JEWISHST 101A. First-Year Hebrew, First Quarter. 5 Units.
In the first-year program, students acquire essential Hebrew through abundant opportunities to interact in the language in meaningful ways. The students learn to function appropriately in the language in a variety of social and cultural contexts.
Same as: AMELANG 128A
JEWISHST 101B. First-Year Hebrew, Second Quarter. 5 Units.
Continuation of AMELANG 128A. Prerequisite: Placement Test, AMELANG 128A.
Same as: AMELANG 128B
JEWISHST 101C. First-Year Hebrew, Third Quarter. 5 Units.
Continuation of AMELANG 128B. Prerequisite: Placement Test, AMELANG 128B. Fulfill the University Foreign Language Requirement.
Same as: AMELANG 128C
JEWISHST 102A. Second-Year Hebrew, First Quarter. 4 Units.
Continuation of AMELANG 128C. Sequence integrating culture and language. Emphasis is on proficiency in oral and written discourse including presentational language and socio culturally appropriate discourse in formal and informal, academic, and professional contexts. Prerequisite: Placement Test, First Year Hebrew .
Same as: AMELANG 129A
JEWISHST 102B. Second-Year Hebrew, Second Quarter. 4 Units.
Continuation of AMELANG 129A. Sequence integrating culture and language. Emphasis is on proficiency in oral and written discourse including presentational language and socio culturally appropriate discourse in formal and informal, academic, and professional contexts. Prerequisite: Placement Test, Hebrew 129A.
Same as: AMELANG 129B
JEWISHST 102C. Second-Year Hebrew, Third Quarter. 4 Units.
Continuation of AMELANG 129B. Sequence integrating culture and language. Emphasis is on advanced proficiency in oral and written discourse including presentational language and socio culturally appropriate discourse in formal and informal, academic, and professional contexts. Prerequisite: placement Test, Hebrew129B.
Same as: AMELANG 129C
JEWISHST 103A. Third-Year Hebrew, First Quarter. 3 Units.
Continuation of AMELANG 129C. Prerequisite: Placement Test, AMELANG 129C.
Same as: AMELANG 130A
JEWISHST 104. Hebrew Forum. 1-3 Unit.
Intermediate and advanced level. Biweekly Hebrew discussion on contemporary issues with Israeli guest speakers. Vocabulary enhancement. Focus on exposure to academic Hebrew. May be repeat for credit up to 4 times.
Same as: AMELANG 131A
JEWISHST 104A. First-Year Yiddish, First Quarter. 4 Units.
Reading, writing, and speaking.
Same as: AMELANG 140A
JEWISHST 104B. First-Year Yiddish, Second Quarter. 4 Units.
Continuation of AMELANG 140A. Prerequisite: AMELANG.
Same as: AMELANG 140B
JEWISHST 104C. First-Year Yiddish, Third Quarter. 4 Units.
Continuation of AMELANG 140B. Prerequisite: AMELANG 140B. Fulfills the University Foreign Language Requirement.
Same as: AMELANG 140C
JEWISHST 105. Hebrew Forum. 2-4 Units.
Intermediate and advanced level. Biweekly Hebrew discussion on contemporary issues with Israeli guest speakers. Vocabulary enhancement. Focus on exposure to academic Hebrew. May repeat for credit.
Same as: AMELANG 131B
JEWISHST 106. Reflection on the Other: The Arab Israeli Conflict in Literature and Film. 3-5 Units.
How literary works outside the realm of Western culture struggle with questions such as identity, minority, and the issue of the Other. How the Arab is viewed in Hebrew literature, film and music and how the Jew is viewed in Palestinian works in Hebrew or Arabic (in translation to English). Historical, political, and sociological forces that have contributed to the shaping of these writers' views. Guest lectures about the Jew in Palestinian literature and music. Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take course for a Letter Grade.
Same as: AMELANG 126, COMPLIT 145
JEWISHST 107A. Biblical Hebrew, First Quarter. 2 Units.
Establish a basic familiarity with the grammar and vocabulary of Biblical Hebrew and will begin developing a facility with the language. Students that are enrolled in this course must also enroll in Beginning Hebrew. This course requires no prior knowledge of Hebrew and will begin with learning the alphabet. By the end of the year, students will be able to translate basic biblical texts, will be familiar with common lexica and reference grammars, and will have sufficient foundational knowledge to enable them to continue expanding their knowledge either in a subsequent course or own their own.
Same as: RELIGST 170A
JEWISHST 107B. Biblical Hebrew, Second Quarter. 2 Units.
Continuation of 170A.
JEWISHST 107C. Biblical Hebrew, Third Quarter. 4 Units.
Continuation of 170B.
Same as: AMELANG 170C
JEWISHST 120. Sex and Gender in Judaism and Christianity. 3 Units.
What role do Jewish and Christian traditions play in shaping understandings of gender differences? Is gender always imagined as dual, male and female? This course explores the variety of ways in which Jewish and Christian traditions - often in conversation with and against each other - have shaped gender identities and sexual politics. We will explore the central role that issues around marriage and reproduction played in this conversation. Perhaps surprisingly, early Jews and Christian also espoused deep interest in writing about 'eunuchs' and 'androgynes,' as they thought about Jewish and Christian ways of being a man or a woman. We will examine the variety of these early conversations, and the contemporary Jewish and Christian discussions of feminist, queer, trans- and intersex based on them.
Same as: FEMGEN 130, RELIGST 130
JEWISHST 123. Muslims, Jews, and Christians: Conflict, Coexistence, and Collaboration. 4 Units.
Relationships between Muslims, Jews, and Christians today are informed by a multitude of complex and often painful histories. These faith traditions emerged out of deep and sustained engagement with one another sharing theological and ethical principles, and revering many of the same figures and there have been many periods of rich and productive interaction. Yet there have also been areas of dissension and conflict, and periods when theological, social, or political disagreement devolved into violence and oppression. In recent times (especially following the Holocaust and the establishment of the modern State of Israel), religious, political, and intellectual leaders of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities, in the U.S. and around the world, have recognized the need to forge deeper and more meaningful relationships with one another. Knowledge and understanding of the perspectives that different communities and individuals bring to bear on their entangled past, present, and future are a critical part of efforts to resolve intransigent conflicts and advance mutual interests. This course explores some of the most significant moments of interaction through literature and art, polemic and dialogue that have shaped engagements between Muslims, Jews, and Christians throughout history, and examines both prospects and pitfalls for engagement in the present and future.
Same as: RELIGST 133
JEWISHST 125. Modern Jewish Mysticism: Devotion in a Secular Age. 4 Units.
