Jewish Civilization
Hebrew 10 / Jewish Studies 10
Section 001
Fall 2000
Prof. Deborah Starr Class Meets: M, W 2:30-3:20 PM
Office: 443 N Burrowes 316E HH DEV-E
Phone: 865-4408 Office Hours: M 3:30-4:30
Email: dstarr@psu.edu W 11:00-12:00
Course Description
Working within a chronological framework, this course will trace continuity and change of Jewish traditions from ancient to modern times, and across different regions. Taking into account inter-cultural contact and historical events, we will explore developments in Jewish literature, culture, and philosophy. Students will have the opportunity to critically engage with Jewish source texts from various eras and regions.
Course Texts
Books
Additional Required Readings
Readings from the Bible can be found at the web sites listed below in the course calendar. Readings marked (ER) in the course calendar will be available on electronic reserve through the PSU Library. Materials marked "handout" will be distributed in class.
Course Requirements
Exams
There will be one midterm to be given in class on Wednesday, October 18, and a final exam to be offered according to the registrar’s schedule. Exams will draw 60% on readings and 40% upon lectures, class discussions, and web conferencing. Each exam will account for 30% of each student’s final grade.
Group Project
Students will be assigned to small groups. Each group will be responsible for presenting a particular aspect of the course material to be discussed in a mandatory meeting with the instructor at least one week prior to the scheduled presentation. Within two calendar days following the presentation, each group must submit a short written document (equivalent to two pages per participant) reviewing the topic covered, materials used, and a self-assessment of the effectiveness of the presentation. Grades will be assigned for each member of the group (10%) and a common grade for the group as a whole (10%).
Class Participation and Web Conferencing
Attendance is mandatory. You will be permitted up to two absences. Each subsequent unexcused absence will adversely effect your grade. Since the course will combine lectures and group discussions, your active participation will enhance both your learning and that of all your classmates. You are expected to participate by being prepared to ask or answer question on our readings, and by helping to sustain lively, well-informed discussions.
In lieu of a third weekly class meeting, each student is required to participate in a web conferencing discussion of the material. Each student is expected to post ten 100-word contributions to the discussion over the course of the semester. (Note: 100 words is roughly equivalent to the length of this paragraph). The electronic forum will be operational for 12 weeks. Postings may begin the first week in September, and only submissions posted before the start of the Thanksgiving holiday (noon on Wed 11/22) will to be counted toward your grade. Web conferencing will also be a forum for posting questions students wish have addressed in class time.
Participation in class discussion and web conferencing will together account for 20% of the final grade.
Grades will be assigned according to the following scale: A = 95 to 100; A- : 90 to 94.9; B+ = 87.9 to 89.9; B- = 80 to 83.32; C+ = 75 to 79.9; C = 70 to 74.9; D = 60 to 69.9 and F = 59.9 and below.
Dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated in this course. Suspected cases of academic dishonesty will be dealt with according to University policies. Deferred grades will be approved only in accordance with Faculty Senate policy, which makes allowances for extenuating circumstances such as a documented, serious illness.
Should you have any special needs that will affect your performance and learning in this course, please inform the instructor as soon as possible.
Course Calendar
This calendar and the reading assignments are subject to change. Check your email regularly. Any changes in reading assignments will be announced in class and emailed to the members of the class. The date indicated in the left hand column is the date by which the readings are expected to be completed.
