This seminar examines the transformation of Yiddish from the vernacular of an ethno-religious community to a language of modern, secular mass culture and national politics in the 19th and 20th centuries in Eastern Europe.
A historical analysis of the formation of the ideas, literature and institutions of rabbinic Judaism as they took shape from the first to the seventh centuries.
Examines the plurality of rituals and devotional practices in Islam and the variety of spaces and places engendered by Muslim worship and devotion from early Islam to the contemporary period. It examines the diversity of forms of Muslim worship and devotional practices such as prayer, pilgrimage, tomb visitations, as well as individual contemplation and remembrance […]
Modern Hebrew writers faced the challenge of reinventing a language and culture during a century of upheaval and change. Examining fiction, poetry, memoirs and film (in translation), this course addresses such issues as personal and collective identities and relationships with the past.Course credit exclusions: None.Prior TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusion: AS/HEB 3770 3.00.
This course addresses both the geography of the classical Jewish Hebrew prayer text, the Siddur, as well as the overall structure of the text. It focuses also on selected prayers and their internal structures, histories and meanings.Course credit exclusion:AP/HEB 3220 3.00.Prior TO FALL 2009:Course credit exclusions: AS/HEB 3220 3.00 and AS/HEB 3221 3.00.
This course focuses on Jewish holidays and the weekly Sabbath. Ancient text is studied along with modern philosophical and thematic materials. This course traces the development of some traditions from ancient text through modern practice.Course credit exclusion: AP/HEB 3230 3.00.Prior TO FALL 2009:Course credit exclusions: AS/HEB 3230 3.00 and AS/HEB 3231 3.00.
This course provides an overview of the beginnings and development of Jewish law. Starting with Biblical materials, we progress through the centuries to the modern world. Attention is paid to process development and the impact of historical/sociological settings on the Jewish legal framework.Course credit exclusion: AP/HEB 3210 3.00.Prior TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AS/HEB […]
This course develops an understanding of contemporary North American Jewry using findings of social science. Social, cultural, political, and religious issues of concern to Jewish communities are analyzed, such as assimilation, intermarriage, Jewish identity, etc. The course focuses on the Canadian Jewish experience and where relevant compares this to the United States. It also offers […]
This course explores this phenomenon and analyzes a variety of contemporary women's rituals in light of contemporary feminist ritual theory and methodology.
An exploration of the ways fantasy has shaped modern sensibility since the French Revolution.