The twentieth-century was a time of tremendous upheaval and unspeakable tragedy for the Jewish communities of Europe. But the past hundred years were also a period of great renewal for Jewish spirituality, a renaissance that has continued into the present day. Beginning with the writings of the Safed Renaissance, the Sabbateanism, and the Hasidic masters, our course will focus on key thinkers in the 19th and 20th centuries, including: Hillel Zeitlin, Martin Buber, Abraham Isaac Kook, Abraham Joshua Heschel, and Arthur Green. Drawing upon essays, homilies, and poems, we will examine the ways in which their works re-cast and reinterpret the Jewish tradition in answer to the singular questions and challenges modernity. We will mark the development of their thinking against the two World Wars, the Holocaust, and the complex and multi-faceted processes of secularization. We will also consider the theological project of modern Jewish mystics in dialogue with modern Jewish philosophers (such as Hermann Cohen, Franz Rosenzweig, and Emmanuel Levinas) as well as modern philosophers and scholars informed by Christianity (from William James to Charles Taylor). This course argues that the processes of sacralization, of reclaiming a life of mystical devotion, are best understood as a unique response to Jewish modernity rather than a retreat to past modalities of religion. In seeking to prove this point, we will explore writers whose work emerged in and engaged with different social and cultural domains. We will investigate their writings with an eye to issues such as power and identity, and will draw upon their works in charting the intersection of mysticism, literature, language and experience. Throughout our readings, we will keep our eye on the sustained impact of feminism on Jewish mysticism in the second half of the twentieth century. This course is structured as a seminar, and our class discussions will be rooted in the primary sources. It assumes no prior background of Judaism or any other religious traditions. All readings will be made available in English.
Same as: RELIGST 165
JEWISHST 127D. Readings in Talmudic Literature. 1 Unit.
Readings of Talmudic texts. Some knowledge of Hebrew is preferred, but not necessary. The goal of the ongoing workshop is to provide Stanford students with the opportunity to engage in regular Talmud study, and to be introduced to a variety of approaches to studying Talmudic texts and thought.
Same as: JEWISHST 227D, RELIGST 170D
JEWISHST 127E. Readings in Talmudic Literature Advanced. 1 Unit.
Readings of the talmudic texts. Knowledge of Hebrew is required. The ongoing seminar is designed to study the making of the talmudic sugya (unit of discourse), along with classic commentaries. Students will consider some of the recent developments in the academic study of Talmudic literature, introduced by the instructor. The goal of the ongoing seminar is to provide Stanford students and faculty with the opportunity to engage in regular Talmud study, and to be introduced to a variety of approaches to studying Talmudic texts. Meeting time and location TBA. May be repeated for credit.
Same as: JEWISHST 227E, RELIGST 170E
JEWISHST 128. Women and Gender in Early Judaism and Christianity. 4 Units.
Beginning with the Hebrew Bible and New Testament, we will explore female figures in early Jewish and Christian literatures, such as Eve, Ruth, Mary, and Junia. Based on this, we will probe the prescriptions for female comportment in early Judaism and Christianity placing these literary prescriptions in conversation with material evidence related to women, such as for example the Babatha archive. We will analyze the politics of patriarchy in ancient discourse, and examine, among other topics, efforts by Christian clergy to silence female prophets in the second and third centuries CE. The bulk of the course will be devoted to the formative years of both Judaism and Christianity in Late Antiquity. This course assumes no prior knowledge of Judaism, Christianity, the Bible, or ancient history. It is designed for students who are part of faith traditions that consider the Bible to be sacred, as well as those who are not. Ancient readings in this course will be supplemented by modern scholarship in classics, early Christian studies, gender studies, queer studies, and the history of sexuality.
Same as: RELIGST 128
JEWISHST 129. Sacred Words: Jewish Thought and the Question of Language. 4 Units.
Jews have long been referred as the people of the book, but they might better be referred to as the people of the word. Drawing upon texts from the Hebrew Bible to the works of modern Hebrew writers like of Hayyim Nahman Bialik and Amoz Oz, this seminar will chart the development of Jewish thinking on language over the past two millennia. We will explore issues such as: the idea of canonization; oral versus written language; the nature and possibility of translation; the origins of language; notions of negative theology; mystical approaches to the word; the rebirth of Hebrew as a spoken and cultural language; and the limits of language after the Holocaust. This course will also bring Jewish thought into dialogue with contemporary philosophical reflections on issues of language. Modern explorations of language will prove an interesting way of deepening our understanding of the Jewish thinkers on one hand, and enriching contemporary intellectual discourse on the other.
Same as: RELIGST 169
JEWISHST 129A. Milk and Honey, Wine and Blood: Food, Justice, and Ethnic Identity in Jewish Culture. 4 Units.
This course examines Jewish culture and the food practices and traditions that have shaped and continue to shape it. Students learn to prepare a variety of meals while studying about the historical and literary traditions associated with them, such as the dietary `laws¿ and the long history of their interpretation, as well as the cultivation of eating as devotional practice in Jewish mystical traditions. We will explore how regional foods the world over contribute to the formation of distinct Jewish ethnic identities, and how these traditions shape contemporary Jewish food ethics. The course includes guest visits by professional chefs and food writers, and field trips to a local winery.
Same as: RELIGST 129
JEWISHST 130VP. Introduction to Social Demography: A Comparative Approach (Israel & US). 3 Units.
In this class we will learn about Israel's unique demographic structure and we will compare it to the US and other countries. Reading materials include general theories as well as research published in scholarly journals. In the first half of this class we will review basic demographic concepts (mortality, fertility and migration), and we will apply them to the Israeli context, with comparisons between different social groups in Israel and with comparison to the US. We will also review basic demographic theories (theories of population change) and apply them to different countries. nnIn the second half of the class we will focus on demography of the family. We will ask how fertility, marriage and divorce differ for different population groups in Israel and the US, and we will tie family processes to current theories of gender and family change. We will also learn how demographic processes may be related to the reproduction of poverty, and inequality.
Same as: SOC 119VP
JEWISHST 131VP. Poverty and Inequality in Israel and the US: A Comparative Approach. 3 Units.
Poverty rates in Israel are high and have been relatively stable in recent decades, with about one fifth of all households (and a third of all children) living below the poverty line. In this class we will learn about poverty and inequality in Israel and we will compare with the US and other countries.nnIn the first few weeks of this class we will review basic theories of poverty and inequality and we will discuss how theories regarding poverty have changed over the years, from the "culture of poverty" to theories of welfare state regimes. We will also learn about various ways of measuring poverty, material hardship, and inequality, and we will review the methods and data used.nnIn the remaining weeks of the class we will turn to substantive topics such as gender, immigration, ethnicity/nationality, welfare policy, age, and health. Within each topic we will survey the debates within contemporary scholarship and we will compare Israel and the US. Examination of these issues will introduce students to some of the challenges that Israeli society faces today.
Same as: CSRE 120P, SOC 120VP
JEWISHST 132. Between Nation-Building and Liberalization: The Welfare State in Israel. 3 Units.
According to one commentator, the political economy of Israel is characterized by embedded illiberalism. In the context of a national and territorial conflict, the Israeli state fostered comprehensive nation-building projects (such as immigration absorption), via employment and social protection schemes. This course surveys the distinctive development of the Israeli welfare state in comparative perspective, and analyzes its particular politics and outcomes in the form of inclusion but also exclusion of different populations from full citizenship. The course will follow a chronological path from the pre-state crystallization of national welfare institutions to the current neo-liberalization trend that seems to undermine collectivist projects and advance the re-commodification of citizenship. Throughout the course we will discuss issues such as: the role of labor and nationalism in the design of social policy, the production of national, ethnic and gender inequality, and the dynamics of change and continuity following heightened liberalization and internationalization since the 1980s. The course exposes students to key issues of the sociology of the welfare state with particular emphasis on the development and role of the state in a deeply conflicted society, using the Israeli experience. At the conclusion of the course students are expected to understand how welfare state institutions reflect but also reproduce societal schisms and conflicts, and be familiar with central aspects of Israeli politics past and present.
