. Gilner M 6:30-9:10
Explores the relationship between the Hebrew Bible and the broader literary and cultural traditions of the ancient Near East (e.g. Egyptian, Babylonian, Sumerian).Through the study of ancient literature contemporaneous with the Bible ö for example, the Babylonian creation and flood stories -- students gain fresh insight into the message and purpose of the Hebrew Bible.JUDC 510 History of Antisemitism Dr. Rapp MWF 9-9:50
Two generations after World War II, one would assume that the ancient hatred of antisemitism had been consigned to the dustbin of history. However, today we see that the opposite is true. The purpose this course is three-fold: (1) To trace the history and suggested causes of antisemitism within various cultural, political, religious, and economic settings; (2) To examine forces which either reinforced or counteracted antisemitic attitudes and behavior; and (3) To study contemporary manifestations of this ancient hatred, ranging from incidents of violence and harassment in France and the United States to the portryal of Jews in the Arab/ Muslim world to the controversy over Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion." This course has no prerequisite.JUDC 510 History of Antisemitism Dr. Krome U 9-5
This course will be taught in the Adult Scholars Accelerated format and will meet on three Sundays (9AM - 5 PM). Although the course will cover the history of Antisemitism from Antiquity to the present certain eras and issues will be singled out for special attention. For example, the class will examine in detail the origin and significance of Chrisitian Anti-Judaism, the Blood Libel, the development of modern racial Antisemitism, and the image of the Jew in popular literature.
Department of Judaic Studies, 50 McMicken, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0169 E-mail: Judaic.Studies@uc.edu Tel: 513.556.2297
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