Spring 2022 Course Offerings

HJS 102 - Elementary Modern Hebrew (cont'd)

Professor Daniel Frese

Continued introduction to the basic structures and vocabulary of Modern Hebrew. Students will develop skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and will gain broad exposure to modern Israeli culture. (Prerequisite: HJS 101, offered every fall semester).

MTWR     10-10:50    

HJS 110 - Introduction to the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible

Professor Daniel Frese

An introduction to the best-selling and most influential book ever written - a text foundational to both Judaism and Christianity. In this course we will survey the contents of the biblical text, paying close attention to its narrative artistry, its historicity, and its relationship to the ancient Near Eastern culture in which it was written.

TR     12:30-1:45   

HJS 180 – Holocaust Film

Professor Sheila Jelen

TR 11:00 – 12:15 

HJS 202 - Intermediate Modern Hebrew (cont'd)

Professor Daniel Frese

This course will further develop students’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in Modern Hebrew. Emphasized aspects will include new categories of present and past tense verbs, new vocabulary, verbal/reading comprehension, unstructured expression in Hebrew, and exposure to modern Israeli culture. (Prerequisite: HJS 201, offered every fall semester)

TR     2-3:15    PM

HIS 323: The Holocaust. 

Professor Karen Petrone

This course will attempt to help students understand the events that resulted in the virtual destruction of Europe's Jews during the Second World War.  Through this case study, we will try to understand some of the features of the phenomenon of genocide.  Readings, discussion, and audio-visual materials will cover topics including the history of anti-semitism, the ways in which Nazi policy against the Jews was implemented, the various Jewish reactions to Nazi policy, including Jewish resistance, and the response of non-Jews and of other governments to the Holocaust.

TR     11:00-12:15 AM    

HJS 495

Professor Sheila Jelen

Jewish Studies Fall 2021 Course Offerings

HJS 101 - Elementary Hebrew

Introduction to the basic structures and vocabulary of Modern Hebrew. The curriculum includes developing students' skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, as well as broad exposure to modern Israeli culture.

MTWTh 10-10:50am

Dr. Daniel Frese

HJS 201 - Intermediate Hebrew

This course will further develop students’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in Modern Hebrew. Emphasized aspects will include new categories of present and past tense verbs, new vocabulary, verbal/reading comprehension, unstructured expression in Hebrew, and exposure to modern Israeli culture.

T/Th 2:00-3:15

Dr. Daniel Frese

HJS 324/HIS 352 – Jewish Thought and Culture I: Ancient Israel through the Middle Ages

In this course we will trace the major intellectual and cultural themes in the Israelite/Jewish tradition through ca. 2,500 years of history. We will begin with the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible and the earliest historic Ancient Israel, and continue through the Rabbinic Judaism of late antiquity and into the Middle Ages. 

T/Th 12:30-1:45                                                                                 

Dr. Daniel Frese

HJS 325/HIS 353-001 - Jewish Thought and Culture II: Expulsion from Spain and Portugal

This class examines major developments in Jewish history, culture, and thought from the time of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 to the present day. We will consider how Jewish diaspora communities have interacted with their surroundings, and how they have responded to the changing conditions of the modern world, including such key issues as the Enlightenment, the rise of modern nation-states, assimilation, and resurgent anti-Semitism. We will also consider changes in the practice of Judaism in this period, including the rise of Reform Judaism, neo-Orthodoxy, and Hasidism. The class concludes with the Holocaust, the creation of the state of Israel, and contemporary concerns.

MWF 11:00-11:50

Dr. Jeremy Popkin

MCL 390-001/MCL 598-002: Elementary Yiddish

This course introduces Yiddish as a living language.  You will gain some proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing.  There are no formal prerequisites, but knowledge of Hebrew, Polish, Russian, and German is certainly helpful, because Yiddish is a West Germanic language, written with a modified Hebrew alphabet (although we will start with Romanized writing) and has significant vocabulary borrowed from Slavic languages.   In addition to the material of MCL 390, students in MCL 598 will be expected to write a term paper on some aspect of Yiddish linguistics, in the area of phonology, morphology, syntax, or corpus linguistics.

MWF 10:00-10:50

Dr. Raphael Finkel

HJS 328-001: Representing the Holocaust

Drawing upon a wide range of texts and genres, this course provides a variety of different perspectives on how the Holocaust has been represented.  We will consider first, second, and third generation responses to the Holocaust within a variety of different languages and nationalist contexts. Our investigation will emphasize the international and comparative nature of Holocaust literary studies and facilitate an investigation into the propriety of literary representation.

T/Th 11-12:15

Dr. Sheila Jelen

WRD 401-004/ENG 401/MCL 390-002 - Special Topics: Comics and Conflict in Israel/Palestine: Graphic Representations of the Israel/Palestine Conflict(s)

Though Israel/Palestine, peace, conflict, and the Middle East appear frequently in the daily news, people often don’t understand what all the fuss is about, and why the conflict(s) appear so seemingly unsolvable. This course will offer a unique opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the many conflicts within and between Israeli and Palestinian societies by looking at them through the lens of graphic narratives. We’ll read a number of graphic novels/autobiographies/journalistic texts including but not limited to Sarah Glidden’s How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less, Harvey Pekar’s and J.T. Waldman’s Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me, Joe Sacco’s famous serial Palestine and its sequel Footnotes in Gaza, as well as a variety of other texts to see how words and images have shaped and limited the ways the Israeli/Palestinian conflicts and potential solutions to them are represented. We’ll analyze key concepts: homeland, settlements, Zionism, diaspora, occupied territories, refugees, citizenship, and cease-fire, from Israeli, Palestinian, and other perspectives to better understand how they shape narratives about memory, history, and identity, both national and individual. Since the graphic genre is a relatively new literary development, we will pay careful attention to how it offers new affordances and limitations for representing these complex relationships. As this will be a writing intensive course, we will explore these issues as a means of sharpening your critical thinking, reading, and writing skills. Students may have additional opportunities to interact with authors/artists through Skype-facilitated guest lectures.

T/Th 2:00-3:15pm

Dr. Janice Fernheimer

HJS 495: Independent Study in Judaic Studies

Jewish Studies Fall 2020 Course Offerings

HJS 101 - Elementary Hebrew

Introduction to the basic structures and vocabulary of Modern Hebrew. The curriculum includes developing students' skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, as well as broad exposure to modern Israeli culture.