Same as: SOC 102
JEWISHST 132A. Social Inequality in Israel. 3 Units.
Like the US, Israel is a nation of immigrants. Israel additionally shares with the US vast economic, ethnic/racial and gender gaps, which are shaped and are being shaped by the demographic diversity characterizing its society. The course will provide a comparative framework for analyzing social inequality in Israel. We will start by reviewing essential concepts and theories in the study of social stratification. We will then review the main cleavages characterizing Israeli society, while comparing them to gaps in other advances societies and particularly the US. We will focus on class, gender and ethnicity as the main distinctions and will examine their implications for differences in life chances in several domains across the life course. We will conclude with a discussion of possible scenarios for change, which are relevant to both Israel and the US. Throughout the course, we will study critical thinking techniques and will use them for analyzing issues that are central for the analysis of social inequality in Israel and elsewhere.
Same as: CSRE 132A, SOC 102A
JEWISHST 132D. Sociology of Jewishness. 3-5 Units.
Examines the place of the Jewish people in society throughout various locales and historical periods to understand how interactions among Jews and with other groups have shaped Jewish identities. Topics include modernism, the Holocaust, Israel/nationhood, race/ethnicity, intermarriage, and assimilation. Uses theoretical, empirical, and historical material from multiple social scientific fields of study and explores the study of Judaism from several major sociological lenses.
Same as: CSRE 132J, SOC 132J
JEWISHST 132VP. Family and Society: A Comparative Approach (Israel & the US). 3 Units.
Families are changing: Non-marital partnerships such as cohabitation are becoming more common, marriage is delayed and fertility is declining. In this class we will learn about how families are changing in Israel and we will compare with the US and other countries. Reading materials include general theories as well as research published in scholarly journals. nnAfter reviewing general theories and major scholarly debates concerning issues of family change, we will turn to specific family processes and compare Israel, the US and other countries. We will ask how family transitions may differ for different population groups and at different stages of the life course, and we will tie family processes to current theories of gender. nnWe will cover a wide range of topics, from marriage and marital dissolution to cohabitation, LAT and remarriage. We will also discuss changes in women's labor force participation and how it bears on fertility, parenthood and household division of labor. Within each substantive topic we will survey the debates within contemporary scholarship and we will compare Israel and the US.
Same as: SOC 121VP, SOC 221VP
JEWISHST 133. Sociology of Citizenship. 3 Units.
Not only a legal status, citizenship forms a major concern for political sociologists interested in questions of membership, exclusion, redistribution, and struggles over the boundaries of collective identity. Citizenship is in essence membership in a political community that entails rights and duties, and structures a tripartite relationship between the individual, community and state. The institutions of citizenship include formal and bureaucratic rules of eligibility ¿ but also informal institutions such as identity and belonging. Throughout the course, students are exposed to key issues of the sociology of citizenship such as the historically different paths of men, women, minority groups and immigrants into citizenship, the contested development of rights and duties, the regulation of population, as well as insurgency and collective attempts to rearticulate the terms of the ¿contract¿ with the state. Israel, the USA, France and Germany are used as empirical illustrations. At the conclusion of the course students will know how to utilize the analytic framework of citizenship in order to analyze a wide range of political phenomena in contemporary societies.
Same as: SOC 103
JEWISHST 133A. WELFARE, WORK AND POVERTY.. 3 Units.
Early theorists of the welfare state described it as a reaction to the emergence of needs and interests of specific social groups during processes of economic development and change. Later theorists countered that the welfare state does not merely react to social cleavages during times of economic change but rather works to actively shape them, in line with worldviews or the interests of dominant group members. Adopting the latter approach, the goal of this course is to provide the tools and knowledge necessary for a critical evaluation of the social services provided to Israeli citizens and their impact on social and economic inequalities. The course will survey various approaches to the understanding of the goals of the welfare state. A comparative and historical account of the development of the welfare state will be presented, while highlighting recent developments, such as the increase in poverty rates and the aging of the population. During the course, we will examine the diverse needs that are served by the welfare state, as well as major dilemmas associated with the provision of services. Throughout the course, we will study critical thinking techniques and will use them for analyzing issues that are central for the development of social policies in Israel and the US.
Same as: CSRE 133J, SOC 103A
JEWISHST 139. Rereading Judaism in Light of Feminism. 4 Units.
During the past three decades, Jewish feminists have asked new questions of traditional rabbinic texts, Jewish law, history, and religious life and thought. Analysis of the legal and narrative texts, rituals, theology, and community to better understand contemporary Jewish life as influenced by feminism.
Same as: FEMGEN 139
JEWISHST 143. Literature and Society in Africa and the Caribbean. 4 Units.
This course explores texts and films from Francophone Africa and the Caribbean in the 20th and 21st centuries. The course will explore the connections between Sub-Saharan Africa, the Maghreb and the Caribbean through both foundational and contemporary works while considering their engagement with the historical and political contexts in which they were produced. This course will also serve to improve students' speaking and writing skills in French while sharpening their knowledge of the linguistic and conceptual tools needed to conduct literary analysis. The diverse topics discussed in the course will include national and cultural identity, race and class, gender and sexuality, orality and textuality, transnationalism and migration, colonialism and decolonization, history and memory, and the politics of language. Readings include the works of writers and filmmakers such as Djibril Tamsir Niane, Léopold Senghor, Aimé Césaire, Albert Memmi, Patrick Chamoiseau, Leonora Miano, Leila Slimani, Dani Laferrière and Ousmane Sembène. Taught in French. Students are highly encouraged to complete FRENLANG 124 or to successfully test above this level through the Language Center. This course fulfills the Writing in the Major (WIM) requirement.
Same as: AFRICAAM 133, AFRICAST 132, COMPLIT 133A, COMPLIT 233A, CSRE 133E, FRENCH 133
JEWISHST 144B. Poetic Thinking Across Media. 4 Units.
Even before Novalis claimed that the world must be romanticized, thinkers, writers, and artists wanted to perceive the human and natural world poetically. The pre- and post-romantic poetic modes of thinking they created are the subject of this course. Readings include Ecclestias, Zhaozhou Congshen, Montaigne, Nietzsche, Kafka, Benjamin, Arendt, and Sontag. This course will also present poetic thinking in the visual arts--from the expressionism of Ingmar Bergman to the neo-romanticism of Gerhard Richter.
JEWISHST 147A. The Hebrew Bible in Literature. 3-5 Units.
Close reading of major biblical stories and poems that influenced modern literature written in English and Hebrew. Hebrew texts will be read in translation to English. Each class will include a section from the Hebrew Bible as well as a modern text or film based on the biblical story/poem. Discussion of questions such as: the meaning and function of myths and the influence of the Hebrew Bible on the development of literary styles and genres.