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Date |
Scheindlin Text |
Mesopotamia to Modernity |
Readings |
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Wed, Aug 23 INTRODUCTION |
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Mon, Aug 28 |
Chapter 1 Israelite Origins and Kingdom |
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Wed, Aug 30 |
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Prouser. "Hebrew Bible" |
Genesis 22 http://www.breslov.com/bible/Genesis22.htm#1 and http://bible.crosswalk.com/ |
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Wed, Sept 6 |
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Ruth http://www.breslov.com/bible/Ruth.htm |
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Mon, Sept 11 |
Chapter 2 Judea and the Origins of the Diaspora |
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Wed, Sept 13 |
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Josephus (ER) |
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Mon, Sept 18 |
Chapter 3 Roman Palestine and Sassanid Babylonia |
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Wed, Sept 20 |
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Visotzky. "Literature of the Rabbis" |
Midrash Rabbah Genesis (ER) and Babylonian Talmud Yoma 87 A-B (ER) |
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Mon, Sept 25 |
Chapter 4 Jews in the Islamic World: From the Rise of Islam to the End of the Middle Ages |
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Wed, Sept 27 |
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Scheindlin. "Medieval Jewish Literature" |
Poetry (Handout) |
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Mon, Oct 2 |
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Harvey. "Medieval Jewish Philosophy" |
Maimonides Excerpt from The Guide for the Perplexed (ER) |
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Wed, Oct 4 |
Chapter 5 Jews of Medieval Christian Europe |
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Rashi Commentary on Ruth (Handout) |
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Wed, Oct 11 |
Chapter 6 Jews in the Ottoman Empire and the Middle East |
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Benjamin of Tudela (ER) Anonymous poem "In Praise of Shabbtai Tsvi" (Handout) |
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Mon, Oct 16 |
Review for Midterm |
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Wed, Oct 18 MIDTERM EXAM |
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Mon, Oct 23 |
Chapter 7 Jews of Western Europe |
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Wed, Oct 25 |
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Moshe Chayim Luzzatto "Israel and the Nations" (ER) |
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Mon, Oct 30 |
Chapter 8 Jews of Eastern Europe and the US |
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Wed, Nov 1 |
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Roskies "Modern Jewish literature" |
Abraham Mapu Excerpt from The Love of Zion (ER) |
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Mon, Nov 6 |
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Sholem Aleichem "Tevye the Dairyman" (ER) |
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Wed, Nov 8 |
Chapter 9 Holocaust |
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Mon, Nov 13 |
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Poetry: Nelly Sachs, Dan Pagis and Primo Levy (ER) |
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Wed, Nov 15 |
Chapter 10 Zionism and the Origins of the State of Israel |
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Mon, Nov 20 |
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Poetry: Nathan Alterman, Haim Gouryi, T. Carmi, Yehuda Amichai (Handout) |
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Wed, Nov 22 |
Chapter 11 Jewish People After 1948 |
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Mon, Nov 27 |
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Cynthia Ozick, "Ruth" (ER) Semyon Greenburg selection from A Jerusalem Bus (Handout) |
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Mon, Dec 4 Topic: Jewish Art |
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Harold Rosenberg "Is There A Jewish Art?" (ER) |
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Wed, Dec 6 Topic: Jewish Food |
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Claudia Roden Excerpts from The Book of Jewish Food (ER) |
Materials on Electronic Reserves for Hebrew 10
Josephus Flavius. Excerpts from The Wars of the Jews. Book 5: Chapter 4 "The Description of Jerusalem"; Chapter 5 "A Description of the Temple." Book 6: Chapter 4 "When the Banks Were Completed…"; Chapter 5 "The Great Distress…" From The Works of Josephus. Translated by William Whitson. Hendrickson Publishers, 1987. 703-9, 738-43.
Midrash Rabbah Genesis. Chapter 23, Parashah LV: I-II; Chapter 24, Parashah LVI: I, VII-VIII, XI. From Genesis Rabbah. Translated by Jacob Neusner. Vol 2. Atlanta: Scholar’s Press, 1985. 267-8, 277-8, 283-9.
Babylonian Talmud Yoma 87A-B (Excerpt). From Neusner, Jacob. Learn Talmud. New York: Behrman. 152-161, 163.
Maimonides, Moses. The Guide for the Perplexed. Translated by M. Friedlander. Chapter 13. New York: Dover. 272-277.
Benjamin of Tudela. "A Jewish Prince in Medieval Baghdad." From The Jewish Experience. Edited by Norman Cantor. New York: Harper Collins, 1996. 318-19.
Luzzatto, Moshe Chaim. "Israel and the Nations." From The Way of God. Translated by Aryeh Kaplan. New York: Feldheim, 1988. 130-143.
Mapu, Abraham. Excerpts from The Love of Zion. From Abraham Mapu: The Creator of the Modern Hebrew Novel. Translated by David Patterson. London: East and West Library. 114-123.
Aleichem, Sholem. "Tevye Strikes it Rich." From Tevye the Dairyman and the Railroad Stories. Translated by Hillel Halkin. New York: Shocken, 1987. 3-21.
Pagis, Dan. "Europe, Late"; Sachs, Nelly. "A Dead Child Speaks"; Levi, Primo. "Reveille"; Levi, Primo. "The Survivor." From Holocaust Poetry. Edited by Hilda Schiff. New York: Fount Press, 1995.
Ozick, Cynthia. "Ruth." From Reading Ruth. Edited by Judith Kates and Gail Twersky Reimer. New York: Ballantine Books. 211-214.
Rosenberg, Harold. "Is There a Jewish Art?" From Commentary. 42: 1 (July 1966). 57-60.
Roden, Claudia. "Jewish Dietary Laws of Kashrut," "The Food of the Ancient Hebrews—in the Bible and the Talmud," "The Sabbath and Festivals—The Jewish Calendar," "The Development of an Ashkenazi Style of Cooking," "Many Styles of Sephardi Cooking." From The Book of Jewish Food. New York: Knopf, 1996. 18-37, 41-57, 211-231.