Jewish History Concentration
These are the New Requirements for the Jewish History Concentration and apply to students who officially declared their major after September 1, 2006.
(For the Old Requirements, click here.)
All students who wish to complete a Jewish history concentration in the new major must take the following six courses:
1. One seminar in Jewish history (200-level or above)
2. Two upper-level courses in Jewish history (200 or above)
3. Two of the three surveys in courses in Jewish History:
- HIST 139 History of Jewish Civilization I (formerly HIST 156)
- HIST 140 History of Jewish Civilization II
- HIST 141 History of Jewish Civilization III
4. One elective in Jewish history (at any level)
5. Language Proficiency in Hebrew or Yiddish
Students must achieve a second year proficiency in Hebrew or Yiddish. A student without prior knowledge of these languages will require four semesters of coursework. Students with prior knowledge may fulfill this requirement by passing a proficiency exam administered by the Hebrew or Yiddish language faculty.
Language Courses will not be counted toward the 12 courses required for the major.
Frequently Offered Courses
- HIST 138 Secular Judaism
- HIST 139 History of Jewish Civilization I
- HIST 140 History of Jewish Civilization II
- HIST 141 History of Jewish Civilization III
- HIST 150 American Jewish Experience
- HIST 380 Modern Jewish Thought
- HIST 202 Rereading the Holocaust
- HIST 204 Memory and Meaning in Jewish History
- HIST 204 The Immigrant Jewish Community in America
- HIST 214 Jews and the City
- HIST 490 Topics in Jewish History
- HIST 525 God and Nature
Other Courses in Jewish History
Each semester students will also have the opportunity to take additional courses in Jewish history offered on a regular basis by visiting scholars from the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies. These courses differ each semester and include many seminars. Please consult the course roster for each semester's offerings.
With permission of the major advisor, students may be permitted to count major-related courses in Jewish Studies offered through other departments. These courses must have sufficient historical content and/or complement the study of Jewish history. Jewish Studies courses are regularly offered in departments such as NELC, English, German, Religious Studies, Sociology, and others. No more than 4 of these major-related courses will count for the history major.
Faculty Advisors
Spring 2012 Courses
Courses which fulfill the Jewish History requirement:
Freshman Seminars
HIST 101 Dreams in Jewish Cultures and Traditions
Schur
M 2-5PM
SEM
Regional and Topical Surveys
HIST 139 Jews & Judaism in Antiquity
Dohrmann
MW 3:30-5PM
PRE-1800
HIST 141 Jews in the Modern World
Wenger
TR 12-1:30PM
:Upper Level Courses
300-400 level courses are on special topics and are more advanced. They often presuppose some basic knowledge in the field and should be more difficult courses than courses at the 1-199 levels. The department is trying to insure that some 400 level courses, although substantially more difficult, are also small in size; they thus may be suitable for graduate students.
HIST 449 God and Nature: Readings on the Encounter Between Jewish Thought and Science
Ruderman
T 3-6PM
R |SEM
Old Requirements
The concentration in Jewish History requires a total of seven courses and a language proficiency.
All students who wish to complete a Jewish history concentration must take:
1. Two of the three survey courses in Jewish History:
- HIST 139 History of Jewish Civilization I (formerly HIST 156)
- HIST 140 History of Jewish Civilization II
- HIST 141 History of Jewish Civilization III
Students who plan to take the majority of their courses in the ancient/medieval periods should take HIST 139 (formerly HIST 156) and HIST 140.
Students who plan to take the majority of their courses in the modern era should take HIST 140 and HIST 141.
2. Students must also take at least three additional Jewish history courses. One of these three courses must be a seminar that contains an historiographical or methodological component. With permission of your faculty advisor, the Jewish Studies senior seminar may be taken to fulfill the seminar requirement.
3. In addition to the other course requirements, students wishing to major in Jewish history must achieve a second year proficiency in Hebrew or Yiddish. A student without prior knowledge of these languages will require four semesters of coursework. Students with prior knowledge may fulfill this requirement by passing a proficiency exam administered by the Hebrew or Yiddish language faculty.
See also: Faculty Advisors and Current Courses for this concentration.
