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Undergraduate Concentration Requirements

Overview

The concentration in Judaic Studies allows students to learn how several academic disciplines deal with a single subject, the study of Jews and Judaism. The principal disciplines represented in the Program are History, Language (Hebrew, Aramaic), Literature, Religious Studies, and Sociology. The Program thus joins humanistic and social scientific approaches to learning. The educational goal of the concentration is to show how different scholarly disciplines approach the study of Jews and Judaism in different chronological settings ranging from biblical times to the present. This interdisciplinary approach aspires to two goals: first, it aims to instill in students some substantive understanding of the historical, religious, literary, philosophical, sociological and political experiences of the Jews; second, it demonstrates how scholars of diverse academic disciplines frame questions and answer them, thus providing the student with some understanding of what it means to approach the same subject with different perspectives and methodologies. The concentration requires a year of course work in Hebrew, for the Hebrew language is one of the strands that unifies the history of Judaism from ancient to modern times, and a knowledge of Hebrew is indispensable for any serious study of Judaism.

Required Coursework

  • Six topical courses in Judaic Studies
  • JS 11 and JS 12 Introduction to Modern Hebrew
  • Two additional JS courses either topical or language

Topical courses (non language courses)

  • Upon declaring a concentration in Judaic studies, students must define the area of study that will be the primary focus of their program. The field may be defined as an historical period (ancient/modern), as a discipline (humanities/social science), or as a topic (religion, culture, history, language/literature, etc.). Students are expected to complete a minimum of four courses in their area of focus, but the final number will be finalized in discussion with the concentration advisor.
  • Of the six required topical courses, four must be taken in the Judaic Studies Program at Brown.
  • Of the six required topical courses, at least one should focus on the ancient period and one should focus on the modern period.
  • Of the six required topical courses, at least one should be an 100-level seminar or another advanced course (including independent study) approved by the concentration advisor in the student’s area of focus.
  • In either their junior or senior year, all concentrators will be required to take a seminar in Judaic Studies that focuses on a specific comparative and historical theme. The goal is to provide an interdisciplinary and integrated experience for Judaic Studies concentrators. The theme will vary from year to year, depending on faculty interest, and will always involve the participation of several faculty members in Judaic Studies coordinated by one Judaic Studies faculty member. Potential topics include but are not limited to: Jewish Ethnicity and Religion; Jewish-Non-Jewish relationships; Jewish Families; Jews in Cities; Gender and Jewishness; Jewish intermarriages; the literature of the Jews. Preferably, the seminar will be taken in the senior year.
  • All students are required to designate an advanced departmental course as the capstone for his or her concentration. Within the frame of this capstone course, the concentrator will write a final course paper, which displays the student’s concentration focus, addressing in an appropriate way the theoretical and interpretive issues of the concentration focus. Students are encouraged to fulfill this requirement in the comparative Judaic Studies seminar.
  • In consultation with the concentration advisor, students may petition for the right to apply up to two courses taken in other departments/programs at Brown to the ten required for the Judaic Studies concentration. These courses must relate directly to the student’s focus and provide a comparison of a Judaic topic with some other relevant topic.
  • Students who study at other institutions, either in the United States or abroad, may apply a maximum of two topical courses to their concentration in Judaic Studies. Hebrew language courses may also be transferred.
  • In consultation with the concentration advisor, students may apply up to two advanced language courses (JS 15 or 30) to the six required topical courses for the concentration.

Language Courses

  • One full year of Elementary Hebrew. Generally, this requirement will consist of two courses in Modern Hebrew (JS 11 and JS 12) or the equivalent as determined by a proficiency examination. Students who pass the proficiency exam are encouraged, but are not required, to continue the study of Hebrew (for example, Intermediate Hebrew, JS 13 and JS 14; Writing and Speaking Hebrew, JS 15). Fulfillment of the Hebrew requirement through examination does not reduce the requirement to take ten courses for the concentration.

Honors Thesis

A candidate for honors in Judaic Studies will write a thesis in the senior year. In order to be considered a candidate for honors, students will be expected to maintain an outstanding record (at least A-) in Judaic Studies courses. The honors thesis, which fulfills the capstone requirement, will normally be written as a two-semester individual study project (JS 191, 192). At the end of the senior year, the thesis advisor (a faculty member of the Judaic Studies Program), and a second reader, chosen by the thesis advisor in consultation with the student, will evaluate the thesis, and the Judaic Studies faculty will determine if it is worthy of honors in Judaic Studies. Students interested in honors should approach a potential adviser by the spring registration period of their junior year. When taken as preparation of the honors thesis, JS 191 and 192 count towards the ten required courses in the concentration.


Judaic Studies Faculty

Ruth Adler Ben Yehuda, Senior Lecturer in Judaic Studies

Lynn Davidman, Professor of Judaic Studies and American Civilization

Katharina Galor, Visiting Assistant Professor of Archaeology and the Ancient World and Judaic Studies

Michah Gottlieb, Visiting Assistant Professor of Judaic Studies and Religious Studies

David C. Jacobson, Associate Professor of Judaic Studies, Director of the Program in Judaic Studies

Ross Kraemer, Professor, Religious Studies and Judaic Studies

Maud Mandel, Associate Professor of Judaic Studies and History

Saul M. Olyan, Professor of Judaic Studies and Religious Studies

Michael Satlow, Associate Professor of Judaic Studies and Religious Studies

Nelson H. Vieira, University Professor and Professor in Portuguese & Brazilian Studies and Judaic Studies

Further Information

Students who are interested in further information about the concentration should contact the Judaic Studies Office at 163 George Street to make an appointment with the undergraduate concentration advisor. [Tel: 863-3912 or Judaic@brown.edu]