MTWTh 10-10:50am

Dr. Daniel Frese

HJS 201 - Intermediate Hebrew

This course will further develop students’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in Modern Hebrew. Emphasized aspects will include new categories of present and past tense verbs, new vocabulary, verbal/reading comprehension, unstructured expression in Hebrew, and exposure to modern Israeli culture.

T/Th 2:00-3:15

Dr. Daniel Frese

HJS 324 – Jewish Thought and Culture I: Ancient Israel through the Middle Ages

In this course we will trace the major intellectual and cultural themes in the Israelite/Jewish tradition through ca. 2,500 years of history. We will begin with the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible and the earliest historic Ancient Israel, and continue through the Rabbinic Judaism of late antiquity and into the Middle Ages. 

T/Th 12:30-1:45                                                                                 

Dr. Daniel Frese

MCL 390-001/MCL 598-002: Elementary Yiddish

This course introduces Yiddish as a living language.  You will gain some proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing.  There are no formal prerequisites, but knowledge of Hebrew, Polish, Russian, and German is certainly helpful, because Yiddish is a West Germanic language, written with a modified Hebrew alphabet (although we will start with Romanized writing) and has significant vocabulary borrowed from Slavic languages.   In addition to the material of MCL 390, students in MCL 598 will be expected to write a term paper on some aspect of Yiddish linguistics, in the area of phonology, morphology, syntax, or corpus linguistics.

TBD

Dr. Raphael Finkel

HJS 325/HIS 353-001 - Jewish Thought and Culture II: Expulsion from Spain and Portugal

This class examines major developments in Jewish history, culture, and thought from the time of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 to the present day. We will consider how Jewish diaspora communities have interacted with their surroundings, and how they have responded to the changing conditions of the modern world, including such key issues as the Enlightenment, the rise of modern nation-states, assimilation, and resurgent anti-Semitism. We will also consider changes in the practice of Judaism in this period, including the rise of Reform Judaism, neo-Orthodoxy, and Hasidism. The class concludes with the Holocaust, the creation of the state of Israel, and contemporary concerns.

MWF 11:00-11:50

Dr. Jeremy Popkin 

HJS 425-001/HIS 353-005/MCL 390-003 – Topics in Judaic Studies: Representing the Holocaust

Drawing upon a wide range of texts and genres, this course provides a variety of different perspectives on how the Holocaust has been represented.  We will consider first, second, and third generation responses to the Holocaust within a variety of different languages and nationalist contexts. Our investigation will emphasize the international and comparative nature of Holocaust literary studies and facilitate an investigation into the propriety of literary representation.

T/Th 11-12:15

Dr. Sheila Jelen

HJS 425-002 – Topics in Judaic Studies: Women of the Bible: Ruth and Esther

In this seminar class we will read closely the biblical books of Ruth and Esther, the only books of the Bible where women are the central characters and that are named for the women of the story. We will also consider how these stories have been interpreted and appropriated throughout history, from ancient Jewish and Christian understanding to modern interpretation in the LGBTQ communities.

T/Th 3:30-4:45

Dr. Christian Brady

WRD 401-004/ENG 401/MCL 390-002 - Special Topics: Comics and Conflict in Israel/Palestine: Graphic Representations of the Israel/Palestine Conflict(s)

Though Israel/Palestine, peace, conflict, and the Middle East appear frequently in the daily news, people often don’t understand what all the fuss is about, and why the conflict(s) appear so seemingly unsolvable. This course will offer a unique opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the many conflicts within and between Israeli and Palestinian societies by looking at them through the lens of graphic narratives. We’ll read a number of graphic novels/autobiographies/journalistic texts including but not limited to Sarah Glidden’s How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less, Harvey Pekar’s and J.T. Waldman’s Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me, Joe Sacco’s famous serial Palestine and its sequel Footnotes in Gaza, as well as a variety of other texts to see how words and images have shaped and limited the ways the Israeli/Palestinian conflicts and potential solutions to them are represented. We’ll analyze key concepts: homeland, settlements, Zionism, diaspora, occupied territories, refugees, citizenship, and cease-fire, from Israeli, Palestinian, and other perspectives to better understand how they shape narratives about memory, history, and identity, both national and individual. Since the graphic genre is a relatively new literary development, we will pay careful attention to how it offers new affordances and limitations for representing these complex relationships. As this will be a writing intensive course, we will explore these issues as a means of sharpening your critical thinking, reading, and writing skills. Students may have additional opportunities to interact with authors/artists through Skype-facilitated guest lectures.

T/Th 9:30-10:45

Dr. Janice Fernheimer

HIS 535 – Russia in the 20^th Century

Russian and Soviet History in the 20^th and 21st Centuries from the perspective of both state and citizen, using memoirs, literature, the press, government documents, and oral history interviews.   It examines the causes and results of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the foundations of the new Soviet state in the 1920s.  The course investigates Stalin's rise to power and the many upheavals during his rule including collectivization, industrialization, famine, purges, and the Second World War.  In the post-war period we will study the Cold War from a transnational perspective and explore how later leaders sought to overcome the legacy of Stalin through attempts at democratic and social reform.  After the reform process led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, we will explore the ways that the new Russian state addresses economic and political reform and seeks to redefine its place in the world.  It can be adapted for Jewish Studies credit. 

T/Th 11:00 – 12:15

Dr. Karen Petrone

Fall 2019 Course Offerings

MCL 190: Elementary Yiddish

This course introduces Yiddish as a living language.  You will gain some proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing.  There are no formal prerequisites, but knowledge of Hebrew, Polish, Russian, and German is certainly helpful, because Yiddish is a West Germanic language, written with a modified Hebrew alphabet (although we will start with Romanized writing) and has significant vocabulary borrowed from Slavic languages.

Cross-listed with MCL 598: Topics in Linguistics.

In addition to the material of MCL 190, students will be expected to write a term paper on some aspect of Yiddish linguistics, in the area of phonology, morphology, syntax, or corpus linguistics.

HJS 101 - Elementary Hebrew

Introduction to the basic structures and vocabulary of Modern Hebrew. The curriculum includes developing students' skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, as well as broad exposure to modern Israeli culture.

MTWTh 10-10:50am

HJS 201 - Intermediate Hebrew

This course will further develop students’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in Modern Hebrew. Emphasized aspects will include new categories of present and past tense verbs, new vocabulary, verbal/reading comprehension, unstructured expression in Hebrew, and exposure to modern Israeli culture.