Same as: JEWISHST 347A
JEWISHST 147B. The Hebrew and Jewish Short Story. 3-5 Units.
Short stories from Israel, the US and Europe including works by Agnon, Kafka, Keret, Castel-Bloom, Kashua, Singer, Benjamin, Freud, biblical myths and more. The class will engage with questions related to the short story as a literary form and the history of the short story. Reading and discussion in English. Optional: special section with readings and discussions in Hebrew. Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take the course for a Letter Grade. In AY 2020-21, a 'CR' grade will satisfy the WAYS requirement.
Same as: COMPLIT 127B
JEWISHST 148. Writing Between Languages: The Case of Eastern European Jewish Literature. 1-5 Unit.
Eastern European Jews spoke and read Hebrew, Yiddish, and their co-territorial languages (Russian, Polish, etc.). In the modern period they developed secular literatures in all of them, and their writing reflected their own multilinguality and evolving language ideologies. We focus on major literary and sociolinguistic texts. Reading and discussion in English; students should have some reading knowledge of at least one relevant language as well. ***This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit***.
Same as: JEWISHST 348, SLAVIC 198, SLAVIC 398
JEWISHST 150. Texts that Changed the World from the Ancient Middle East. 3-5 Units.
This course traces the story of the cradle of human civilization. We will begin with the earliest human stories, the Gilgamesh Epic and biblical literature, and follow the path of the development of law, religion, philosophy and literature in the ancient Mediterranean or Middle Eastern world, to the emergence of Jewish and Christian thinking. We will pose questions about how this past continues to inform our present: What stories, myths, and ideas remain foundational to us? How did the stories and myths shape civilizations and form larger communities? How did the earliest stories conceive of human life and the divine? What are the ideas about the order of nature, and the place of human life within that order? How is the relationship between the individual and society constituted? This course is part of the Humanities Core: https://humanitiescore.stanford.edu/.
Same as: COMPLIT 31, HUMCORE 111, RELIGST 150
JEWISHST 155D. Jewish American Literature and Film. 5 Units.
From its inception, Jewish-American literature has taken as its subject as well as its context the idea of Jewishness itself. Jewish culture is a diasporic one, and for this reason the concept of Jewishness differs from country to country and across time. What stays remarkably similar, though, is Jewish self-perception and relatedly Jewish literary style. This is as true for the first-generation immigrant writers like Isaac Bashevis Singer and Anzia Yezierska who came to the United States from abroad as it is for their second-generation children born in the United States, and the children of those children. In this course, we will consider the difficulties of displacement for the emigrant generation and their efforts to sustain their cultural integrity in the multicultural American environment. We'll also examine the often comic revolt of their American-born children and grandchildren against their (grand-)parents nostalgia and failure to assimilate. Only by considering these transnational roots can one understand the particularity of the Jewish-American novel in relation to mainstream and minority American literatures. In investigating the link between American Jewish writers and their literary progenitors, we will draw largely but not exclusively from Russia and the countries of Eastern Europe.
Same as: AMSTUD 145D, ENGLISH 145D, REES 145D
JEWISHST 155J. The Jewish-American Novel: Diaspora, Privilege, Anxiety, Comedy. 4-5 Units.
Jews are sometimes referred to as 'the people of the book.' Would Portnoy's Complaint count as a book that constitutes Jewish-American peoplehood? What about Fear of Flying? This seminar introduces students to influential Jewish-American novels (and some short stories and film) from the late nineteenth century to the present day. These works return time and again to questions of diaspora, race, queer social belonging, and the duty to a Jewish past, mythical or real. Through close readings of short stories and novels coupled with secondary readings about Jewish-American history and culture, we will explore how American Jewishness is constructed differently in changing historical climates. What makes a text Jewish? What do we mean by Jewish humor and Jewish seriousness? How do Jewish formulations of gender and power respond to Jews' entrance into the white American mainstream? As we read, we'll think through and elaborate on models of ethnicity, privilege, sexuality, and American pluralism. Authors include Cahan, Yezierska, Singer, Roth, Bellow, Malamud, Ozick, Mailer, Jong, and Englander.
Same as: AMSTUD 145J, ENGLISH 145J
JEWISHST 185B. Jews in the Contemporary World: The American Jewish Present & Past in Popular Culture, Film, & TV. 4-5 Units.
(HISTORY 185B is 5 units; HISTORY 85B IS 3 units.) Who are American Jews as depicted in popular media -- film, television, etc. -- since the Second World War? How are their religion, politics, mores, and practices represented and what ways, if at all, do such portraits reflect historical trends among Jews and society in general? What can be learned from film or tv about Jewish identity, notions of Jewish power and powerlessness, communal cohesiveness and assimilation, sexuality and the wages of intermarriage or race?.
Same as: CSRE 185B, HISTORY 185B, HISTORY 385C, REES 185B, SLAVIC 183
JEWISHST 186. Jews in Trump's America and Before. 5 Units.
This class considers the notion of American Jewish exceptionalism through the lens of Trump's America. The social and economic success of American Jewry over the last 350 years is remarkable, yet Jews continue to find their position in American society called into question. This course moves between past and present and will consider key moments in American Jewish life with a particular emphasis on contemporary currents, including post-liberal identity politics, Israel, and the rise of white supremacy.
Same as: HISTORY 286F
JEWISHST 18N. Religion and Politics: Comparing Europe to the U.S.. 3-4 Units.
Interdisciplinary and comparative. Historical, political, sociological, and religious studies approaches. The relationship between religion and politics as understood in the U.S. and Europe. How this relationship has become tense both because of the rise of Islam as a public religion in Europe and the rising influence of religious groups in public culture. Different understandings and definitions of the separation of church and state in Western democratic cultures, and differing notions of the public sphere. Case studies to investigate the nature of public conflicts, what issues lead to conflict, and why. Why has the head covering of Muslim women become politicized in Europe? What are the arguments surrounding the Cordoba House, known as the Ground Zero Mosque, and how does this conflict compare to controversies about recent constructions of mosques in Europe? Resources include media, documentaries, and scholarly literature.
Same as: RELIGST 18N
JEWISHST 199B. Directed Reading in Yiddish, Second Quarter. 1-5 Unit.
For intermediate or advanced students. May be repeated for credit.
JEWISHST 19N. Everyone Eats: Food, Religion and Culture. 3 Units.
Food is one of the most essential aspects of the human experience. The decisions and choices we make about food define who we have been, who we are now, and who we want to become. In this seminar we will study how food habits have shaped religious traditions, and vice versa, how religious traditions have shaped food ways. Some traditions are centered around food regiments such as the dietary laws, derived from biblical law that shapes Jewish and Christian tradition very differently. Indeed, many religious and ethical thinkers, as well as anthropologists, have interpreted the meanings of the dietary laws very differently. Further, in many religious traditions the killing of animals and consumption of meat is deeply fraught. We will explore the history of food practices and their contemporary impact; the connections between food, religion, and identity; the meanings that religious thinkers and anthropologists have attributed to food habits; as well as the creative translations of religious traditions into contemporary food ethics by various social movements and groups, predominantly in the U.S.
