printer friendly pageREES 85B: Jews in the Contemporary World: The American Jewish Present & Past in Popular Culture, Film, & TV (CSRE 85B, HISTORY 85B, JEWISHST 85B)
(
HISTORY 85B is 3 units;
HISTORY 185B is 5 units.) Who are American Jews as depicted in popular media-- film, television, etc.-- since the Second World War? How are their religion, politics, mores, and practices represented and what ways, if at all, do such portraits reflect historical trends among Jews and society in general? What can be learned from film or tv about Jewish identity, notions of Jewish power and powerlessness, communal cohesiveness and assimilation, sexuality and the wages of intermarriage or race?
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Zipperstein, S. (PI)
;
Schimmel, A. (TA)
REES 185B: Jews in the Contemporary World: The American Jewish Present & Past in Popular Culture, Film, & TV (CSRE 185B, HISTORY 185B, HISTORY 385C, JEWISHST 185B, SLAVIC 183)
(
HISTORY 185B is 5 units;
HISTORY 85B IS 3 units.) Who are American Jews as depicted in popular media -- film, television, etc. -- since the Second World War? How are their religion, politics, mores, and practices represented and what ways, if at all, do such portraits reflect historical trends among Jews and society in general? What can be learned from film or tv about Jewish identity, notions of Jewish power and powerlessness, communal cohesiveness and assimilation, sexuality and the wages of intermarriage or race?
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Zipperstein, S. (PI)
;
Schimmel, A. (TA)
REES 205: The Business of Socialism: Economic Life in Cold War Eastern Europe (HISTORY 227B)
This colloquium investigates the processes of buying, making, and selling goods and services in Cold War Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. We will familiarize ourselves with a variety of approaches to writing the history of economic life and discuss to what extent they are applicable to state socialist systems. Our focus will not be on theories of socialism but on empirically grounded studies that allow for insights into how the system operated in practice and interacted with capitalism. We will, among others, explore the following questions: What was the role of the state in the economies east and west of the Iron Curtain? Are socialism and capitalism two incompatible systems? How did women experience and shape economic life after the Second World War? What had a greater impact on the economies of the region: Cold War politics or globalization?
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
Instructors:
Dovern, L. (PI)
REES 227: All Quiet on the Eastern Front? East Europe and Russia in the First World War (HISTORY 227D, HISTORY 327D, REES 327)
Until recently history has been comparatively quiet about the experience of World War I in the east. Far from being a peripheral theater of war, however, the experiences of war on the Eastern Front were central to shaping the 20th century. Not only was the first shot of the war fired in the east, it was also the site of the most dramatic political revolution. Using scholarly texts, literature and film, this course combines political, military, cultural and social approaches to introduce the causes, conduct and consequences of World War I with a focus on the experiences of soldiers and civilians on the Eastern Front. Topics include: the war of movement, occupation, extreme violence against civilians, the Armenian genocide, population exchanges, the Russian Revolution and civil war, and the disintegration of empires and rise of nation-states.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
RELIGST 1: Religion Around the Globe
This course surveys major religious traditions of the world in all of their complexity, in relation to philosophy and politics; liturgy and literature; identity and social hierarchies; art, community, and emotion. Through examination of a variety of materials, including scriptures and other spiritual writings, religious objects and artifacts, and modern documentary, fiction and film, we explore Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Daoism as rich historical and living traditions.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI, GER:EC-GlobalCom, GER:DB-Hum, WAY-EDP
RELIGST 4: What Didn't Make It into the Bible (CLASSICS 9N, JEWISHST 4)
Over two billion people alive today consider the Bible to be sacred scripture. But how did the books that made it into the bible get there in the first place? Who decided what was to be part of the bible and what wasn't? How would history look differently if a given book didn't make the final cut and another one did? Hundreds of ancient Jewish and Christian texts are not included in the Bible. "What Didn't Make It in the Bible" focuses on these excluded writings. We will explore the Dead Sea Scrolls, Gnostic gospels, hear of a five-year-old Jesus throwing temper tantrums while killing (and later resurrecting) his classmates, peruse ancient romance novels, explore the adventures of fallen angels who sired giants (and taught humans about cosmetics), tour heaven and hell, encounter the garden of Eden story told from the perspective of the snake, and learn how the world will end. The course assumes no prior knowledge of Judaism, Christianity, the bible, or ancient history. It is designed for students who are part of faith traditions that consider the bible to be sacred, as well as those who are not. The only prerequisite is an interest in exploring books, groups, and ideas that eventually lost the battles of history and to keep asking the question "why." In critically examining these ancient narratives and the communities that wrote them, you will investigate how religions canonize a scriptural tradition, better appreciate the diversity of early Judaism and Christianity, understand the historical context of these religions, and explore the politics behind what did and did not make it into the bible.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
RELIGST 8N: Gardens and Sacred Space in Japan
This seminar will explore gardens and sacred spaces in Japan. We will study the development of Japanese garden design from the earliest records to contemporary Japan. We will especially focus on the religious, aesthetic, and social dimensions of gardens and sacred spaces. This seminar features a field trip to a Japanese garden in the area, in order to study how Japanese garden design was adapted in North America.
Last offered: Autumn 2019
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
RELIGST 13N: The Fourth "R": Religion and American Schools (AMSTUD 117N, EDUC 117N)
In this seminar, we will engage with historical, legal, and sociological texts, in order to trace the complicated relationship between church and state as it has played out in and around questions of education. Deciding what belongs in schools, what does not, whose interests are served in the process, and what the Constitution will allow are just some of the questions that will guide us. Through close readings of text and critical writing, we will develop alternative narratives about church-state issues that can make sense of everything from prayer in schools to civic education. This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit.
Last offered: Summer 2019
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
RELIGST 50: Exploring Buddhism
A comprehensive historical survey of the Buddhist tradition, from its beginnings to the 21st century, covering principal teachings and practices, institutional and social forms, and artistic and iconographical expressions. (Formerly
RELIGST 14.)
Last offered: Spring 2020
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
RELIGST 86: Exploring the New Testament (CLASSICS 43, JEWISHST 86)
To explore the historical context of the earliest Christians, students will read most of the New Testament as well as many documents that didn't make the final cut. Non-Christian texts, Roman art, and surviving archeological remains will better situate Christianity within the ancient world. Students will read from the Dead Sea Scrolls, explore Gnostic gospels, hear of a five-year-old Jesus throwing divine temper tantrums while killing (and later resurrecting) his classmates, peruse an ancient marriage guide, and engage with recent scholarship in archeology, literary criticism, and history.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Abbott, P. (PI)
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