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The Major in Jewish Studies

Advisers: Ernest Benz, Justin Cammy, Lois Dubin, Joel Kaminsky, Ellen Kaplan, Jocelyne Kolb

Requirements

The major in Jewish Studies comprises 12 semester courses:

Basis

JUD 125/REL 225 Jewish Civilization
(Normally taken in a student's first or second year)

Language

JUD 100y Elementary Modern Hebrew
(Counts as two semester courses)

Students who arrive at Smith with the equivalent of a year of college-level Hebrew may petition for exemption from this requirement; in such cases, they are strongly encouraged to continue their study of Hebrew language at the intermediate level or beyond.

Breadth

Students will work closely with their adviser to select courses that cover the chronological sweep of Jewish civilization.

One course in each of the following catagories is required for the major (check the Smith Course Cataloge for current offerings). Students who wish to fulfill one or more of the breadth requirements elsewhere (within the Five-Colleges or abroad) should consult an adviser for approval.

Concentration

Three courses on a unifying theme, period, geographic area, or body of literature. A student defines her concentration in consultation with her adviser, and submits it for approval to the program by the end of the junior year. No more than one 100–level course may count toward the concentration. One course taken in fulfillment of the breadth requirement may count toward the concentration.

Seminar and/or Advanced Special Studies

One seminar from the program's approved list of courses (e.g., REL 310, REL 320, JUD 362, GOV 323) or a research–intensive JUD 400 Special Studies.

Electives

In addition to the above requirements, students have the freedom to select electives offered by the Program in order to meet the major's requirements of 12 semester courses. These electives may be taken from the Program's approved list of courses at Smith, Jewish studies courses within the Five-Colleges, or courses taken while on an approved Jewish studies programs abroad.

Jewish studies highly values the study of language. Although JUD 100y is the minimum requirement for the major, the program strongly encourages students to continue study of Hebrew, and to do so at Smith, when appropriate courses are available: JUD 110J Elementary Yiddish, JUD 200 (Intermediate Modern Hebrew); JUD 201 (Readings in Modern Hebrew) REL 295/296 (classical Hebrew); special studies in language. A student may continue her study of Hebrew, or of another Jewish language (such as Yiddish or Ladino) within the Five–College consortium or at an approved program elsewhere.

In addition, with the approval of her adviser, a student may count toward the major up to two Smith College courses outside the approved list of Jewish Studies courses, when such courses offer a comparative or additional methodological perspective to the student's chosen concentration. In such cases, a student normally writes at least one of her assignments for the course on a Jewish Studies topic. Such courses many not count toward the breadth or concentration requirements of the major.

The following are examples of courses that touch on Jewish Studies and that may count as an elective. Please refer to the Smith Course Catalogue for current offerings and consult with your adviser for additional possibilities:

• FYS 174   The Muslim World in the Age of the Crusades
• GER 291 Laboratories of Modernity, 1800–1900
• HST 203 Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic World
• HST 205 The Roman Empire
• HST 208 The Making of the Modern Middle East
  
• HST 228  Medieval Peripheries
• HST 243 Reconstructing Historical Communities
• HST 246 Memory and History
• HST 255 Twentieth Century European Thought
• REL 105  Introduction to World Religions
• REL 106 Women and Religion
• REL 215 Introduction to the Bible II
• SPN 332 The Middle Ages Today

Courses taken elsewhere in the Five-College consortium, on Junior Year Abroad Programs or on other approved programs for study away may count toward the major. A student’s petition to count such a course must be approved by the major adviser and the Jewish Studies Program after the course has been completed.

Additional Guidelines

• No course counting toward the major may be taken for an S/U grade
• Normally, at least seven of the courses toward the major shall be taken at Smith College
• No more than two courses at the 100–level, other than JUD 100y, may count toward the major
• In order to support the interdisciplinary nature of a major in Jewish Studies, normally no more than seven of a student's courses shall be from the same academic department