Same as: CSRE 19N, RELIGST 19N
JEWISHST 205. Reading Hebrew, First Quarter. 2-4 Units.
Introduction to Hebrew literature through short stories and poetry by notable Israeli writers. In Hebrew. Prerequisite: one year of Hebrew or equivalent.
JEWISHST 211. Out of Eden: Deportation, Exile, and Expulsion from Antiquity to the Renaissance. 4-5 Units.
This course examines the long pedigree of modern deportations and mass expulsions, from the forced resettlements of the ancient world to the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, and from the outlawry of Saga-era Iceland to the culture of civic exile in Renaissance Italy. The course focuses on Europe and the Mediterranean from antiquity to the early modern period, but students are welcome to venture beyond these geographical and chronological boundaries for their final papers.
Same as: HISTORY 211, HISTORY 311
JEWISHST 215. Understanding Jews. 1-2 Unit.
This discussion-based course will give students an opportunity to explore the constellation of religious, ethnic, national, cultural, artistic, spiritual, and political forces that shape Jewish life in the 21st century. Drawing on historical documents, classical texts, and contemporary events, this course will give students from any background an opportunity to ask hard questions, deepen their own understandings, and challenge their conceptions of what makes Jewish life ¿Jewish.¿ No matter where you went for Sunday school ¿ church, synagogue, the woods, or nowhere at all ¿ this course is a chance to question what you know, and interrogate how you came to know what you know about Jews, Judaism, and Jewish culture.
Same as: AMSTUD 215
JEWISHST 221C. Aramaic Texts. 1-5 Unit.
Readings in Aramaic/Syriac with special focus on grammar and syntax of ancient texts.
Same as: JEWISHST 321C, RELIGST 221C, RELIGST 321C
JEWISHST 221D. Readings in Syriac Literature. 2-5 Units.
In recent years, there has been growing interest in the works of Syriac speaking Christians in antiquity and beyond. This course offers an introduction to the Syriac language, including its script, vocabulary and grammar, and a chance to read from a selection of foundational Syriac Christian texts.
Same as: JEWISHST 321D, RELIGST 221D, RELIGST 321D
JEWISHST 226E. The Holocaust: Insights from New Research. 4-5 Units.
Overview of the history of the Holocaust, the genocide of European Jews. Explores its causes, course, consequences, and memory. Addresses the events themselves, as well as the roles of perpetrators and bystanders, dilemmas faced by victims, collaboration of local populations, and the issue of rescue. Considers how the Holocaust was and is remembered and commemorated by victims and participants alike. Uses different kinds of sources: scholarly work, memoirs, diaries, film, and primary documents.
Same as: CSRE 226D, CSRE 326D, HISTORY 226D, HISTORY 326D, JEWISHST 326D
JEWISHST 227D. Readings in Talmudic Literature. 1 Unit.
Readings of Talmudic texts. Some knowledge of Hebrew is preferred, but not necessary. The goal of the ongoing workshop is to provide Stanford students with the opportunity to engage in regular Talmud study, and to be introduced to a variety of approaches to studying Talmudic texts and thought.
Same as: JEWISHST 127D, RELIGST 170D
JEWISHST 227E. Readings in Talmudic Literature Advanced. 1 Unit.
Readings of the talmudic texts. Knowledge of Hebrew is required. The ongoing seminar is designed to study the making of the talmudic sugya (unit of discourse), along with classic commentaries. Students will consider some of the recent developments in the academic study of Talmudic literature, introduced by the instructor. The goal of the ongoing seminar is to provide Stanford students and faculty with the opportunity to engage in regular Talmud study, and to be introduced to a variety of approaches to studying Talmudic texts. Meeting time and location TBA. May be repeated for credit.
Same as: JEWISHST 127E, RELIGST 170E
JEWISHST 240. The Yiddish Story. 3-5 Units.
The Yiddish language is associated with jokes, folktales, and miracle legends, as well as modern stories. This class traces the development of Yiddish literature through these short oral and written forms, following Jewish writers out of the East European market town to cities in the Soviet Union, Israel, and especially the United States. We conclude with stories written in other languages about Yiddish writers. Readings include Sholem Aleichem, I. L. Peretz, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Esther Singer-Kreitman, Cynthia Ozick, and Dina Rubina. Readings in English; optional discussion section for students who read Yiddish.
Same as: AMSTUD 240Y
JEWISHST 242G. Myth and Modernity. 3-5 Units.
Masters of German 20th- and 21st-Century literature and philosophy as they present aesthetic innovation and confront the challenges of modern technology, social alienation, manmade catastrophes, and imagine the future. Readings include Nietzsche, Freud, Rilke, Musil, Brecht, Kafka, Doeblin, Benjamin, Juenger, Arendt, Musil, Mann, Adorno, Celan, Grass, Bachmann, Bernhardt, Wolf, and Kluge. Taught in English. Note for German Studies grad students: GERMAN 322 will fulfill the grad core requirement since GERMAN 332 is not being offered this year. NOTE: Enrollment requires Professor Eshel's consent. Please contact him directly at eshel@stanford.edu and answer these 2 questions: "Why do you want to take this course?" and "What do you think you can add to the discussion?" Applications will be considered in the order in which they were received. Enrollment is limited to 20 students.
Same as: COMPLIT 222A, GERMAN 222, GERMAN 322, JEWISHST 342
JEWISHST 243A. Hannah Arendt: Facing Totalitarianism. 3-5 Units.
Like hardly any other thinker of the modern age, Hannah Arendt's thought offers us timeless insights into the fabric of the modern age, especially regarding the perennial danger of totalitarianism. This course offers an in-depth introduction to Arendt's most important works in their various contexts, as well as a consideration of their reverberations in contemporary philosophy and literature. Readings include Arendt's <em>The Origin of Totalitarianism</em>, <em>The Human Condition, Between Past and Future</em>, <em>Men in Dark Times</em>, <em>On Revolution</em>,<em>Eichmann in Jerusalem</em>, and <em>The Life of the Mind</em>, as well as considerations of Hannah Arendt's work by Max Frisch, Jürgen Habermas, Seyla Benhabib, Judith Butler, Giorgio Agamben, and others. Special attention will be given to Arendt's writings on literature with an emphasis on Kafka, Brecht, Auden, Sartre, and Camus. This course will be synchronously conducted, but will also use an innovative, Stanford-developed, online platform called Poetic Thinking. Poetic Thinking allows students to share both their scholarly and creative work with each other. Based on the newest technology and beautifully designed, it greatly enhances their course experience.
Same as: COMPLIT 353B, GERMAN 253, GERMAN 353
JEWISHST 249. The Algerian Wars. 3-5 Units.
