RELS 1034 is also offered in Fall 2024
RELS 1034 is also offered in Fall 2023
RELS 1034 is also offered in Fall 2022
RELS 1034 is also offered in Fall 2021
Fall 2021 | RELS 1034 Section 001: Introduction to Jewish History and Cultures (21349)
- Instructor(s)
- Class Component:
- Discussion
- Credits:
- 3 Credits
- Grading Basis:
- Student Option
- Instructor Consent:
- No Special Consent Required
- Instruction Mode:
- In Person Term Based
- Class Attributes:
UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
- Meets With:
HIST 1534 Section 001
HIST 3534 Section 001
JWST 1034 Section 001
JWST 3034 Section 001
RELS 3034 Section 001
- Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
Mon,
Wed 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, East Bank
Nicholson Hall 125
- Enrollment Status:
Open (3 of 5 seats filled)
- Also Offered:
- Course Catalog Description:
- This course traces the development of Judaism and Jewish civilizations from their beginnings to the present. With over three millennia as its subject, the course must of necessity be a general survey. Together we will explore the mythic structures, significant documents, historical experiences, narratives, practices, beliefs, and worldviews of the Jewish people. The course begins by examining the roots of Judaism in the Hebrew Bible and the history of ancient Israel but quickly focuses on the creative forces that developed within Judaism as a national narrative confronted the forces of history, especially in the forms of the Persian, Greek, and Roman empires. Rabbinic Judaism becomes the most dominant creative force and will receive our greatest attention, both in its formative years and as it encounters the rise of Christianity and Islam. After studying the Jewish experience in the medieval world, we will turn to Judaism's encounter with the enlightenment and modernity. The historical survey concludes by attending to the transformations within Judaism and Jewish life of the last 150 years, including a confrontation with the experience of the Holocaust. Woven throughout this historical survey will be repeated engagements with core questions: "Who is a Jew?" "What do Jews believe?" "What do Jews do?" "What do we mean by 'religion'?" "How do Jews read texts within their tradition?" And perhaps most importantly, "How many answers are there to a Jewish question?" Students in this course can expect to come away with some knowledge of the Bible in Judaism, rabbinic literature and law, Jewish mysticism and philosophy, Jewish nationalism and Zionism, Jewish culture, ritual, and worship in the synagogue, the home, and the community, and Jewish celebrations of life cycle events and the festivals.
- Class Description:
- Who is a Jew? What do Jews believe? What do Jews do? What do we mean by "religion"? How do Jews read texts within their tradition? And perhaps most importantly, how many answers are there to a Jewish question? Explore the mythic structures, key texts, historical experiences, narratives, practices, beliefs and worldviews of the Jewish people as they have developed over more than three millennia. Learn about the roots of Judaism in the Hebrew Bible and the history of ancient Israel, and then discover the creative forces that developed within Judaism as a national narrative confronted the forces of history, especially in the forms of the Persian, Greek, and Roman empires. From the development of Rabbinic Judaism to encounters with the rise of Christianity and then Islam, from the Jewish experience in the medieval world to Judaism's engagement with the enlightenment and modernity, from the Crusades to the Holocaust, from Ancient Israel to modern Israel, learn how the Jewish people have maintained ideas and identities despite being scattered across time and place for 2500 years.
- Grading:
- 20% Midterm Exam
25% Final Exam
45% Reports/Papers
10% Class Participation
- Exam Format:
- Identifications, Short and Long Essay
- Class Format:
- 80% Lecture
20% Discussion We will also draw upon other modes learning such as film, music, and material culture.
- Workload:
- 50-75 Pages Reading Per Week
18-20 Pages Writing Per Term
2 Exam(s)
3 Paper(s)
- Textbooks:
- https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/21349/1219
- Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
- 17 May 2013
ClassInfo Links - Fall 2021 Religious Studies Classes