printer friendly pageJEWISHST 86Q: Blood and Money: The Origins of Antisemitism (HISTORY 86Q)
For over two millennia, Jews and Judaism have been the object of sustained anxieties, fears, and fantasies, which have in turn underpinned repeated outbreaks of violence and persecution. This course will explore the development and impact of antisemitism from Late Antiquity to the Enlightenment, including the emergence of the Blood libel, the association between Jews and moneylending, and the place of Judaism in Christian and Islamic theology. No prior background in history or Jewish studies is necessary. Prerequisite:
PWR 1.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI, Writing 2
Instructors:
Dorin, R. (PI)
JEWISHST 116: The Hebrew Bible: Readings in religion and culture (RELIGST 116X)
This course will provide an introduction to the Hebrew Bible as well as later, classical Jewish literature. We will examine ancient Jewish texts in their social context and explore both the history of Ancient Israel as well as later, diasporic forms of Jewish practice and culture. The class will begin at 11:00 am. This course is under review for WAYS SI and EDP.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Aranoff, D. (PI)
JEWISHST 131VP: Poverty and Inequality in Israel and the US: A Comparative Approach (CSRE 120P, SOC 120VP)
Poverty rates in Israel are high and have been relatively stable in recent decades, with about one fifth of all households (and a third of all children) living below the poverty line. In this class we will learn about poverty and inequality in Israel and we will compare with the US and other countries.nnIn the first few weeks of this class we will review basic theories of poverty and inequality and we will discuss how theories regarding poverty have changed over the years, from the "culture of poverty" to theories of welfare state regimes. We will also learn about various ways of measuring poverty, material hardship, and inequality, and we will review the methods and data used.nnIn the remaining weeks of the class we will turn to substantive topics such as gender, immigration, ethnicity/nationality, welfare policy, age, and health. Within each topic we will survey the debates within contemporary scholarship and we will compare Israel and the US. Examination of these issues will introduce students to some of the challenges that Israeli society faces today.
Last offered: Winter 2019
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
JEWISHST 132VP: Family and Society: A Comparative Approach (Israel & the US) (SOC 121VP, SOC 221VP)
Families are changing: Non-marital partnerships such as cohabitation are becoming more common, marriage is delayed and fertility is declining. In this class we will learn about how families are changing in Israel and we will compare with the US and other countries. Reading materials include general theories as well as research published in scholarly journals. nnAfter reviewing general theories and major scholarly debates concerning issues of family change, we will turn to specific family processes and compare Israel, the US and other countries. We will ask how family transitions may differ for different population groups and at different stages of the life course, and we will tie family processes to current theories of gender. nnWe will cover a wide range of topics, from marriage and marital dissolution to cohabitation, LAT and remarriage. We will also discuss changes in women's labor force participation and how it bears on fertility, parenthood and household division of labor. Within each substantive topic we will survey the debates within contemporary scholarship and we will compare Israel and the US
Last offered: Spring 2019
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
JEWISHST 148: Writing Between Languages: The Case of Eastern European Jewish Literature (JEWISHST 348, SLAVIC 198, SLAVIC 398)
Eastern European Jews spoke and read Hebrew, Yiddish, and their co-territorial languages (Russian, Polish, etc.). In the modern period they developed secular literatures in all of them, and their writing reflected their own multilinguality and evolving language ideologies. We focus on major literary and sociolinguistic texts. Reading and discussion in English; students should have some reading knowledge of at least one relevant language as well. This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for WAYS credit. In 2020-21, a 'letter' or 'CR' grade will satisfy the WAYS requirement.
Last offered: Spring 2021
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
JEWISHST 185B: Jews in the Contemporary World: Culture, Pop Culture, and Representation (CSRE 185B, HISTORY 185B, REES 185B, SLAVIC 183)
(
HISTORY 185B is 5 units;
HISTORY 85B is 3 units.) From Barbra Streisand to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, from The Dybbuk to Broad City, and from Moscow to LA, this course applies a multicultural perspective on different experiences of Jewishness in the 20th and 21st centuries. The discussion is centered on the ways in which these experiences are represented in various types of media: in literature or on TikTok, in poetry or on Instagram, in film and on television. The themes of the course include (but are not limited to) the interplay of national, religious, ethnic, linguistic, and political identities, intersectionality, the definitions and boundaries of Jewish cultures, Queer and variously gendered experiences of Jewishness, as well as antisemitism and stereotyped representations of Jewishness. The course introduces students to the analysis of a diverse array of media as cultural texts and historical sources. Students are encouraged to apply their new skills to media of their choice.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
JEWISHST 186: Jews in Trump's America and Before (HISTORY 286F)
This class considers the notion of American Jewish exceptionalism through the lens of Trump's America. The social and economic success of American Jewry over the last 350 years is remarkable, yet Jews continue to find their position in American society called into question. This course moves between past and present and will consider key moments in American Jewish life with a particular emphasis on contemporary currents, including post-liberal identity politics, Israel, and the rise of white supremacy.
Last offered: Spring 2020
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
JEWISHST 211: Out of Eden: Deportation, Exile, and Expulsion from Antiquity to the Renaissance (HISTORY 211, HISTORY 311)
This course examines the long pedigree of modern deportations and mass expulsions, from the forced resettlements of the ancient world to the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, and from the outlawry of Saga-era Iceland to the culture of civic exile in Renaissance Italy. The course focuses on Europe and the Mediterranean from antiquity to the early modern period, but students are welcome to venture beyond these geographical and chronological boundaries for their final papers.
Last offered: Winter 2021
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
JEWISHST 226E: The Holocaust: Insights from New Research (HISTORY 226D, HISTORY 326D, JEWISHST 326D)
Overview of the history of the Holocaust, the genocide of European Jews. Explores its causes, course, consequences, and memory. Addresses the events themselves, as well as the roles of perpetrators and bystanders, dilemmas faced by victims, collaboration of local populations, and the issue of rescue. Considers how the Holocaust was and is remembered and commemorated by victims and participants alike. Uses different kinds of sources: scholarly work, memoirs, diaries, film, and primary documents.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
Instructors:
Jolluck, K. (PI)
JEWISHST 243A: Hannah Arendt: Facing Totalitarianism (COMPLIT 353B, GERMAN 253, GERMAN 353)
Like hardly any other thinker of the modern age, Hannah Arendt's thought offers us timeless insights into the fabric of the modern age, especially regarding the perennial danger of totalitarianism. This course offers an in-depth introduction to Arendt's most important works in their various contexts, as well as a consideration of their reverberations in contemporary philosophy and literature. Readings include Arendt's
The Origin of Totalitarianism,
The Human Condition, Between Past and Future,
Men in Dark Times,
On Revolution,
Eichmann in Jerusalem, and
The Life of the Mind, as well as considerations of Hannah Arendt's work by Max Frisch, Jürgen Habermas, Seyla Benhabib, Judith Butler, Giorgio Agamben, and others. Special attention will be given to Arendt's writings on literature with an emphasis on Kafka, Brecht, Auden, Sartre, and Camus. This course will be synchronously conducted, but will also use an innovative, Stanford-developed, online platform called Poetic Thinking. Poetic Thinking allows students to share both their scholarly and creative work with each other. Based on the newest technology and beautifully designed, it greatly enhances their course experience.
Last offered: Autumn 2020
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
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