From Algiers the White to Algiers the Red, Algiers, the Mecca of the Revolutionaries in the words of Amilcar Cabral, this course offers to study the Algerian Wars since the French conquest of Algeria (1830-) to the Algerian civil war of the 1990s. We will revisit the ways in which the war has been narrated in literature and cinema, popular culture, and political discourse. A special focus will be given to the Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962). The course considers the racial representations of the war in the media, the continuing legacies surrounding the conflict in France, Africa, and the United States, from Che Guevara to the Black Panthers. A key focus will be the transmission of collective memory through transnational lenses, and analyses of commemorative events and movies. nReadings from James Baldwin, Assia Djebar, Albert Camus, Frantz Fanon, Mouloud Feraoun. Movies include "The Battle of Algiers," "Days of Glory," and "Viva Laldjérie." nTaught in English.
Same as: CSRE 249, FRENCH 249, HISTORY 239G
JEWISHST 265. Jewish Law: Introduction and Topics. 2 Units.
This course will provide an overview of the field of Jewish Law and will seek to provide a few case studies of topics in Jewish Law. All the readings are in English and this course presupposes no background in Jewish Law. Jewish Law is the world's oldest complex legal systems with distinct and idiosyncratic approaches to family, commercial, ritual and many other areas of law. It also has developed an elaborate "conflicts of law" sub-literature focusing on when should Jewish Law apply and when should some other legal system apply, reflecting the long history of the Jewish community in the diaspora as a minority. In this course, we will consider how Jewish law approaches a number of specific topics and we will ponder as well the proper interaction between Jewish law and secular legal norms, Jewish Law and changes in technology, Jewish law and sovereignty, Jewish Law and Bioethics and Jewish law and Family. Other topics will be added as we all see fit. Students who are interested in making a presentation on an area of their choice are welcome to do so. The course will seek to include an optional supplementary "field trip" to see a rabbinical court in action in California. The Learning Outcomes provided by this court include the following: Students who take this course will: 1. Exhibit knowledge and understanding of key concepts in substantive law, procedural law, and legal thought in Jewish Law. 2. Demonstrate facility with legal analysis and reasoning in the Jewish Legal tradition and will demonstrate the ability to conduct legal research in Jewish Law. After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer, with consent of the instructor, from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Class Participation, Final Paper. Cross-listed with the Law School (LAW 5038).
JEWISHST 281K. Departures: Late Ottoman Displacements of Muslims, Christians, and Jews, 1853-1923. 5 Units.
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, millions of people moved into and out of the Ottoman Empire, sometimes voluntarily and sometimes under extremely violent circumstances. More often than not, they moved in groups that were religiously defined. This course examines how these developments shaped the future of the modern Middle East, Balkans, and beyond. Questions include: How did migration and the idea of the nation shape each other? What does it mean to call a group or a migration "religious"? Why did certain types of diversity become a "problem," in the eyes of the state? What caused these population displacements? What can this topic teach us about today's mass migrations?.
Same as: HISTORY 281K
JEWISHST 282. Circles of Hell: Poland in World War II. 5 Units.
Looks at the experience and representation of Poland's wartime history from the Nazi-Soviet Pact (1939) to the aftermath of Yalta (1945). Examines Nazi and Soviet ideology and practice in Poland, as well as the ways Poles responded, resisted, and survived. Considers wartime relations among Polish citizens, particularly Poles and Jews. In this regard, interrogates the traditional self-characterization of Poles as innocent victims, looking at their relationship to the Holocaust, thus engaging in a passionate debate still raging in Polish society.
Same as: HISTORY 228, HISTORY 328, JEWISHST 382
JEWISHST 282K. The Holocaust and Its Aftermath. 4-5 Units.
This seminar gives an overview over different aspects of the history of the Holocaust and its aftermath and will examine key issues in recent Holocaust historiography and questions of memory and representation. Special emphasis is put on the nature of the historian's task, as viewed through the lens of historians of the Holocaust, as well as to the significance of the Holocaust in history and how it has changed over time. The course will confront students with historiographical texts and historical documents, with photography and film, works of scholarship and art.
Same as: HISTORY 202K, HISTORY 302K, JEWISHST 382K
JEWISHST 284C. Genocide and Humanitarian Intervention. 3 Units.
Open to medical students, graduate students, and undergraduate students. Traces the history of genocide in the 20th century and the question of humanitarian intervention to stop it, a topic that has been especially controversial since the end of the Cold War. The pre-1990s discussion begins with the Armenian genocide during the First World War and includes the Holocaust and Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. Coverage of genocide and humanitarian intervention since the 1990s includes the wars in Bosnia, Rwanda, Kosovo, the Congo and Sudan.
Same as: HISTORY 224C, HISTORY 324C, JEWISHST 384C, PEDS 224
JEWISHST 285C. The Immigrant in Modern America. 5 Units.
The 2016 presidential election propelled the topic of immigration to the center of public attention. This is not the first time, however, that questions of immigration and what it means to be an American have revealed deep divisions within the U.S. This course explores the reception of immigrants in modern America, including differing views toward immigration; how immigrants help shape ideas about the American nation; and the growth of state bureaucracy and policing apparatus as a response.
Same as: HISTORY 285C
JEWISHST 286D. Yours in Struggle: African Americans and Jews in the 20th Century U.S.. 5 Units.
This colloquium explores the history of African Americans and Jews in 20th century US beginning with Jewish immigration from Eastern Europe and the Great Migration to America's urban centers. It considers the geographical and economic tensions that developed between two minority groups living in close proximity; the appropriation of black culture; Jewish claims to whiteness and performance of blackness; intercommunal relations during the Civil Rights movement; the breakdown of the black-Jewish alliance in the late 1960s; and the lingering ramifications of this shift today.
Same as: HISTORY 286D
JEWISHST 287S. Research Seminar in Ottoman and Middle East History. 4-5 Units.
Student-selected research topics. May be repeated for credit.
Same as: HISTORY 481, JEWISHST 481
JEWISHST 288C. Jews of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. 5 Units.
This course will explore the cultural, social, and political histories of the Jews of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) from 1860 to present times. The geographic concentration will range from Morocco to Iran, Iraq to Turkey, and everywhere in between. Topics include: Jewish culture and identity in Islamic contexts; the impacts of colonialism, westernization, and nationalism; Jewish-Muslim relations; the racialization of MENA Jews; the Holocaust; the experience and place of MENA Jews in Israel; and "Jews of Color.".
Same as: CSRE 288C, HISTORY 288C
JEWISHST 291X. Learning Religion: How People Acquire Religious Commitments. 4 Units.
This course will examine how people learn religion outside of school, and in conversation with popular cultural texts and practices. Taking a broad social-constructivist approach to the variety of ways people learn, this course will explore how people assemble ideas about faith, identity, community, and practice, and how those ideas inform individual, communal and global notions of religion. Much of this work takes place in formal educational environments including missionary and parochial schools, Muslim madrasas or Jewish yeshivot. However, even more takes place outside of school, as people develop skills and strategies in conversation with broader social trends. This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to questions that lie at the intersection of religion, popular culture, and education. May be repeat for credit.
Same as: AMSTUD 231X, EDUC 231, RELIGST 231X
JEWISHST 297X. American Jewish History: Learning to be Jewish in America. 2-4 Units.
This course will be a seminar in American Jewish History through the lens of education. It will address both the relationship between Jews and American educational systems, as well as the history of Jewish education in America. Plotting the course along these two axes will provide a productive matrix for a focused examination of the American Jewish experience. History students must take course for at least 3 units.
