JDST 764b / HIST 6155b / MDVL 7155b / RLST 7770b, Jews in Muslim Lands from the Seventh through the Sixteenth Century  Ivan Marcus

Introduction to Jewish culture and society in Muslim lands from the Prophet Muhammad to Suleiman the Magnificent. Topics include Islam and Judaism; Jerusalem as a holy site; rabbinic leadership and literature in Baghdad; Jewish courtiers, poets, and philosophers in Muslim Spain; and the Jews in the Ottoman Empire.
HTBA

JDST 2000a / ER&M 2519a / HIST 1219a / JDST 200 / MMES 1149a / RLST 1480a, Jews and the World: From the Bible through Early Modern Times  Ivan Marcus

A broad introduction to the history of the Jews from biblical beginnings until the European Reformation and the Ottoman Empire. Focus on the formative period of classical rabbinic Judaism and on the symbiotic relationships among Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Jewish society and culture in its biblical, rabbinic, and medieval settings. Counts toward either European or non-Western distributional credit within the History major, upon application to the director of undergraduate studies.  HU  RP  0 Course cr
TTh 11:35am-12:50pm

* JDST 3270a / HIST 3232a / HUMS 4430a / MMES 3342a / RLST 2010a, Medieval Jews, Christians, and Muslims In Conversation  Ivan Marcus

How members of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities thought of and interacted with members of the other two cultures during the Middle Ages. Cultural grids and expectations each imposed on the other; the rhetoric of otherness—humans or devils, purity or impurity, and animal imagery; and models of religious community and power in dealing with the other when confronted with cultural differences. Counts toward either European or Middle Eastern distributional credit within the History major, upon application to the director of undergraduate studies.  WR, HU  RP
Th 1:30pm-3:20pm

* JDST 3619b / PHIL 4403b / RLST 4500b, Spinoza and the God of the Bible  Nancy Levene

An exploration of Spinoza’s writings on God, nature, and person; human law, divine law, and political life; and the interpretation of the Bible. Prerequisite: coursework in philosophical texts.  HU
M 3:30pm-5:20pm

* JDST 3812b / CPLT 1960b / MMES 3312b / NELC 3230b / NELC 323b and NELC 3230b, Hebrew Poetry in Muslim Spain  Peter Cole

Introduction to the Golden Age of Hebrew poetry in Muslim Andalusia from the tenth century through the twelfth. Major figures of the period and the cultural and philosophical questions they confronted. The Judeo-Arabic social context in which the poetry emerged; critical issues pertaining to the study and transmission of this literature. Readings from the works of several poets. Readings in translation. Additional readings in Hebrew available.  HU
W 3:30pm-5:20pm

JDST 6500a / RLST 6520, Introduction to Jewish Studies  David Sorkin and Sarit Kattan Gribetz

In a society that is broadly ambivalent about—if not roundly antagonistic against—Jews and Judaism, how can one study Jewish texts and history? Is the study of Jews and their religion and cultures necessarily an act of apologetics or polemics? What does “objectivity” mean in this loaded context? This course examines the inception and development of the modern field of Jewish studies in nineteenth-century Germany and the ways in which the field evolved and spread from Europe to Palestine, Israel, and the United States. Ultimately, students grapple with the question of the place of Jews and Jewish studies in the modern academy. The course begins with readings of the major practitioners of the “academic study of Judaism” (Wissenschaft des Judentums) since its inception in the nineteenth century with close examination of the ways in which those scholars read the ancient, medieval, and early modern sources that they used to construct their studies of Jews and Judaism. It then turns to the institutionalization of the field through the establishments of seminaries, large-scale publication projects (encyclopedias, anthologies), historical societies and archives, research institutes, and university programs. Finally, the course examines the intersection between the personal and professional through pairing memoirs written by scholars with the scholarship they published. Throughout, programmatic statements are combined with close analysis of the way scholars read their sources.
Th 1:30pm-3:20pm

JDST 7206b / HIST 6157b / MDVL 7157b / RLST 6160b, How the West Became Antisemitic: Jews and the Formation of Europe, 800–1500  Ivan Marcus

This seminar explores how medieval Jews and Christians interacted as religious societies between 800 and 1500.
HTBA

JDST 7261a / HIST 6229a / MDVL 7229a / RLST 7730a, Jews and the World: From the Bible through Early Modern Times  Ivan Marcus

The course is a comprehensive introduction for GS students as well as YC students.  It serves as a window course to pre-modern Jewish history.  For YC students this can lead to taking seminars on more limited topics.  For graduate students it is a good preparation for comprehensive exams and provides a model survey course to be offered later on as an instructor.
TTh 11:35am-12:50pm

JDST 7660b / PHIL 6603b / RLST 8800b, Spinoza and the God of the Bible  Nancy Levene

An exploration of Spinoza’s writings on God, nature, and person; human law, divine law, and political life; and the interpretation of the Bible.
M 3:30pm-5:20pm

JDST 8274b / HEBR 5780b, Languages in Dialogue: Hebrew and Arabic  Dina Roginsky

Hebrew and Arabic are closely related as sister Semitic languages. They have a great degree of grammatical, morphological, and lexical similarity. Historically, Arabic and Hebrew have been in cultural contact in various places and in different aspects. This advanced Hebrew language class explores linguistic similarities between the two languages as well as cultural comparisons of the communities, built on mutual respect. Students benefit from a section in which they gain a basic exposure to Arabic, based on its linguistic similarity to Hebrew. Conducted in Hebrew. Prerequisite: HEBR 5030, or placement test, or permission of the instructor.
TTh 2:30pm-3:45pm

JDST 8295b / HEBR 5630b, From Biblical to Modern Hebrew  Dina Roginsky

This course aims to support students who have reading knowledge of Biblical Hebrew but cannot read or converse in Modern Hebrew. The course concentrates on reading and aims at enabling students to use Modern Hebrew for research purposes. The texts chosen are tailored to students’ particular areas of interest. Prerequisite: two years of Biblical or Modern Hebrew studies, or permission of the instructor. Conducted in English.
TTh 11:35am-12:50pm