T/Th 2-3:15 (or tbd) 

HJS 324/HIS 352 - Jewish Thought and Culture I: From Ancient Israel through the Middle Ages

In this course we will trace the major intellectual and cultural themes in the Israelite/Jewish tradition through ca. 2,500 years of history. We will begin with the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible and the earliest historic Ancient Israel, and continue through the Rabbinic Judaism of late antiquity and into the Middle Ages. 

T/Th 12:30-1:45 

HIS 352: Jerusalem

As a prominent site in the religious and cultural histories of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Jerusalem is uniquely situated as one of the world’s most sacred cities. For more than 3,000 years, this city has been a focal point of religious and political activity. Through the critical reading of historical and religious texts, and archaeological data, this course will explore the historical development of Jerusalem as a sacred place in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and evaluate the competing narratives surrounding its identity. For example, how does an insignificant village on a tiny hill become the focal point of modern religious and political tension? Jerusalem has been inhabited for more than 6,000 years and today is recognized as one of the most sacred cities in the world. How did this ancient city grow to have such significance? In this course, we’ll explore the historical development of Jerusalem from its founding until the 21st century. By analyzing historical and religious texts, archaeological remains, and the art and architecture of Jerusalem we’ll explore what we can know about Jerusalem’s history and how this knowledge can inform our understanding of the religious and political conflicts seen today.

Professor Eric Welch

MWF 11:00-11:40 Mining Minerals Research 243

HJS 327: Women in Judaism: Gender and Literacy

How are we shaped by what we read? Women in traditional Jewish society were not granted access to the texts at the heart of Jewish culture. In this class we explore the relationship between reading and women’s culture, through the lens of Jewish women in Eastern Europe from the 17th Century through the present.

HJS 425: Representing the Holocaust

Drawing upon a wide range of texts and genres, this course provides a variety of different perspectives on how the Holocaust has been represented.  We will consider first, second, and third generation responses to the Holocaust within a variety of different languages and nationalist contexts. Our investigation will emphasize the international and comparative nature of Holocaust literary studies and facilitate an investigation into the propriety of literary representation.

HJS 425: Introduction to Judeo-Spanish

In this course we are going to deal with the language of the Sephardic Jews and its characteristics from the linguistic point of view.  It’s going to be mainly a language class with an important linguistic, cultural, and literature component.  This will help us understand not only the language structure of Judeo-Spanish, but also the importance of the Sephardic culture which is a significant component in the preservation of language.

T/TH 2:00-3:15

Spring 2019 Course Offerings

AS 100-002 online: Introduction to Judaism

Professor Sheinfeld

What is Judaism?  Who are the Jews?  Judaism is a dynamic religious tradition that has developed many forms during a more than 3,000 year history that has spanned nearly the entire globe.  In an effort to understand the ways in which Jews have lived their lives, we will explore how Jewish self-identity, textual traditions, and religious practices combine to define Judaism from its inception until today.  This course will be divided into three main sections: 1) Historical Framework, 2) Beliefs and Practices and 30 Topics in Judaism and Jewish Studies.  In studying the traditions, we will examine the textual evidence, theological tracts, and more personal accounts of what it is to be Jewish and to practice Judaism.

HJS 102 - Elementary Modern Hebrew (cont'd)

Professor Frese

Continued introduction to the basic structures and vocabulary of Modern Hebrew. Students will develop skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and will gain broad exposure to modern Israeli culture. (Prerequisite: HJS 101, offered every fall semester).

MTWR     10-10:50    

HJS 110 - Introduction to the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible

Professor Frese

An introduction to the best-selling and most influential book ever written - a text foundational to both Judaism and Christianity. In this course we will survey the contents of the biblical text, paying close attention to its narrative artistry, its historicity, and its relationship to the ancient Near Eastern culture in which it was written.

TR     12:30-1:45   

HON 151: Jerusalem Through the Ages

Professor Welch

As a prominent site in the religious and cultural histories of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Jerusalem is uniquely situated as one of the world’s most sacred cities. For more than 3,000 years, this city has been a focal point of religious and political activity. Through the critical reading of historical and religious texts, and archaeological data, this course will explore the historical development of Jerusalem as a sacred place in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and evaluate the competing narratives surrounding its identity. For example, how does an insignificant village on a tiny hill become the focal point of modern religious and political tension? Jerusalem has been inhabited for more than 6,000 years and today is recognized as one of the most sacred cities in the world. How did this ancient city grow to have such significance? In this course, we’ll explore the historical development of Jerusalem from its founding until the 21st century. By analyzing historical and religious texts, archaeological remains, and the art and architecture of Jerusalem we’ll explore what we can know about Jerusalem’s history and how this knowledge can inform our understanding of the religious and political conflicts seen today.

During the course of the semester, students in Jerusalem Through the Ages will consider the following questions: • How and when did Jerusalem become a political and religious epicenter for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam? • What kind of evidence is there for reconstructing Jerusalem’s history and how do we evaluate the different kinds of evidence? • Why does there always seem to be conflict in Jerusalem and where does it come from? Is there a solution?

MWF 1:00-1:50 Lewis Hall U135

HJS 202 - Intermediate Modern Hebrew (cont'd)

Professor Frese

This course will further develop students’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in Modern Hebrew. Emphasized aspects will include new categories of present and past tense verbs, new vocabulary, verbal/reading comprehension, unstructured expression in Hebrew, and exposure to modern Israeli culture. (Prerequisite: HJS 201, offered every fall semester)

TR     2-3:15    PM

HIS 323: The Holocaust. 

Professor Voogt

This course will attempt to help students understand the events that resulted in the virtual destruction of Europe's Jews during the Second World War.  Through this case study, we will try to understand some of the features of the phenomenon of genocide.  Readings, discussion, and audio-visual materials will cover topics including the history of anti-semitism, the ways in which Nazi policy against the Jews was implemented, the various Jewish reactions to Nazi policy, including Jewish resistance, and the response of non-Jews and of other governments to the Holocaust.

TR     9:30-10:45 AM    

HJS 324/HIS 353-002:

Professor Popkin

T/R 2:00-3:15 pm

This class examines major developments in Jewish history, culture, and thought from the time of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 to the present day. We will consider how Jewish diaspora communities have interacted with their surroundings, and how they have responded to the changing conditions of the modern world, including such key issues as the Enlightenment, the rise of modern nation-states, assimilation, and resurgent anti-Semitism. We will also consider changes in the practice of Judaism in this period, including the rise of Reform Judaism, neo-Orthodoxy, and Hasidism. The class concludes with the Holocaust, the creation of the state of Israel, and contemporary concerns.

