Jewish Studies

Courses

Courses with * fulfill
General Education requirements

(A-AP) = Arts - Applied

(A-TH) = Arts -
Theoretical/Historical

(A-AR) = Analytical -
Abstract Reasoning

(A-QR) = Analytical -
Quantitative Reasoning

(CP) = Comparative Practices

(D-D) = Diversity - Domestic

(D-I) = Diversity - International

(D-L) = Diversity - Language

(ES) = Earlham Seminar

(IP) = Interpretive Practices

(SI) = Scientific Inquiry

(W) = Wellness

(AY) = Offered in Alternative Year

*JWST 101 BIBLICAL HEBREW I
(5 credits) (D-L)

*JWST 102 BIBLICAL HEBREW II
(5 credits) (D-L)

JWST 145 READINGS IN JEWISH
TEXTS I (1-2 credits)
Provides hourly study sessions once a week on important passages in key texts in Jewish culture. Recent classes have studied Torah portions, Talmudic tractates, selected Midrash, medieval poetry, Yiddish stories and Israeli poetry.

*JWST 150 EARLHAM SEMINAR
(4 credits)
Offered for first-year students. Topics vary. (ES)


*JWST 155 HEBREW SCRIPTURES
(4 credits)
An examination of the religion of Israel expressed in selected portions of the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament) in light of the results of modern critical study and within the context of ancient Near Eastern culture and history. Prerequisite: An Interpretive Practices course or consent of the instructor. Also listed as REL 155. (CP, D-I)

*JWST 206 JEWISH LITERATURE (3 credits)
An introduction to some of the most influential imaginative writings of the Jewish people. Some ancient and medieval texts consulted, especially Midrash; most time spent on modern works. Special attention to the ways that Jews have used literature to preserve and challenge their cultural identity in different historical circumstances. Texts may include poetry by Solomon Ibn Gabirol, Nelly Sachs and Yehuda Amichai; novels by Isaac Bashevis Singer, Anzia Yezierska and A.B. Yehoshua; stories by Nachman of Bratzlav, Sholem Aleichem and Cynthia Ozick. Prerequisite: An Interpretive Practices course or consent of the instructor. Also listed as ENG 206. (CP, D-D) (AY)

*JWST 241 ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN HISTORY (3 credits)
In antiquity, the Mediterranean Sea united rather than divided cultures. Surveys cultures around the Mediterranean from the ancient mid-eastern kingdoms to the Roman Empire through the 4th century BCE. Particular attention to intellectual and religious life and to civilization contracts with sub-Saharan Africa, transalpine Europe, Arabia and Persia. Readings include primary texts. Prerequisite: An Interpretive Practices course or consent of the instructor. Also listed as CLAS 241 and HIST 241. (CP, D-I) (AY)

*JWST 242 MEDIEVAL MEDITERRANEAN HISTORY (3 credits)
A unit in North African, Arab and Byzantine as well as European history. Begins with the 5th century with the breaking of Roman rule around the Mediterranean and concludes with the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 and the expulsion of Spain's Jews and Moslems in 1492. Prerequisite: An Earlham Seminar, an Interpretive Practices course or consent of the instructor. Also listed as HIST 242. (CP, D-I) (AY)

JWST 245 READINGS IN JEWISH TEXTS II (1-2 credits)
Furthers study begun in JWST 145. Prerequisite: JWST 145.

*JWST 251 MEDIEVAL JEWISH HISTORY (3 credits)
The study of Jews as a nation among the nations from Second Temple times until the beginning of emancipation in the 18th century. Topics include law and self-government, treatment of Jews in Moslem and Christian societies, the development of Jewish thought and practice, and the experiences of Jewish women. Prerequisite: An Earlham Seminar, an Interpretive Practices course or consent of the instructor. Also listed as HIST 251. (CP, D-I) Offered every three years.

*JWST 252 MODERN JEWISH HISTORY AND THE HOLOCAUST (4 credits)
Studies the Holocaust or Shoah in the context of Modern Jewish History from Emancipation through 1948. Particular attention to Jewish self-definition and to Jewish responses. Secondary sources as well as select work of prose fiction and selected memoirs. Prerequisite: An Earlham Seminar, an Interpretive Practices course or consent of the instructor. Also listed as HIST 252. (CP, D-I) (AY)

*JWST 253 JEWS SINCE 1945 (4 credits)
After the Holocaust, 80 percent of the world's Jews lived in either the United States or Israel. A study of the profound cultural, political and philosophical changes accompanying this geographical change. Special attention to the Jewish communities of the United States and the effects of Jewish statehood in Israel. Readings include novels as well as histories. Prerequisite: An Earlham Seminar, an Interpretive Practices course or consent of the instructor. Also listed as HIST 253. (CP, D-I) (AY)

*JWST 254 THE HOLOCAUST AND FILM (4 credits)
Examines the question of the representation of the Holocaust as a historical event and asks how we, as citizens, can provide an adequate ethical commitment to the memory of this event. Questions asked concern issues of memory and trauma, how to do justice to survivors' experience, how to understand the scope of the Holocaust. Also examines the limitations of explanatory modes and specific issues pertaining to cinematographic representation. Prerequisite: An Earlham Seminar, an Interpretive Practices course or consent of the instructor. Also listed as FILM 254 nd HIST 254. (CP, D-I) (AY)

*JWST 285 JUDAISM (4 credits)
An introduction to the evolution of Jewish values from the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE until the present. In addition to offering a historical overview of Jewish thought and practice, particular attention to Jewish responses to modernity and to challenge and change in contemporary Judaism. Also listed as REL 285. (CP, D-I) (AY)

*JWST 344 NEW VOICES: GERMAN JEWISH WRITERS (2 credits)
Examines issues of Jewish identity in postwar Germany and Austria and what it is like to live there as a Jew today. This seven-week seminar studies the prose, poetry and essays of German Jewish writers who respond to the issues in a variety of ways. Also listed as GER 344. Course offered in German (first seven weeks) and English (second seven weeks). (D-I) (AY)

JWST 345 READINGS IN JEWISH TEXTS III (1-2 credits)
Furthers study begun in JWST 245. Prerequisite: JWST 245.

*JWST 371 ZIONISM AND MODERN ISRAEL (4 credits)
Examines Jewish political theory and the original texts of Zionists and the role of war and diplomacy in creating mandatory Palestine and recognizing the new State of Israel. Offers a comprehensive study of Israeli domestic history along with the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Prerequisite: An Earlham Seminar, an Interpretive Practices course or consent of the instructor. Also listed as HIST 371. (CP, D-I)

JWST 445 READINGS IN JEWISH TEXTS IV (1-2 credits)
Furthers study begun in JWST 345. Prerequisite: JWST 345.

JWST 484 FORD/KNIGHT RESEARCH PROJECT (1-4 credits)
Collaborative research with faculty funded by the Ford/Knight Program.

JWST 485 INDEPENDENT STUDY (1-3 credits)
Investigation of a specific topic conceived and planned by the student in consultation with a faculty supervisor. Culminates in a comprehensive report prepared in the style of a thesis or research paper.