A. Course Levels

Level 1: Basis Courses (Required for majors; highly recommended for all students interested in Jewish Studies.)

JUD 100y Elementary Modern Hebrew
JUD/REL 225 Jewish Civilization: Text and Tradition (A broad introduction to Jewish texts, traditions, and history, from the ancient world to the contemporary period.)

Level 2: Exploratory Courses (Introduce students to a body of literature, historical experience, or method of approaching Jewish Studies that is often helpful for more advanced work.)

Language
JUD 110j Yiddish Language and Culture

Classical Texts
REL 210 Introduction to the Bible 1 (Hebrew Bible)
REL 215 Introduction to the Bible 2 (New Testament)
REL 222 Introduction to Rabbinic Literature

History and Thought
REL 223 The Modern Jewish Experience

Literature and the Arts
CLT 277 At Home with Kafka: Modern Jewish Fiction

Level 3: Topic Courses (topic courses are open to students at various levels, though first-year students may want to consult with the instructor to determine appropriateness)

Language: Hebrew
JUD 200 Intermediate Modern Hebrew (follows JUD 100y Elementary Modern Hebrew)
REL 295/296 Hebrew Religious Texts (follows JUD 200: Intermediate Modern Hebrew)
JUD 400 Special Studies: Readings in modern Hebrew (May only be taken following JUD 200 or its equivalent; readings in Modern Hebrew may be available at the intermediate or advanced levels, pending availability of the instructor.)

The University of Massachusetts offers advanced modern Hebrew on a yearly basis. The Program in Jewish Studies at Smith encourages students to take advantage of this opportunity within the Five-College Consortium. A semester of intermediate modern Hebrew is held every other year at Mount Holyoke College.

Classical Texts
REL 211 Wisdom Literature and Other Books from the Writings
REL 213 Prophecy in Ancient Israel

History and Thought
HST/JUD 284 The Jews of Eastern Europe
REL 221 Jewish Spirituality: Philosophers and Mystics
REL 224 Jews and Judaism in the Americas
REL 227 Judaism, Feminism, Women’s Spirituality
GOV 229 Government and Politics of Israel
GOV 248 The Arab-Israel Dispute

Literature and the Arts
JUD 258/ENG 230 American Jewish Literature
JUD 260 Yiddish Literature and Culture
CLT 218 Holocaust Literature
CLT 275 Israeli Literature
GER 190 Jews in German Culture
GER 230 Nazi Cinema
SPN 246/280 Life Stories by Latin American Jewish Writers
THE 241 Staging the Jew
THE 220 Homelands: Israeli Drama

Level 4: Advanced Courses
(For juniors or seniors, normally with some prior experience in the field; research intensive.)

Classical Texts
REL 310 Seminar: Hebrew Bible
REL/JUD 400 Special Studies: Readings in Hebrew Bible

History and Thought
REL 320 Seminar: Jewish Religion and Culture
GOV 323 Warring for Heaven and Earth: Jewish and Muslim Political
Activism in the Middle East

Literature and the Arts
JUD 362 Seminar in Modern Jewish Literature and Culture
JUD 400 Special Studies: Readings in Modern Jewish Literature and Culture

B. Sample Course Clusters

Bible:
REL 210 Introduction to the Bible I (Hebrew Bible)
REL 211 Wisdom Literature and Other Books from the Writings
REL 213 Prophecy in Ancient Israel
REL 215 Introduction to the Bible II (New Testament)
REL 310 Seminar: Hebrew Bible
REL/JUD 400 Special Studies: Readings in Hebrew Bible

Modern Jewish Literatures
JUD 258/ENG 230 American Jewish Literature
JUD 260 Yiddish Literature and Culture
JUD 362 Seminar in Modern Jewish Literature
CLT 218 Holocaust Literature
CLT 275 Israeli Literature
CLT 277 At Home With Kafka: Modern Jewish Fiction
GER 190 Jews in German Culture
SPN 246/280 Life Stories by Latin American Jewish Writers (in Spanish)
THE 241 Staging the Jew
THE 220 Homelands: Israeli Drama

Jewish History and Thought
FYS 163 Holy Land
JUD/HST 284 The Jews of Eastern Europe
REL 220 Jews and Judaism in the Ancient World
REL 223 The Modern Jewish Experience
REL 224 Jews and Judaism in the Americas
REL 221 Jewish Spirituality: Philsophers and Mystics
REL 227 Judaism, Feminism, Women’s Spirituality

Israel Studies
CLT 275 Israeli Literature in International Context
THE 220 Israeli Drama
GOV 229 Government and Politics of Israel
GOV 248 The Arab-Israel Dispute
GOV 323 Warring for Heaven and Earth: Jewish and Muslim Political
Activism in the Middle East

Modern European Jewry
JUD 110j Yiddish Language and Culture
JUD 260 Yiddish Literature
JUD/HST 284 Jews of Eastern Europe
REL 223 The Modern Jewish Experience
CLT 218 Holocaust Lit
CLT 277 At Home with Kafka: Modern Jewish Fiction
GER 190 Jews in German Culture
GER 230 Nazi Cinema

Hebrew Language
JUD 100y Elementary Modern Hebrew
JUD 200 Intermediate Modern Hebrew (alternates between Smith and Mt. Holyoke)
REL 295/6 Hebrew Religious Texts
JUD 400 Special Studies: Readings in Modern or Biblical Hebrew
UMass Offers advanced modern Hebrew every year

C. Sample Pathway through the Jewish Studies Major

Year 1

• JUD 100y Elementary Modern Hebrew
• JUD/REL 225 Jewish Civilization: Text and Tradition

Year 2

• JUD 200 Intermediate Modern Hebrew
• Articulation of a concentration within the major (in close consultation with an adviser)
• Begin Breadth Requirements

Year 3

• Continue breadth requirements
• Fill out the elected concentration
• Elective course(s) in historical periods, texts, or areas that go beyond your concentration within the major
• Study Abroad for a semester or a year, possibly at an institution with a Jewish Studies curriculum
  

Year 4

• Seminar from the approved list of Jewish Studies approved courses and/or JUD 400: Research-intensive special Studies and/or JUD 430d: Honors Thesis
• Complete breadth and/or concentration requirements

D. Courses Beyond the Major
Jewish Studies believes that a well rounded liberal arts education must include not only a well defined major but a balanced selection of courses beyond the major. We encourage all our students to fulfill the Latin Honors Requirements established by the College, and especially to take courses in fields of knowledge that are new or challenging to them.

There are also many courses at Smith that would be of particular interest to students in Jewish Studies, either because they introduce students to useful methodological approaches or because they complement already existing courses within the program.

The following are examples of courses that touch on Jewish Studies and that may count as an elective toward the major with the prior approval of an adviser. Students must write one of their assignments for such courses on an appropriate Jewish Studies topic. Please consult the offerings of other programs and departments, and your adviser, for additional possibilities:

GER 248 Laboratories of Modernity, 1800-1900
HST 246 Memory and History
HST 203 Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic World
HST 205 The Roman Empire
HST 227 Outcasts: Minorities in Medieval Societies
HST 243 Reconstructing Historical Communities
HST 350 The History of Psychoanalysis
SPN 250 Sex and the Medieval City
SPN 332 The Middle Ages Today
SPN 332 Queer Iberia