WRD 401-003: Composing Oral History: Jewish Kentucky 

Professor Fernheimer

TR     2:00-3:15 pm   

In this course students will learn about the rhetorical constraints and affordances of oral history as a mode of historical preservation and cultural production. Students will learn  about oral history methods and put what they learn into practice by working first-hand with the Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence Jewish Kentucky Oral History Collection housed here at the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History.  Specifically, students will help make extant interviews accessible by creating searchable indexes using the Nunn Center's open source platform OHMS (the oral history metadata synchronizer), they will work with their peers to develop an interview protocol and conduct an original oral history interview of a local Jewish community member, and they will create digital stories (using Omekka or video documentary) to further the reach of the project. 

WRD 420: Rhetorical Traditions: Arguing with God?: Introduction to Jewish Rhetorics

Professor Fernheimer

T/R 11:00-12:15

In this course we will investigate the history and theory of rhetoric  in both historical and contemporary Jewish contexts—we will ask such questions as: What constitutes the canons of Jewish rhetoric? How does one argue with God? How do Jewish rhetorics intersect with or complicate  Greco-Roman and/or other rhetorical traditions? What does it mean to think about Jewish Rhetorics as part of a larger discourse on cultural rhetorics?  We will also learn about contemporary debates in rhetorical historiography as well as contrastive and comparative approaches to studies in rhetorical history and theory.  No prior knowledge of Judaism or Jewish rhetoric required.

HJS 425-001/MCL597-001 Topics in Judaic Studies: Women and Jewish Literature

Professor Jelen

T/Th 11:00-12:15

Women in traditional Jewish society were not granted access to the texts at the heart of Jewish culture – the Torah, the Talmud, and other legal codes and treatises. While great strides have been made in the last century to try to educate Jewish women, their relationship with the texts that have traditionally been reserved for men continues to be extremely fraught. In this class we explore the relationship between Jewish women and Jewish textuality – as readers, as writers, and as subjects of literary expression. We will try to understand the complex interconnectedness of being a reader and being a writer, as well as of being a subject and an object of the literary gaze.

MCL 495

Professor Jelen

T/Th 9:30-10:45

In this course we will focus upon Holocaust testimony from a variety of different theoretical perspectives in an attempt to construct a methodology for identifying, reading, and interpreting testimony in oral, visual, textual and fictional media. Through class presentations and final projects on testimony in a variety of media, students will have the opportunity to test the resilience and the limits of testimonial discourse. 

*Open only to MCL majors; however, with Director's approval this will count toward the JS minor.

Fall 2018 Course Offerings

WRD 210: Craft Writing: Bourbon Writing

Whitehall Classroom Building 209

T/R 11:00 - 12:15

This course introduces students to Kentucky's iconic Bourbon history and heritage and the many minorities--Jews, African Americans, Japanese, Irish, and other ethnic immigrants who participated in its development.  Students will gain familiarity and practice in the genres of Bourbon writing. Additionally, students will be introduced to primary sources including the Kentucky Bourbon Tales and the Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence Jewish Kentucky Bourbon oral history collections as well as the Schenley materials in UK's Special Collections and Resources. 

HJS 101 - Elementary Hebrew

Introduction to the basic structures and vocabulary of Modern Hebrew. The curriculum includes developing students' skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, as well as broad exposure to modern Israeli culture.

MTWTh 10-10:50am

HJS 201 - Intermediate Hebrew

This course will further develop students’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in Modern Hebrew. Emphasized aspects will include new categories of present and past tense verbs, new vocabulary, verbal/reading comprehension, unstructured expression in Hebrew, and exposure to modern Israeli culture.

T/Th 2-3:15

HJS 324/HIS 352 - Jewish Thought and Culture I: From Ancient Israel through the Middle Ages

In this course we will trace the major intellectual and cultural themes in the Israelite/Jewish tradition through ca. 2,500 years of history. We will begin with the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible and the earliest historic Ancient Israel, and continue through the Rabbinic Judaism of late antiquity and into the Middle Ages. 

T/Th 12:30-1:45

MCL 190: Elementary Yiddish

This course introduces Yiddish as a living language.  You will gain some

proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing.  There are no

formal prerequisites, but knowledge of Hebrew, Polish, Russian, and

German is certainly helpful, because Yiddish is a West Germanic

language, written with a modified Hebrew alphabet (although we will

start with Romanized writing) and has significant vocabulary borrowed

from Slavic languages.

MWF 10:00-10:50 AM  place TBD

Spring 2018 Course Offerings

HJS 102 - Elementary Modern Hebrew (cont'd)

Continued introduction to the basic structures and vocabulary of Modern Hebrew. Students will develop skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and will gain broad exposure to modern Israeli culture. (Prerequisite: HJS 101, offered every fall semester).

MTWR     10-10:50     PAHA 229

HJS 110 - Introduction to the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible

An introduction to the best-selling and most influential book ever written - a text foundational to both Judaism and Christianity. In this course we will survey the contents of the biblical text, paying close attention to its narrative artistry, its historicity, and its relationship to the ancient Near Eastern culture in which it was written.

TR     2-3:15     Fine Arts Bldg.  208

HJS 202 - Intermediate Modern Hebrew (cont'd)

This course will further develop students’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in Modern Hebrew. Emphasized aspects will include new categories of present and past tense verbs, new vocabulary, verbal/reading comprehension, unstructured expression in Hebrew, and exposure to modern Israeli culture. (Prerequisite: HJS 201, offered every fall semester)

TR     2-3:15     Fine Arts Bldg.  208

HIS 323: The Holocaust. 

This course will attempt to help students understand the events that resulted in the virtual destruction of Europe's Jews during the Second World War.  Through this case study, we will try to understand some of the features of the phenomenon of genocide.  Readings, discussion, and audio-visual materials will cover topics including the history of anti-semitism, the ways in which Nazi policy against the Jews was implemented, the various Jewish reactions to Nazi policy, including Jewish resistance, and the response of non-Jews and of other governments to the Holocaust.

