Undergraduate Study - Jewish Studies Courses

Degree Requirements (Autumn 2012)

[Conversion table: JSIS course numbers in effect through Sum 2012]

I. Synoptic Introductions to Global and Jewish Studies (15 credits required)

JSIS 201, Making of the 21st Century
JSIS C 145 Introduction to Judaism, Pianko
JSIS C/HIST 250, Jews in Western Civilization, Pianko

II. Jewish Studies Tracks (20 credits)  Choose either A or B options.

TRACK A: Judaic Cultural Tradition
The World of Ancient Israel
NEAR E 221 Digital Egypt, Noegel/Williams/Matthews
NEAR E 231 Dead Sea Scrolls, Noegel (no longer offered)
JSIS C 240/NEAR E 240, Introduction to Hebrew Bible, Noegel
JSIS C 451/NEAR E 452 The Biblical Song of Songs, Noegel
JSIS C 449/NEAR E 453 The Biblical Prophets, Noegel
JSIS C/NEAR E 454 Israel: First Six Centuries BCE, Noegel
JSIS C/NEAR E 457 History of Biblical Interpretation, Noegel
JSIS C/NEAR E 455 Kings of Monarchic Israel, Noegel
JSIS C 489 & JSIS 487 Special Topics Courses (when topic is appropriate) see adviser

Literary and Intellectual Traditions of Classical Judaiasm
JSIS C 491 Seminar on Judaism
NEAR E 496a Rabbinic Oral-Traditional Literature (no longer offered)
PHIL 418/JSIS C 418 Jewish Philosophy, Rosenthal
JSIS C 400 Jewish Mystical Tradition
JSIS C 410 Law and Judaic Experience
JSIS 489 & JSIS 487 Special Topics Courses (when topic is appropriate) see adviser

TRACK B: The Jewish People in the Modern World

Literary and Intellectual Traditions of Jewish Modernity
JSIS C/ENGL 312 Jewish Literature: Biblical to Modern, Butwin
NEAR E 325 Hebrew Literature in Translation, Sokoloff
JSIS C/GERMAN 295 Contributions of German Jews to German Culture, Block
JSIS C 358 Modern Jewish Thought, Pianko
NEAR E 496 Special Topics (When topic is appropriate: e.g. Literature and the Holocaust, Sokoloff) see adviser
ENGL 311 Modern Jewish Literature, Butwin
JSIS C/HIST 369 Jewish 20th Century in Film
JSIS C 489 & JSIS 487 Special Topics Courses (when topic is appropriate) see adviser
NEAR E 251 Jewish Life in Literature and Film

Modern Israel Studies
JSIS A 101/NEAR E 150 Israel: Dynamic Society and Global Flashpoint, Barzilai, Migdal, Pianko, Sokoloff
JSIS A 458 Israel: Society and Politics, Migdal
JSIS C 489 Special Topics in Jewish Studies (when topic is appropriate, e.g. Women in Israeli Lit & Society, Sokoloff) see adviser
NEAR E 326/CHID 498a, Israeli Identities, Sokoloff
NEAR E 425 Multicultural Israel, Sokoloff
ECON 406 Economics of Israel, Kochin
JSIS C/ECON 470 Economic History of the Jews, Kochin
JSIS 487 Special Topics Courses (when topic is appropriate) see adviser
POL S 325   Arab-Israel Conflict

Jews and Society Since the Middle Ages
JSIS C 462 Antisemitism as a Cultural System
JSIS C/HSTAM 367 Medieval Jewish History, Stacey
JSIS C/HSTEU 368 Modern European Jewish History
JSIS C/HIST 369 Jewish 20th Century in Film
JSIS C/SOC 377 American Jewish Community, Burstein
JSIS C/HSTAA 336 American Jewish History Since 1885, Pianko
JSIS C/HSTEU 465 Jews of Eastern Europe
JSIS C/HSTEU 466 The Sephardic Diaspora
JSIS C 463/HSTEU 469 Enlightenment, Emancipation, Antisemitism
JSIS C/ECON 470 Economic History of the Jews
JSIS C/HIST 269 The Holocaust
HIST 498 Special Topics in History: (when topic is appropriate, e.g. Blacks & Jews, Glenn) see adviser
JSIS C/SOC 378, Contemporary Jewish American Identities, Friedman
JSIS C/WOMEN 438, Jewish Women in Contemporary America, Friedman
JSIS C 489 & JSIS 487 Special Topics Courses (when topic is appropriate) see adviser

III. Language Requirement: Jewish Languages and Texts (15 credits)

For Track A:
§HEBR 411, 412, 413 Elementary Modern Hebrew, Sokoloff
§HEBR 414, 415 Elementary Biblical Hebrew, Noegel
HEBR 421, 422, 423 Intermediate Modern Hebrew, Sokoloff
HEBR 426 Biblical Hebrew Prose, Noegel
HEBR 427 Biblical Hebrew Poetry, Noegel
HEBR 428 Inscriptions From Biblical Times, Noegel
HEBR 451, 452 Introduction to Hebrew Literature, Sokoloff
HEBR 453 Introduction to Talmud, Gamoran
HEBR 454 Hebrew Poetry, Sokoloff
HEBR 455 Hebrew Fiction, Sokoloff
HEBR 456 Hebrew Poems and Prayers, Sokoloff
HEBR /ARAB 470 Stories of the Prophets
ARAB 468 North Arabic Inscriptions
ARAMIC 421 Biblical Aramaic
ARAMIC 422 Targumic Aramaic
EGYPT 410 Introduction to Hieroglyphic Egyptian, Noegel

For Track B:
§HEBR  411, 412, 413 Elementary Modern Hebrew, Sokoloff
HEBR 421, 422, 423 Intermediate Modern Hebrew, Sokoloff
HEBR 451, 452 Introduction to Hebrew Literature, Sokoloff
HEBR 454 Hebrew Poetry, Sokoloff
HEBR 455 Hebrew Fiction, Sokoloff
HEBR 456 Hebrew Poems and Prayers, Sokoloff
§Preparatory courses; credits do not count toward the 15-credit requirement

IV. Capstone Paper

Biblical Hebrew at the University of Washington

A two-year sequence in biblical Hebrew language is offered in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization and counts toward a degree in Jewish Studies. The inductive method that we employ in our language classes allows students to read solely from the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) already by the end of the second quarter of the first year! Thereafter students take courses on biblical Hebrew prose texts, biblical poetry, and ancient inscriptions. The final quarter of the second year we typically devote to biblical Aramaic or some other course of interest to students of ancient Hebrew.

 For a complete list of courses, a series of online learning tools for the study of biblical Hebrew, the relevant course websites, and also three resource sites for those who want to study the Hebrew Bible in greater depth, please visit http://depts.washington.edu/bibheb/ or contact Prof. Scott Noegel at snoegel@u.washington.edu or (206) 376-7787.

Revised 4-19-13