Foundations in Judaism

Course Description

This course offers students a critical introduction to issues within Jewish studies and the study of Jews, Judaism and Jewishness. Who are Jews and how have these designations shifted and changed over time? What is Judaism and how is it a religion? What role do texts and practices play in defining Judaism? The course asks these and other questions in order to both build on the legacy of how Judaism has been studied within the academic field of religious studies and to challenge some of these long held assumptions. In other words, the course both appreciates and challenges this scholarly legacy by offering students Religious studies, Jewish studies and literary critical tools to better appreciate Jewish texts and practices. And, by looking at Jews, Judaism and Jewishness in the plural, the course offers students a broad historical vision of Jewish culture. The course is organized, more or less, chronologically offering students a critical overview of Jewish history moving from the biblical period to the present with attention to specific Jewish texts and artifacts from specific periods and geographical locations within this history.

Code

REL 5401

Credits

3

Subject

REL