TR     2:00-3:15 PM     WHCB 114

WRD 401-004: Composing Oral History

Professor: Dr. Fernheimer

TR     11:00-12:15     WHCB Rm. 205

In this course students will learn about the rhetorical constraints and affordances of oral history as a mode of historical preservation and cultural production. Students will learn  about oral history methods and put what they learn into practice by working first-hand with the Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence Jewish Kentucky Oral History Collection housed here at the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History.  Specifically, students will help make extant interviews accessible by creating searchable indexes using the Nunn Center's open source platform OHMS (the oral history metadata synchronizer), they will work with their peers to develop an interview protocol and conduct an original oral history interview of a local Jewish community member, and they will create digital stories (using Omekka or video documentary) to further the reach of the project. 

*Note the Kentucky Jewish History Symposium will take place on UK's campus April 12-13, 2018, and select students who excel in the course will have the opportunity to present their work at this scholarly conference. 

Did you know that Kentucky Bourbon, one of the Commonwealth’s signature industries has a long heritage of Jewish distillers, wholesalers, and whiskey men/women? Did you know that Louisville’s Jewish Hospital emerged during a time when it was difficult for Jewish doctors to find jobs and Jewish patients to be treated at regular hospitals? Did you know that Lexington has two synagogues with more than 100 years of history and that at one point, most of Lexington’s downtown merchants included Jewish-owned shops? Did you know that the University of Kentucky was home to a Jewish Fraternity (Zeta Beta Tau) and Jewish sorority (Phi Sigma Sigma) in the early part of the 20th century and that its Jewish Student organization, Hillel, has been active on campus for more than 80 years? Students in this class will learn about these and other aspects of Kentucky’s Jewish heritage. They will explore the multi-ethnic fabric of Lexington’s, past, present, and future by working directly with oral histories in University of Kentucky’s Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History and primary materials in UK’s Special Collections libraries. Students will index and curate materials in the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History using OHMS—the Oral History Metadata Synchronizer, conduct oral history interviews with local Jewish community members, present their research to their peers, and construct  short video documentary or an Omekka exhibit to share these valuable cultural resources with the public. 

HIS 534: Russia in the Nineteenth Century

*Jewish Students credit available, dependent on Director approval

This course examines the social, political, and cultural history of 19th Century Russia in depth, focusing on the social conditions of serfdom and its abolition, the causes of social tension in late Imperial Russia, and the long term causes of the Russian Revolution of 1917.

TR 3:30-4:45     WHCB 303

Fall 2017 Course Offerings

HJS 101 Elementary Hebrew

Daniel Frese

MTWR 10:00-10:50

Patterson Hall 305

Introduction to the basic structures and vocabulary of Modern Hebrew.  The curriculum includes developing students' skills in listening, speaking, writing, reading, as well as broad exposure to Israeli culture.

HJS 201 Intermediate Hebrew

Daniel Frese

TR 2:00-3:15

Fine Arts Building 308B

This course will further develop students’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in Modern Hebrew. Emphasized aspects will include new categories of present and past tense verbs, new vocabulary, verbal/reading comprehension, unstructured expression in Hebrew, and exposure to modern Israeli culture.

HJS/HIS 324 - Jewish Thought and Culture I: From Ancient Israel through the Middle Ages

Daniel Frese

TR 12:30-3:15

White Hall 211

In this course we will trace the major intellectual and cultural themes in the Israelite/Jewish tradition through ca. 2,500 years of history. We will begin with the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible and the earliest historic Ancient Israel, and continue through the Rabbinic Judaism of late antiquity and into the Middle Ages.

HON 151:001: JEWS AND CHRISTIANS IN MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE EUROPE

 

JONATHAN GLIXON

MWF 10:00-10:50

Lewis Hall U134

Christianity traces its origins to Judaism, but for most of the two millennia that followed, as Christians came to dominate Europe, and Jews remained a small minority, relationships between the two groups were at best strained, and often violent. This seminar is a discussion-based investigation of the complex and often troubled relationship between Christians and Jews in Europe from the beginnings of Christianity through the Reformation. We will examine original sources (in English translation) by both Jewish and Christian authors, considering political and legal documents, religious texts, literary texts, and visual representations, as well as selected secondary materials.



*         What are the basic principles of Judaism and Christianity, and how do they relate to each other?

*         What was the legal situation of the Jewish minority within Christian Europe?

*         Why and how were European Jews persecuted, how did they react, and why was the situation better in some places than in others?

*         What did Christian theologians have to say about Judaism, and vice versa?

*         What can we learn from the troubled Jewish-Christian relationships of the past that might help us understand interfaith conflicts today?

HIS/CLA 390: Greek, Roman & Jew: The Backgrounds to and the Early History of Christianity

Bruce Holle

W 4:00-6:30

Whitehall Classroom Building 219

This course will attempt to help the student understand the complexity and the diversity of Judaism and its importance to understanding the evolution of Christianity to 150 CE.

WRD 320: Rhetorical Theory and History

Rhetoric Between Athens and Jerusalem

Janice Fernheimer (jfernheimer@uky.edu)

TR 9:30-10:45

Patterson Office Tower 03



Rhetoric is a powerful, architechtonic art that often gets maligned in colloquial English by its association with “bullshit” or empty speech.  Yet the tenets of rhetorical theory have allowed for both the analysis and production of powerful symbolic texts for thousands of years. In this course we will investigate the history of rhetoric in Ancient Greece and Israel to explore the productive space between Greco-Roman and Jewish/Hebraic rhetorical traditions. We will also learn about contemporary debates in rhetorical historiography as well as contrastive and comparative approaches to studies in rhetorical history and theory.

Students will write several short reading response essays, a mid-term, and a major research project. Fulfills CORE for Intellectual Inquiry in the Humanities

UK 300-005: Elementary Yiddish

Raphael Finkel

raphael@cs.uky.edu

MWF: 10:00-10:50

Jacobs Science Building 139

This course introduces Yiddish as a living language. You will gain some proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. There are no formal prerequisites, but knowledge of Hebrew, Polish, Russian, and German is certainly helpful, because Yiddish is a West Germanic language, written with a modified Hebrew alphabet (although we will start with Romanized writing) and has significant vocabulary borrowed from Slavic languages.

Spring 2017 Course Offerings

HJS 102 - Elementary Modern Hebrew (cont'd)

Continued introduction to the basic structures and vocabulary of Modern Hebrew. Students will develop skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and will gain broad exposure to modern Israeli culture. (Prerequisite: HJS 101, offered every fall semester).

