Next Semester Courses
FALL 2013 Jewish Studies Courses
HIST 20200-01 Jews in the Modern World LA HU 1 G H
3 CREDITS (CROSS-LISTED COURSE)
INSTRUCTOR: Rebecca Lesses, Muller 307, Ext. 4-3556, rlesses@ithaca.edu
ENROLLMENT: 20
PREREQUISITES: One course in the humanities or social sciences
STUDENTS: Open to all students interested in Jewish history
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course deals with the challenges that Jews have faced in the modern world and the creative responses that they have made to them for the past 500 years, since the Expulsion from Spain in 1492. We will discuss the larger political and social forces that have influenced Jewish life in the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas: European colonialism, mass migrations, the philosophical Enlightenment, Jewish political emancipation, religious and political anti-semitism, the Holocaust, nationalism, Zionism, the establishment of the state of Israel. In this course, we also seek a lens into the modern Jewish experience through examination of religious and cultural movements like Jewish mysticism, Hasidism, and modern Jewish philosophy, and analysis of Jewish material culture, Jewish literature, and artistic representations of Jewish life.
NOTE: This course is cross-listed with JWST 20200 Jews in the Modern World. Students cannot register for HIST 20200 if they are registered for JWST 20200.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: class discussions, lectures, student presentations, and films.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: attendance and participation, short analysis papers, class presentation, midterm and final exam, and short research paper. Grading: A-F.
JWST 21100 Jewish American Writers HU LA 3a
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Kirsten Wasson, kwasson@ithaca.edu
ENROLLMENT: 20
PREREQUISITES: One course in the humanities or social sciences or sophomore standing.
STUDENTS: All students who are interested in reading literature by American Jewish writers and considering issues of Jewish identity raised by their books.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Study of dramas, short stories, and novels of Jewish-American writers who have gained prominence since the 1950s, such as Miller, Malamud, Mailer, Singer, Roth, and Bellow. This course is cross-listed with ENGL 21100 – students may not receive credit for JWST 21100 if they have taken ENGL 21100 (or vice versa).
COURSE FORMAT: Discussions, student presentations.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING: Grading: A-F
JWST 27500 ST: Israeli Culture Through Literature and Art HU LA
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Mirit Hadar, mhadar@ithaca.edu or Rebecca Lesses, Muller 307, Ext. 4-3556, rlesses@ithaca.edu
ENROLLMENT: 20
PREREQUISITES: One course in the humanities or social sciences.
STUDENTS: All students who are interested in learning more about Israel, or the way in which literature reveals the stresses and fissures of a society.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Israeli literature reflects the historical and political aspects of Israeli culture. This course explores Israeli culture and history through literature and art. The course will introduce a range of modern Hebrew literature (in translation) from its early beginnings in the 1880’s up until today’s postmodern Israel. The course will emphasize short stories and classic Israeli novels. Among the authors whose fiction will be presented in this course are: Yona Wallach, Shulamit Lapid, Etgar Keret, David Grossman and more. Fiction will be interwoven with other literary and artistic genres: films, plays, and poetry. Students will also be exposed to scholarly discussions of the influence of Hebrew literature and art on Israeli culture. All the materials in this course will be in English.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Discussions, student presentations.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING: Grading: A-F.