Fall 2025 Courses

The Dreyfus Affair | JST 3930 (26619)

Crosslist: FRW 3930 (26676)

M, W, F 12:50PM-1:40PM

Referred to as the “scandal of the century,” the “trial of the century,” and a “rehearsal” for the Holocaust, the Dreyfus affair captured the attention of the world. Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer in the French Army, was wrongly accused of spying for Germany, convicted, and imprisoned. The now infamous case polarized France, stirring nationalism and anti-Semitism. This course focuses on the figure of Dreyfus, a powerful image in French collective memory, culture and discourse. It explores what the “Trial of the Century” may tell us about fin de siècle and belle époque France, as well as our days.

Screening the Holocaust | JST 4936 (23298)

Crosslist: ANT 4930 (27232), ANG 6930 (27233)

R 3:00PM-6:00PM

Instructor: Jack Kugelmass

The course examines a fragment of what is an ever expanding corpus of films exploring the destruction of European Jewry, an event we now commonly refer to as the Shoah. Given the vastness of the filmic literature, the course limits itself to feature or narrative films and covers the period from the rise of European fascism through the Cold War.

History of Judaism | JST 3930 (23760)

Crosslist: REL 2928 (23841), ANT 3930 (24146)

M, W, F 9:35AM-10:25AM

Instructor: Howard Lidsky

The course surveys the development of the beliefs of the Jewish religion. What do Jews believe as Jews and how have these beliefs evolved and manifest over their three thousand plus year existence? The course explores Jewish beliefs in God and the Divine, in Apocalypticism and Messianism, in Jewish Exile and Return, in Penitence.

Jews in the Muslim World | JST 3930 (23068)

Crosslist: HBR 4930 (27163), ASH 3931 (20934), REL 3938 (23842), MEM 3931 (23860)

W 3:00PM-6:00PM

Instructor: Yehoshua Ecker

Jews in the Muslim World surveys the history of Jews in Muslim societies and under Muslim rule, from the conquests of the 7th century to the dispersions and transformations of the 20th century, using the political history and chronology of the Muslim world as a scaffold for outlining and contextualizing the Jewish experience. Imperial experience is central to Muslim history and to historical developments in general, as is its role in the development of religious and ethnic groups.

Ottoman Palestine 1517-1917 | JST 3930 (23069)

Crosslist: HBR 4930 (23859), ASH 3931 (20685), MEM 3931 (23861), REL 3938 (27354)

M 3:00PM-4:55PM and F 3:00PM-3:50PM

Instructor: Yehoshua Ecker

The modern Middle East has its roots in the long period of Ottoman rule that ended with the First World War. The Ottoman centuries left a lasting impact on the region and shaped many of the political realities, movements, ideologies and actors of the post-Ottoman century which has recently come to an end. Focusing on the region that would become British Mandate Palestine, the contested territory at the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict, this course explores it as a territory in the Ottoman Empire, as a religious center, a destination for pilgrims, visitors and immigrants, as a site of daily life, a site of change, and as a coveted geopolitical asset.

Beginning Modern Hebrew 1 | HBR 1130 (12396, 20505)

M-F 11:45AM-12:35P (Class#12396)

M-F 3:00PM-3:50PM (Class #20505)

Instructor: Iris Cohen

The Mechina / Besod Ha-Ivrit are intended for students who have not studied Hebrew before or who have not mastered the following in whole or in part:

Reading in Hebrew (decoding of words, with or without vowel points) and/or
Writing in Hebrew (print letters and/or cursive) and/or
150 basic Hebrew vocabulary words.

Upon completing this level, most students will be able to listen, view, and read with comprehension, and write and speak with emerging fluency and accuracy about the topics below, using the vocabulary, syntax, and morphology they have learned.

Intermediate Modern Hebrew 1 | HBR 2220 (12397)

M, T, W, R 12:50PM-1:40PM

Instructor: Iris Cohen

This course is designed for students who have achieved the skills and linguistic knowledge goals of Bishvil Ha-Ivrit Book 1 or are performing in the Intermediate Low level based on the ACTFL’s Proficiency Guidelines prior to starting this course.

Upon completion of this course, most students will be able to listen, view and read with comprehension, write and speak about the content of the course textbook, using the vocabulary, syntax, and morphology learned in the textbook with ease and at greater length and sophistication in familiar and occasionally unfamiliar contexts and in multiple genres (prose, poetry, songs, Biblical verse and midrash, text messages and notes and more).

Israel in hebrew (Advanced Hebrew) | HBR 4905 (22770)

M, T, W, R 1:55PM-2:45PM

Instructor: Iris Cohen

Why is there evil in the world | IDS 2935 (17845, 17846, 17847)

M, W 4:05PM-4:55PM and F 11:45AM-12:35PM

Instructor: Yaniv Feller

The problem of evil has been a focus of intense reflection by philosophers, theologians, psychologists, and novelists. Students will address this key theme in the human condition in this course. The class will enable students to analyze this question in written form and orally by drawing on a variety of methodologies from different fields in the humanities, including philosophy, religion, history, and art.

Passing: Black, White, and Jewish | JST 3930 (25718)

Crosslink: LIT 4930 (26163), AFA 3930 (26334), HBR 4930 (19379)

T 1:55PM-2:45PM and R 1:55PM-3:50PM

Instructor: Roy Holler

Aren’t we all passing? We navigate through various identities daily, changing our personalities and donning masks to present ourselves differently from who we are. In some cases, passing between identities help us to align with the demands of a mainstream culture. In others, it grants us access to opportunities and privileges exclusive to a different group. However, some forms of passing are deemed socially acceptable and understandable, while others are considered taboo. This prompts us to question the innate human drive to pass, leading us to wonder: in a world where we all engage in some form of passing, how do we discern when we’ve passed too far?