MTWR     10-10:50     PAHA 229

HJS 202 - Intermediate Modern Hebrew (cont'd)

This course will further develop students’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in Modern Hebrew. Emphasized aspects will include new categories of present and past tense verbs, new vocabulary, verbal/reading comprehension, unstructured expression in Hebrew, and exposure to modern Israeli culture. (Prerequisite: HJS 201, offered every fall semester)

TR     2-3:15     POT 09

HJS 425/UKC 111 - Introduction to the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible

An introduction to the best-selling and most influential book ever written - a text foundational to both Judaism and Christianity. In this course we will survey the contents of the biblical text, paying close attention to its narrative artistry, its historicity, and its relationship to the ancient Near Eastern culture in which it was written.

TR     12:30-1:45     POT 112

WRD 420: Rhetorical Traditions

Arguing with God?: Introduction to Jewish Rhetorics   

In this course we will investigate the history of rhetoric in Jewish rhetorical traditions in both historical and contemporary contexts—we will ask such questions as: What constitutes the canons of Jewish rhetoric? How do Jewish rhetorics fit within or complicate Greco-Roman and/or other rhetorical traditions? What does it mean to think about Jewish Rhetorics as part of a larger discourse on cultural rhetoric?  We will also learn about contemporary debates in rhetorical historiography as well as contrastive and comparative approaches to studies in rhetorical history and theory.  No prior knowledge of Jewish rhetoric required J

TR     12:30-1:45     WHCB 340

WRD 401-003: Jewish Graphic Novel

TR     9:30-10:45     WHCB 213

WRD 401H: Introduction to the Jewish Graphic Novel

This course provides an introduction to graphic novels and Jewish culture by focusing on Jewish-authored graphic novels on “Jewish” subjects. Students will learn about the creation of the graphic novel genre, its specific rhetorical affordances combining visuals and text in sequence, and how it came to be associated with Jews, Jewish culture, and “Jewish writing.”  After tracing the genre’s historical origins, we will read and analyze key works by pioneers Will Eisner and Art Spiegelman as well as texts by Jewish American artists and Jewish cartoonists working in Hebrew and French (note: all reading will be in English). Student work will focus on writing both traditional academic analyses and producing graphic criticism.  Course readings will include a selection of the following: Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics, Will Eisner’s The Plot: The Secret Story of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, Joan Sfar’s The Rabbi’s Cat I and II, JT Waldman’s Megillat Esther, Miriam Katin’s We are on Our Own, Ben Katchor’s The Jew of New York, James Sturm’s America: God, Gold, and Golems Art Spiegelman’s Maus I and II, Miriam Libicki’s Jobnik!, Sarah Glidden’s How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less.

Why is it that comics have been dubbed an explicitly “Jewish” form of writing?

What are the defining characteristics of long-form comics or graphic narratives/novels, and how do they differ from film, cartoons, and other texts that mix media?

What makes graphic narrative so powerfully engaging and provocative?

What does this “Jewish” writing have to tell us about “Jewish” and international culture?

How does what we learn about comics and Jewish identity impact how we write our own identities and history?

What does writing comics teach me about writing?

Fall 2016 Course Offerings

HJS 101 Elementary Hebrew

Daniel Frese

MTWR 10:00-10:15

Blazer Hall Rm. 203

Introduction to the basic structures and vocabulary of Modern Hebrew.  The curriculum includes developing students' skills in listening, speaking, writing, reading, as well as broad exposure to Israeli culture.

HJS 201 Intermediate Hebrew

Daniel Frese

TR 2:00-3:15

Main Building Rm. 5

This course will further develop students’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in Modern Hebrew. Emphasized aspects will include new categories of present and past tense verbs, new vocabulary, verbal/reading comprehension, unstructured expression in Hebrew, and exposure to modern Israeli culture.

HJS/HIS 324 - Jewish Thought and Culture I: From Ancient Israel through the Middle Ages

Daniel Frese

TR 11:00-12:15

White Hall 241

In this course we will trace the major intellectual and cultural themes in the Israelite/Jewish tradition through ca. 2,500 years of history. We will begin with the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible and the earliest historic Ancient Israel, and continue through the Rabbinic Judaism of late antiquity and into the Middle Ages.

HON 151:004: JEWS AND CHRISTIANS IN MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE EUROPE

JONATHAN GLIXON

TR 9:30-10:45

CRH (Central Dorm) 001

Christianity traces its origins to Judaism, but for most of the two millennia that followed, as Christians came to dominate Europe, and Jews remained a small minority, relationships between the two groups were at best strained, and often violent. This seminar is a discussion-based investigation of the complex and often troubled relationship between Christians and Jews in Europe from the beginnings of Christianity through the Reformation. We will examine original sources (in English translation) by both Jewish and Christian authors, considering political and legal documents, religious texts, literary texts, and visual representations, as well as selected secondary materials.



*         What are the basic principles of Judaism and Christianity, and how do they relate to each other?



*         What was the legal situation of the Jewish minority within Christian Europe?



*         Why and how were European Jews persecuted, how did they react, and why was the situation better in some places than in others?



*         What did Christian theologians have to say about Judaism, and vice versa?



*         What can we learn from the troubled Jewish-Christian relationships of the past that might help us understand  interfaith conflicts today?

His/Cla 390: Greek, Roman & Jew: The Backgrounds to and the Early History of Christianity

Bruce Bolle

W 4:00-6:30

Location: TBA

This course will attempt to help the student understand the complexity and the diversity of Judaism and its importance to understanding the evolution of Christianity to 150 CE.

WRD 320: Rhetorical Theory and History

Rhetoric Between Athens and Jerusalem

Professor Fernheimer (jfernheimer@uky.edu)

Fall 2016 Class Times: Tues/Thurs.  9:30-10:45 am



Rhetoric is a powerful, architechtonic art that often gets maligned in colloquial English by its association with “bullshit” or empty speech.  Yet the tenets of rhetorical theory have allowed for both the analysis and production of powerful symbolic texts for thousands of years. In this course we will investigate the history of rhetoric in Ancient Greece and Israel to explore the productive space between Greco-Roman and Jewish/Hebraic rhetorical traditions. We will also learn about contemporary debates in rhetorical historiography as well as contrastive and comparative approaches to studies in rhetorical history and theory.

