Spring Term 2024 Courses

ENG 306U Fantasy Literature 
INSTRUCTOR: Michael Weingrad
MODE: Online 
CRN: 61062

In this heavy-reading course we will read lesser-known classics of fantasy literature as forms of moral and religious engagement with an often secularized, “disenchanted” world. Reading list includes:

• Hope Mirrlees, Lud-in-the-Mist
• G. K. Chesterton, The Man Who Was Thursday
• C. S. Lewis, Perelandra
• Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn
• Diana Wynne Jones, Fire and Hemlock

Fulfills University Studies cluster requirement: Examining Popular Culture

JST 318U / HST 318U Jewish History II from the Middle Ages to the Present​
INSTRUCTOR: Natan Meir
DAYS / TIMES: Tuesdays / Thursdays, 12:00 - 1:50 PM
LOCATION: Ondine (OND) 203
CRN: 61510 / 61372

How do you tell the story of a people dispersed over much of the world with no obvious political, economic, or military history? Dive into a rich world of religious, cultural, and social developments, and understand how a tiny minority not only survived centuries of sometimes hostile environments but even found places for incredible flourishing and creativity. We’ll trace Jewish history from medieval Spain to early modern Poland to the 21st-century U.S. and Israel on a journey with moments of both joy and tragedy.

This course has no prerequisites.

Fulfills University Studies cluster requirement: Global Perspectives. 

JST 319U / HST 319U Rabbinic Culture in the Roman World 
INSTRUCTOR: Loren Spielman
DAYS / TIMES: Tuesday / Thursday, 10:00 - 11:50 AM
LOCATION:  Parkmill (PKM) 201
CRN: 61511 / 61373

After the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE, Jewish society experienced a radical transformation. From the ashes of the now defunct cult in Jerusalem, a new form of Judaism emerged, rooted in the study and interpretation of sacred texts and centered around the life of the Rabbinic sage. A flourishing of literary activity during the first seven centuries of the Common Era produced the foundational texts of Rabbinic Judaism, the Mishnah, Midrash and Talmud, which continue to give shape to modern Jewish practice and belief. Through a survey of this rich and textured literature, this course will examine the roots of the Rabbinic movement. Asking critical questions about who these rabbis were and what they promoted as their core practices and beliefs, we will devote special attention to the ways these early rabbis related to other segments of ancient Jewish society, reacted to the emergence and spread of Christianity, and negotiated living in the predominantly pagan environment of the Greco-Roman city.

Fulfills University Studies cluster requirement: Interpreting the Past.

Also fulfills a requirement for Medieval Studies minor and Classical Studies minor.

JST 325U Retelling the Bible - COURSE CANCELLED FOR SPRING TERM 2024
INSTRUCTOR: Loren Spielman
DAYS / TIMES: Monday / Wednesday / Friday, 12:45 - 1:50 PM
LOCATION: Cramer Hall (CH) 221
CRN: 61512

Do you remember reading in the Bible about the time that Abraham smashed the idols in his father’s temple? Or when the angels cheered as Pharaoh’s army drowned in the Sea of Reeds? What about when Satan suggested to God that he ask Abraham to offer up his son Isaac as a sacrifice? Well… none of these things are actually in the Bible. But they are all stories that will be discussed in Professor Spielman’s class Retelling the Bible ­— a course which looks at the ways that ancient texts interpreted or retold some of the most popular stories from the Bible. Although none of these texts — like the Dead Sea Scrolls or other apocryphal or “hidden” writings — made their way into the official canon, the themes that they develop reverberate throughout history. Students are often surprised to learn how much of what they know about Biblical characters has been shaped by texts and traditions from outside the Biblical canon.

Fulfills University Studies cluster requirement: Interpreting the Past.

JST 333U Israeli Culture and Society -  COURSE CANCELLED 3/18/2024
INSTRUCTOR: Nina Spiegel
MODE: Hybrid
DAYS / TIMES: Tuesday 12:00 - 1:50 PM
LOCATION: Broadway (BDWY) 222
CRN: 61513

Israelis are often stereotyped as brash, innovative, loud, audacious… and also in-your-face and just plain rude. But what lies behind the stereotype? What characterizes the culture and society of the only majority-Jewish society in the world, a society that is also incredibly ethnically, religiously, and socially diverse? In this course we’ll investigate how an Israeli national culture was created, and explore its role in shaping contemporary Israeli society. We’ll examine the forces that influence and challenge an Israeli national identity, and listen to competing voices in the cultural arena. Our topics will include myth and memory, public and state events, music and dance, theater and architecture. 

Fulfills University Studies cluster requirement: Examining Popular Culture.

JST 336U / WS 336U Gender and Judaism
INSTRUCTOR: Nina Spiegel 
LOCATION: Online
CRN: 64533

Have you ever wondered what Judaism has to say about gender? What are Jewish attitudes and ideas about gender? This course explores a variety of topics including religious and spiritual life, religious leadership, sexuality, life cycle events, new rituals, images of parenting and varieties of pathways to becoming a parent. Throughout, the course will examine a range of experiences, choices and dilemmas related to gender in contemporary Jewish life, including experiences of Jews from different denominations and locations around the globe, Jews of color, and LGBTQ and nonbinary Jews.

Note: this course takes place fully online. No prerequisites are required.

Fulfills a requirement for University Studies cluster: Gender and Sexualities

This course looks at graphic novels dealing with Jewish identity, the legacy of the Holocaust, and Jewish life today in Israel and Europe. In addition to classroom sessions there will be a set of Zoom events featuring artists and scholars discussing the graphic novel Judessey, a Holocaust story told in the form of Homer’s Odyssey, by the eminent Israeli comic artist Shay Charka (forthcoming in English translation by the course instructor). 

This course counts towards the Comics Studies certificate.