Same as: AMSTUD 279X, EDUC 279, HISTORY 288D, RELIGST 279X
JEWISHST 299A. Directed Reading in Yiddish, First Quarter. 1-5 Unit.
Directed Reading in Yiddish, First Quarter.
JEWISHST 301. Colloquium on Jews, Judaism, and Jewish Culture. 1 Unit.
An interdisciplinary graduate student colloquium for Stanford graduate students interested in Jewish Studies.
JEWISHST 321C. Aramaic Texts. 1-5 Unit.
Readings in Aramaic/Syriac with special focus on grammar and syntax of ancient texts.
Same as: JEWISHST 221C, RELIGST 221C, RELIGST 321C
JEWISHST 321D. Readings in Syriac Literature. 2-5 Units.
In recent years, there has been growing interest in the works of Syriac speaking Christians in antiquity and beyond. This course offers an introduction to the Syriac language, including its script, vocabulary and grammar, and a chance to read from a selection of foundational Syriac Christian texts.
Same as: JEWISHST 221D, RELIGST 221D, RELIGST 321D
JEWISHST 326D. The Holocaust: Insights from New Research. 4-5 Units.
Overview of the history of the Holocaust, the genocide of European Jews. Explores its causes, course, consequences, and memory. Addresses the events themselves, as well as the roles of perpetrators and bystanders, dilemmas faced by victims, collaboration of local populations, and the issue of rescue. Considers how the Holocaust was and is remembered and commemorated by victims and participants alike. Uses different kinds of sources: scholarly work, memoirs, diaries, film, and primary documents.
Same as: CSRE 226D, CSRE 326D, HISTORY 226D, HISTORY 326D, JEWISHST 226E
JEWISHST 342. Myth and Modernity. 3-5 Units.
Masters of German 20th- and 21st-Century literature and philosophy as they present aesthetic innovation and confront the challenges of modern technology, social alienation, manmade catastrophes, and imagine the future. Readings include Nietzsche, Freud, Rilke, Musil, Brecht, Kafka, Doeblin, Benjamin, Juenger, Arendt, Musil, Mann, Adorno, Celan, Grass, Bachmann, Bernhardt, Wolf, and Kluge. Taught in English. Note for German Studies grad students: GERMAN 322 will fulfill the grad core requirement since GERMAN 332 is not being offered this year. NOTE: Enrollment requires Professor Eshel's consent. Please contact him directly at eshel@stanford.edu and answer these 2 questions: "Why do you want to take this course?" and "What do you think you can add to the discussion?" Applications will be considered in the order in which they were received. Enrollment is limited to 20 students.
Same as: COMPLIT 222A, GERMAN 222, GERMAN 322, JEWISHST 242G
JEWISHST 347A. The Hebrew Bible in Literature. 3-5 Units.
Close reading of major biblical stories and poems that influenced modern literature written in English and Hebrew. Hebrew texts will be read in translation to English. Each class will include a section from the Hebrew Bible as well as a modern text or film based on the biblical story/poem. Discussion of questions such as: the meaning and function of myths and the influence of the Hebrew Bible on the development of literary styles and genres.
Same as: JEWISHST 147A
JEWISHST 348. Writing Between Languages: The Case of Eastern European Jewish Literature. 1-5 Unit.
Eastern European Jews spoke and read Hebrew, Yiddish, and their co-territorial languages (Russian, Polish, etc.). In the modern period they developed secular literatures in all of them, and their writing reflected their own multilinguality and evolving language ideologies. We focus on major literary and sociolinguistic texts. Reading and discussion in English; students should have some reading knowledge of at least one relevant language as well. ***This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit***.
Same as: JEWISHST 148, SLAVIC 198, SLAVIC 398
JEWISHST 37Q. Zionism and the Novel. 3 Units.
At the end of the nineteenth century, Zionism emerged as a political movement to establish a national homeland for the Jews, eventually leading to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. This seminar uses novels to explore the changes in Zionism, the roots of the conflict in the Middle East, and the potentials for the future. We will take a close look at novels by Israelis, both Jewish and Arab, in order to understand multiple perspectives, and we will also consider works by authors from the North America and from Europe. NOTE: To satisfy a WAYS requirement, this course must be taken for at least 3 units. In AY 2020-21, a 'CR' grade will satisfy the WAYS requirement.
Same as: COMPLIT 37Q
JEWISHST 382. Circles of Hell: Poland in World War II. 5 Units.
Looks at the experience and representation of Poland's wartime history from the Nazi-Soviet Pact (1939) to the aftermath of Yalta (1945). Examines Nazi and Soviet ideology and practice in Poland, as well as the ways Poles responded, resisted, and survived. Considers wartime relations among Polish citizens, particularly Poles and Jews. In this regard, interrogates the traditional self-characterization of Poles as innocent victims, looking at their relationship to the Holocaust, thus engaging in a passionate debate still raging in Polish society.
Same as: HISTORY 228, HISTORY 328, JEWISHST 282
JEWISHST 382K. The Holocaust and Its Aftermath. 4-5 Units.
This seminar gives an overview over different aspects of the history of the Holocaust and its aftermath and will examine key issues in recent Holocaust historiography and questions of memory and representation. Special emphasis is put on the nature of the historian's task, as viewed through the lens of historians of the Holocaust, as well as to the significance of the Holocaust in history and how it has changed over time. The course will confront students with historiographical texts and historical documents, with photography and film, works of scholarship and art.
Same as: HISTORY 202K, HISTORY 302K, JEWISHST 282K
JEWISHST 384C. Genocide and Humanitarian Intervention. 3 Units.
Open to medical students, graduate students, and undergraduate students. Traces the history of genocide in the 20th century and the question of humanitarian intervention to stop it, a topic that has been especially controversial since the end of the Cold War. The pre-1990s discussion begins with the Armenian genocide during the First World War and includes the Holocaust and Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. Coverage of genocide and humanitarian intervention since the 1990s includes the wars in Bosnia, Rwanda, Kosovo, the Congo and Sudan.
Same as: HISTORY 224C, HISTORY 324C, JEWISHST 284C, PEDS 224
JEWISHST 385A. Core Colloquium in Jewish History, 17th to 19th Centuries. 4-5 Units.
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Same as: HISTORY 385A
JEWISHST 385B. Graduate Colloquium in Jewish History, 19th-20th Centuries. 4-5 Units.
Instructor consent required.
Same as: HISTORY 385B
JEWISHST 393X. The Education of American Jews. 4 Units.
This course will take an interdisciplinary approach to the question of how American Jews negotiate the desire to retain a unique ethnic sensibility without excluding themselves from American culture more broadly. Students will examine the various ways in which people debate, deliberate, and determine what it means to be an "American Jew". This includes an investigation of how American Jewish relationships to formal and informal educational encounters through school, popular culture, religious ritual, and politics.
Same as: EDUC 313, RELIGST 313X
JEWISHST 39S. The Other Side: Ethnography and Travel Writing through Jewish, Christian and Muslim Eyes. 3 Units.