Students will write several short reading response essays, a mid-term, and a major research project. Fulfills CORE for Intellectual Inquiry in the Humanities

UK 300: Elementary Yiddish

Raphael Finkel

MWF: 11:00-11:50

Location: FB rm. 311

This course introduces Yiddish as a living language. You will gain some proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. There are no formal prerequisites, but knowledge of Hebrew, Polish, Russian, and German is certainly helpful, because Yiddish is a West Germanic language, written with a modified Hebrew alphabet (although we will start with Romanized writing) and has significant vocabulary borrowed from Slavic languages.

Spring 2016 Course Offerings

MCL 190 / HJS 420 - Introduction to the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible

Continuing introduction to the basic structures and vocabulary of Modern Hebrew. The curriculum includes developing students' skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, as well as broad exposure to Israeli culture (course prerequisite: successful completion of HJS 101 or instructor approval). 

HIS 323: The Holocaust.  

Lectures T/Th 2:00-2:50

Fall 2015 Jewish Studies Course Offerings

Professor Daniel Frese

HJS 201 TBD (150 minutes a week total, 3 credits)

HON 151: Honors in Humanities: Jews and Christians in Medieval and Early Modern Europe

TR 9:30-10:45

Professor Jonathan Glixon

This course offers a discussion-based investigation of the complex and often troubled relationship between Christians and Jews in Europe from the beginnings of Christianity through the Reformation. We will examine original sources (in English translation) by both Jewish and Christian authors. We will consider political/legal documents, religious texts, literary texts, and visual representations, as well as selected secondary materials.

CLA/HIS 229-001: History of the Ancient Near East from the Earliest Cultures to the Death of Alexander the Great

Professor Bruce Holle

There is also a significant emphasis on the history and the culture of Judaism as it evolves over the centuries, including a discussion of the destruction of the Temple by the Babylonians and its effects on Jews in subsequent generations.

CLA/HIS 390-401: The Origins of and the Early History of Christianity to c. 150 CE. 

Professor Bruce Holle

This discussion laden course will spend significant time on the evolution of Jewish history, including the problems caused by trying to synthesize evidence from archaeology with interpretations of Jewish texts, canonical and otherwise.  In addition, students will get to experience the diversity of Judaism both from a cultural as well as a historical perspective.

SPA 400: Introduction to Judeo Spanish

Professor Haralambos Symeonidis

When the Jews were expelled from Spain and Portugal they were cut off from the further development of the language, but they continued to speak it in the communities and countries to which they emigrated. Ladino therefore reflects the grammar and vocabulary of 14th and 15th century Spanish. The further away from Spain the emigrants went, the more cut off they were from developments in the language, and the more Ladino began to diverge from mainstream Castilian Spanish.

In Amsterdam, England and Italy, those Jews who continued to speak Judeo Spanish were in constant contact with Spain and therefore they basically continued to speak the Castilian Spanish of the time. However, in the Sephardic communities of the Ottoman Empire, the language not only retained the older forms of Spanish, but borrowed so many words from Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, Turkish, and even French, that it became more and more distorted. Judeo Spanish was nowhere near as diverse as the various forms of Yiddish, but there were still two different dialects, which corresponded to the different origins of the speakers.

In this course we are going to deal with the language of the Sephardic Jews and its characteristics from the linguistic point of view. It´s going to be mainly a language class with an important linguistic, cultural and literature component. This will help us understand not only the language structure of Judeo Spanish but also the importance of the Sephardic culture which is an important component in the preservation of the language.

Spring 2015 Jewish Studies Course Offerings

HJS 325/HIS 353 Jewish Civ II

TR 9:30-10:45. 

Professor Gretchen Starr-LeBeau

This course invites students to explore Jewish culture and history from New York to Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East through texts, images, architecture, and film. Extra credit out of class opportunities will include a film series and talks associated with the Year of the Middle East. Assignments will include simulations of key historical events, written responses to original documents, online exercises, a midterm, and a final.

HIS 323 Holocaust

TR 2-3:15pm

Professor Jeremy Popkin

This course will attempt to help students understand the events that resulted in the virtual destruction of Europe's Jews during the Second World War.  Through this case study, we will try to understand some of the features of the phenomenon of genocide.  Readings, discussion, and audio-visual materials will cover topics including the history of anti-semitism, the ways in which Nazi policy against the Jews was implemented, the various Jewish reactions to Nazi policy, including Jewish resistance, and the response of non-Jews and of other governments to the Holocaust.

HJS 102 Elementary Hebrew II

MTWR 5:00-5:50

Professor Tikva Meroz-Aharoni

Second part of Elementary Hebrew with coverage of Hebrew grammar designed to prepare students to use Hebrew for their particular needs and programs. Prereq: HJS 101 or RAE 130 or consent of instructor.

ENG 380:002/HJS 425: 001 Modern Israeli Society in Literature and Film

TR  3:30-4:45 PM

Professor Tikva Meroz-Aharoni

Is a successful book going to be a successful film?  Critics describe literature and cinema as two distinct arts that speak two different languages and therefore create different meanings.  Israeli cinema has now achieved worldwide acclaim with movies such as “Someone to Run With,” “A Woman in Jerusalem” and others.  Israeli movie directors often look towards rich Hebrew literature as a source for their scripts.  This course will examine contemporary Israeli films that deal with major issues in Israeli society such and social justice, religion, the Israeli-Arabic relationship, and others that are based on contemporary Israeli prose or novels.

HON 151: Honors in Humanities: Jews and Christians in Medieval and Early Modern Europe

TR 2-3:15

Professor Jon Glixon

This course offers a discussion-based investigation of the complex and often troubled relationship between Christians and Jews in Europe from the beginnings of Christianity through the Reformation. We will examine original sources (in English translation) by both Jewish and Christian authors. We will consider political/legal documents, religious texts, literary texts, and visual representations, as well as selected secondary materials.