Israeli-Arab Conflict on Stage and Screen | JST 3930 (25737)

Crosslink: HBR 4930 (23920), LIT 3400 (26164), SYA 4930 (26394), THE 4930 (27432)

T 11:45AM-1:40PM and R 12:50PM-1:40PM

Instructor: Roy Holler

The stage and the cinema have long been venues for fictional and documentary portrayals of the conflict, offering rich, nuanced perspectives that challenge and critique the narratives presented by official state ideologies. Through screenings, readings, and discussions, we will engage with a variety of visual and literary works that interrogate the complex and often contentious relationship between Israelis and Palestinians.

Israel and the World | JST 3930 (23756)

Crosslist: INR 4931 (23718)

M, W, F 10:40AM-11:30AM

Instructor: Artur-Or Honig

Small states have to conduct themselves in particular ways in world affairs in order to survive and prosper. Yet, studies which look into the factors shaping the diplomatic standing of small states are still lacking given that IR theories have been concerned mostly with great powers. This study will examine the case of Israel. This small state is very often at the centre of world attention. It gets more headlines, and more policy attention from different states and bodies than any other actor which is not an adversarial great power. It is also the USA’s best ally in the vast area between NATO countries and Japan. Given these facts, this course seeks to explain Israel’s evolving relationship with various states and intergovernmental bodies around the world.

International Relations of the Middle East | JST 3930 (23757)

Crosslist: INR 4931 (23717)

M, W, F 12:50PM-1:40PM

Instructor: Artur-Or Honig

Want to understand the Middle East? We will explore six main issues: 1) The role of extra-regional powers in stabilising or exacerbating the region; 2) the factors determining the success and failures of different Middle Eastern countries to gain regional dominance; 3) factors determining the success of regional actors, such as Israel or Saudi Arabia, in courting the alliance of extra-regional powers; 4) the degree to which religion and other identity-related issues (such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict) shape regional dynamics; 5) the role of fundamentalist Islam in shaping the region and preventing conflict resolution; 6) why don’t we see liberalism, capitalism or democracy flourishing in most of the region and what are the implications of that for the regional dynamics. No background knowledge is required.

Hebrew Scriptures | JST 2930 (25540)

Crosslist: REL 2210 (25523), REL 3938 (24037)

M, W, F 12:50PM-1:40PM

Instructor: Robert Kawashima

This course will introduce students to the modern scholarly study of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and its world. While we will touch upon various literary genres in the Bible, we will focus on biblical narrative, as we trace the history of ancient Israel — inasmuch as this can be reconstructed from our primary sources — from its origins up to the Babylonian Exile (586 B.C.E.).

Representations of War & Political violence | JST 3930 (27089)

Crosslist: GET 3580 (21688), LIT 3003 (23851)

T 10:40AM-12:35PM and R 11:45AM-12:35PM

Instructor: Eric Kligerman

This course sets out to probe the cultural, social and political functions of horror in relation to shifting moments of historical violence. In addition to exploring the horror genre in literary and cinematic works of the imagination, we will ultimately apply the aesthetic, epistemic and ethical questions arising in the genre to shifting representations of traumatic history. As we map out the history and themes behind this popular genre, our aim is to probe the intersections between horror and its socio-cultural and historical contexts.

Kafka and the Kafkaesque | JST 3930 (27090)

Crosslist: GET 3930 (18097), LIT 4930 (26034)

T 1:55PM-2:45PM and R 1:55PM-3:50PM

Instructor: Eric Kligerman

This seminar will explore the writings of Franz Kafka and the effect that his literary legacy has had on literature and film. Our objective will be to analyze how elements of modern consciousness and “the Kafkaesque” reappear in selected texts of later modern and postmodern writers and filmmakers.

Vampire Cinema | JST 3930 (23193)

Crosslist: LIT 4930 (21644)

T 5:10PM-6:00PM and R 5:10PM-7:05PM

Instructor: Dragan Kujundžić

Vampires, werewolves, ghosts and apparitions from Bram Stoker, to Francis Ford Coppola and Anne Rice. The course will address issues of vampire and vEmpire (the imperial politics behind vampirism), vampirism and psychoanalysis, vampirism and modernism, vampirism and cinema, queer, gay and lesbian vampires, vampires of East and Central Europe, vampirism and anti-Semitism, vampirism and religion, vampirism and nationalism, history of blood in religion, film and literature, etc.

Jewish American Cinema | JST 3930 (23192)

Crosslist: LIT 4930 (21645)

T 3:00PM-4:55PM and R 4:05PM-4:55PM

Instructor: Dragan Kujundžić

The course will introduce students to the rich history of Jewish cinema and the latest critical and theoretical literature about it. It will be organized thematically, and chronologically, starting with the topics of Jewish Diaspora, emigration to the US and integration, the first sound film, and then films about the Holocaust, comedy, Israeli Cinema.

Politics of Holocaust Memory | JST 3930 (26088)

Crosslist: EUS 3930 (26013)

M, W, F 12:50PM-1:40PM

Instructor: Esther Romeyn

This course surveys European Holocaust memorialization as an ethical foundation and as a site of contestation and identity politics.