In an age of reality television and social media, we are bombarded with snapshots of the exotic, monstrous, and bizarre. Yet despite their quantity, these images pale in comparison to the qualities of terror, wonder and curiosity that ancient travelers evoked in their encounters with foreign lands and peoples. Early ethnographers, too, painstakingly explored the beliefs and practices of unfamiliar peoples sometimes very close to home. This course surveys their most vivid writings, from ancient Greece to the colonization of the New World, focusing on the relation between fascination with the other and the author's own religious imagination. In particular, it introduces the contributions of Jewish travelers and ethnographers to this history, which has often been written from the standpoint of imperial, ecclesiastical or colonial power. It stresses literary continuities across three general periods (ancient, medieval, and colonial), showing how remarkably consistent patterns of identification spring from diverse encounters.
JEWISHST 4. What Didn't Make It into the Bible. 4 Units.
Over two billion people alive today consider the Bible to be sacred scripture. But how did the books that made it into the bible get there in the first place? Who decided what was to be part of the bible and what wasn't? How would history look differently if a given book didn't make the final cut and another one did? Hundreds of ancient Jewish and Christian texts are not included in the Bible. "What Didn't Make It in the Bible" focuses on these excluded writings. We will explore the Dead Sea Scrolls, Gnostic gospels, hear of a five-year-old Jesus throwing temper tantrums while killing (and later resurrecting) his classmates, peruse ancient romance novels, explore the adventures of fallen angels who sired giants (and taught humans about cosmetics), tour heaven and hell, encounter the garden of Eden story told from the perspective of the snake, and learn how the world will end. The course assumes no prior knowledge of Judaism, Christianity, the bible, or ancient history. It is designed for students who are part of faith traditions that consider the bible to be sacred, as well as those who are not. The only prerequisite is an interest in exploring books, groups, and ideas that eventually lost the battles of history and to keep asking the question "why." In critically examining these ancient narratives and the communities that wrote them, you will investigate how religions canonize a scriptural tradition, better appreciate the diversity of early Judaism and Christianity, understand the historical context of these religions, and explore the politics behind what did and did not make it into the bible.
Same as: CLASSICS 9N, RELIGST 4
JEWISHST 481. Research Seminar in Ottoman and Middle East History. 4-5 Units.
Student-selected research topics. May be repeated for credit.
Same as: HISTORY 481, JEWISHST 287S
JEWISHST 486A. Graduate Research Seminar in Jewish History. 4-5 Units.
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Same as: HISTORY 486A
JEWISHST 486B. Graduate Research Seminar in Jewish History. 4-5 Units.
Prerequisite: HISTORY 486A.
Same as: HISTORY 486B
JEWISHST 4N. A World History of Genocide. 3-5 Units.
Reviews the history of genocide from ancient times until the present. Defines genocide, both in legal and historical terms, and investigates its causes, consequences, and global dimensions. Issues of prevention, punishment, and interdiction. Main periods of concern are the ancient world, Spanish colonial conquest; early modern Asia; settler genocides in America, Australia, and Africa; the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust; genocide in communist societies; and late 20th century genocide.
Same as: HISTORY 4N
JEWISHST 5. Biblical Greek. 3-5 Units.
This is a one term intensive class in Biblical Greek. After quickly learning the basics of the language, we will then dive right into readings from the New Testament and the Septuagint, which is the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. No previous knowledge of Greek required. If demand is high for a second term, an additional quarter will be offered in the Spring.
Same as: CLASSICS 6G, RELIGST 171A
JEWISHST 53. Exploring Jewish Spirituality. 4 Units.
It was once accepted as fact that Judaism is, at its core, a rational religion devoid of any authentic mystical tradition. But the past century of scholarship has reversed this claim, demonstrating that the spiritual life has been integral to Judaism's vital heart since ancient times. This yearning for a direct immediate experience of God's Presence, a longing to grasp the mysteries of the human soul and know the inner dynamics of the Divine realm, has taken on many different forms across the centuries. <br>This course will introduce students to the major texts--from theological treatises to poems and incantations--and core ideas of Jewish mysticism and spirituality, tracking their development from the Hebrew Bible to the dawn of modernity. Close attention will be paid to the historical context of these sources, and we will also engage with broader methodological approaches--from phenomenology to philology--regarding the academic study of religion and the comparative consideration of mysticism in particular. <br>This course assumes no prior background of Judaism or any other religious traditions. All readings will be made available in English. Students are, however, invited to challenge themselves with the "optional/advanced" readings of sources both primary and secondary. Pending interest, students with facility in the original languages (Hebrew or Aramaic) will be given the opportunity to do so.
Same as: RELIGST 53
JEWISHST 5B. Biblical Greek. 3-5 Units.
This is a continuation of the Winter Quarter Biblical Greek Course. Pre-requisite: CLASSICS 6G or a similar introductory course in Ancient Greek.
Same as: CLASSICS 7G
JEWISHST 5G. Intensive Biblical Greek. 8 Units.
Equivalent to two quarters of Biblical Greek (CLASSICS 6G, 7G). Students will learn the core of New Testament Greek with the goal of learning to accurately translate and read the New Testament. Students will read one-third of the Gospel of John during the course and will be well-prepared to read the Greek New Testament independently after the course. Focus on knowledge of key vocabulary and grammar needed to read the Greek Bible with ease. No previous knowledge of Greek required. Course does not fulfill the Stanford language requirement.
Same as: RELIGST 171X
JEWISHST 85B. Jews in the Contemporary World: The American Jewish Present & Past in Popular Culture, Film, & TV. 3 Units.
(HISTORY 85B is 3 units; HISTORY 185B is 5 units.) Who are American Jews as depicted in popular media-- film, television, etc.-- since the Second World War? How are their religion, politics, mores, and practices represented and what ways, if at all, do such portraits reflect historical trends among Jews and society in general? What can be learned from film or tv about Jewish identity, notions of Jewish power and powerlessness, communal cohesiveness and assimilation, sexuality and the wages of intermarriage or race?.
Same as: CSRE 85B, HISTORY 85B, REES 85B
JEWISHST 86. Exploring the New Testament. 4 Units.
To explore the historical context of the earliest Christians, students will read most of the New Testament as well as many documents that didn't make the final cut. Non-Christian texts, Roman art, and surviving archeological remains will better situate Christianity within the ancient world. Students will read from the Dead Sea Scrolls, explore Gnostic gospels, hear of a five-year-old Jesus throwing divine temper tantrums while killing (and later resurrecting) his classmates, peruse an ancient marriage guide, and engage with recent scholarship in archeology, literary criticism, and history.
Same as: CLASSICS 43, RELIGST 86
JEWISHST 86Q. Blood and Money: The Origins of Antisemitism. 4-5 Units.
For over two millennia, Jews and Judaism have been the object of sustained anxieties, fears, and fantasies, which have in turn underpinned repeated outbreaks of violence and persecution. This course will explore the development and impact of antisemitism from Late Antiquity to the Enlightenment, including the emergence of the Blood libel, the association between Jews and moneylending, and the place of Judaism in Christian and Islamic theology. No prior background in history or Jewish studies is necessary. Prerequisite: PWR 1.
Same as: HISTORY 86Q