JEWISH STUDIES COURSES - Fall 2014

WRD/ENG 401-001:  SP TOPS IN WRITING:  COMICS & CONFLICT IN ISRAEL/PALESTINE

TR 9:30-10:45 in POT 03 Professor Janice W. Fernheimer

Though Israel/Palestine, peace, conflict, and the Middle East appear frequently in the daily news, people often don’t understand what all the fuss is about, and why the conflict(s) appear so seemingly unsolvable. This course will offer a unique opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the many conflicts within and between Israeli and Palestinian societies by looking at them through the lens of graphic narratives. We’ll read a number of graphic novels/autobiographies/journalistic texts including but not limited to Sarah Glidden’s How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less, Harvey Pekar’s and J.T. Waldman’s Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me, Joe Sacco’s famous serial Palestine and its sequel Footnotes in Gaza, as well as a variety of other texts to see how words and images have shaped and limited the ways the Israeli/Palestinian conflicts and potential solutions to them are represented. We’ll analyze key concepts: homeland, settlements, Zionism, diaspora, occupied territories, refugees, citizenship, and cease-fire, from Israeli, Palestinian, and other perspectives to better understand how they shape narratives about memory, history, and identity, both national and individual. Since the graphic genre is a relatively new literary development, we will pay careful attention to how it offers new affordances and limitations for representing these complex relationships. As this will be a writing intensive course, we will explore these issues as a means of sharpening your critical thinking, reading, and writing skills. Students may have additional opportunities to interact with authors/artists through Skype-facilitated guest lectures.

HJS 101-001:  ELEMENTARY HEBREW

MTWR 4-4:50 in POT 07 Professor Tikva Meroz-Aharoni

Coverage of Hebrew grammar designed to prepare students to use Hebrew for their particular needs and programs. Come participate in an ancient language reborn. We will start at the beginning (Aleph) and proceed with the goal of your being able to read, write, and converse in basic Modern Hebrew.  During the course, we will make note of some interesting relationships between Biblical Hebrew, Modern Hebrew and surprisingly, English.   Hebrew is more than a collection of random sounds; it is a key to an understanding of contemporary Israeli culture. And this is your first step.

HJS 495-001:  INDEPENDENT STUDY IN JUDAIC STUDIES

Independent study on a topic mutually acceptable to instructor and student in Judaic Studies.  Prereq: Declared minor in Judaic Studies

ENG 271-001: THE BIBLE AS LITERATURE

TR 2:00-3:15 Professor Tikva Meroz-Aharoni

This course investigates selections from the Old and New Testaments in English as literary and cultural documents of great significance and literary achievement. Emphasis is on the careful analysis of literary forms and themes within a broadly historical and non-denominational context. This particular section of ENG 271 will look at contemporary Hebrew cultural texts that use the Old and New Testaments as inspiration. Many writers use images, metaphors, characters, expression, and incidents from ancient sources as literary devices. Not only will we analyze the modern, but we will also study the source material itself such as the Akedah and Biblical heroes (e.g. Abel , Saul, and Rachel). We will reference religious cultural productions such as plays, short stories, poems, works of art, and films that may be read in light of a literary understanding of the biblical texts they rely on. We will use works written by scholars such as Robert Alter and Meir Sternberg.  ENG Module Credit will be given for the Fall 2014 section of ENG 271 upon petition. Contact the ENG Director of Undergraduate Studies for details.

UK 300-003:  UNIV CRSE:  ELEMENTARY YIDDISH

MWF 11:00-11:50 in CB 301 Professor Raphael A. Finkel

This course introduces Yiddish as a living language. You will gain some proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. There are no formal prerequisites, but knowledge of Hebrew, Polish, Russian, and German is certainly helpful, because Yiddish is a West Germanic language, written with a modified Hebrew alphabet (although we will start with Romanized writing) and has significant vocabulary borrowed from Slavic languages.

Spring 2017 Course Offerings

HJS 102 - Elementary Modern Hebrew (cont'd)

Continued introduction to the basic structures and vocabulary of Modern Hebrew. Students will develop skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and will gain broad exposure to modern Israeli culture. (Prerequisite: HJS 101, offered every fall semester)

HJS 202 - Intermediate Modern Hebrew (cont'd)

This course will further develop students’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in Modern Hebrew. Emphasized aspects will include new categories of present and past tense verbs, new vocabulary, verbal/reading comprehension, unstructured expression in Hebrew, and exposure to modern Israeli culture. (Prerequisite: HJS 201, offered every fall semester)

HJS 425/UKC 111 - Introduction to the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible

An introduction to the best-selling and most influential book ever written - a text foundational to both Judaism and Christianity. In this course we will survey the contents of the biblical text, paying close attention to its narrative artistry, its historicity, and its relationship to the ancient Near Eastern culture in which it was written.

WRD 420: Rhetorical Traditions

Arguing with God?: Introduction to Jewish Rhetorics

In this course we will investigate the history of rhetoric in Jewish rhetorical traditions in both historical and contemporary contexts—we will ask such questions as: What constitutes the canons of Jewish rhetoric? How do Jewish rhetorics fit within or complicate Greco-Roman and/or other rhetorical traditions? What does it mean to think about Jewish Rhetorics as part of a larger discourse on cultural rhetoric? We will also learn about contemporary debates in rhetorical historiography as well as contrastive and comparative approaches to studies in rhetorical history and theory. No prior knowledge of Jewish rhetoric required 

T/Th 12:30-1:45

WRD 401-001: Jewish Graphic Novel 

WRD401H: Introduction to the Jewish Graphic Novel

T/Th 9:30-11:45

This course provides an introduction to graphic novels and Jewish culture by focusing on Jewish-authored graphic novels on “Jewish” subjects. Students will learn about the creation of the graphic novel genre, its specific rhetorical affordances combining visuals and text in sequence, and how it came to be associated with Jews, Jewish culture, and “Jewish writing.” After tracing the genre’s historical origins, we will read and analyze key works by pioneers Will Eisner and Art Spiegelman as well as texts by Jewish American artists and Jewish cartoonists working in Hebrew and French (note: all reading will be in English). Student work will focus on writing both traditional academic analyses and producing graphic criticism. Course readings will include a selection of the following: Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics, Will Eisner’s The Plot: The Secret Story of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, Joan Sfar’s The Rabbi’s Cat I and II, JT Waldman’sMegillat Esther, Miriam Katin’s We are on Our Own, Ben Katchor’s The Jew of New York, James Sturm’s America: God, Gold, and Golems Art Spiegelman’s Maus I and II, Miriam Libicki’s Jobnik!, Sarah Glidden’sHow to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less.

Why is it that comics have been dubbed an explicitly “Jewish” form of writing?

What are the defining characteristics of long-form comics or graphic narratives/novels, and how do they differ from film, cartoons, and other texts that mix media?

What makes graphic narrative so powerfully engaging and provocative?

What does this “Jewish” writing have to tell us about “Jewish” and international culture?

How does what we learn about comics and Jewish identity impact how we write our own identities and history?

What does writing comics teach me about writing?

Courses offered Spring 2014