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This spring, explore literature, film, culture, language and history!
Take a course with a Judaic Studies professor.
You'll find our courses listed under JST, HST, FILM, and ENG.
In Judaic Studies, we take the 3,000-year-long history and culture of the Jews as our point of departure for grappling with urgent human questions about justice and knowledge, tradition and change, and crisis and resilience.
We welcome students of all backgrounds.
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Spring Term courses start March 30, 2020
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Jerusalem (Jubilee) Synagogue, Prague
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| JST/HST 318U | Jewish History II: From the Middle Ages to the Present
INSTRUCTOR: Natan Meir
TIME/DAY(S): Tues/Thurs, 10am-11:50am
LOCATION: SEC 163
CRN: 64573/65105
How do you tell the story of a people dispersed over much of the world with no obvious political, economic, or military history? Dive into a rich world of religious, cultural, and social developments, and understand how a tiny minority not only survived centuries of sometimes hostile environments but even found places for incredible flourishing and creativity. This survey of Jewish history explores (among many other topics) Jewish-Muslim-Christian relations in the “Golden Age” of medieval Spain, medieval Jewish philosophy, the Crusader massacres of German Jewish communities, the many factors leading to the expulsions of Jews from Spain and other western European countries, the rich and flourishing Jewish cultures that emerged in Eastern Europe and the Ottoman Empire, the struggle for equal rights in 19th-century Europe, intercontinental migrations on a massive scale, the emergence of a Jewish community in the U.S., the Holocaust, and the establishment of the State of Israel.
Prepare to be surprised by: homoerotic Hebrew poetry in the Middle Ages… an antisemitic cartoon from medieval England… a Renaissance-era Jewish messianic figure who converted to Islam… anarchist balls on Yom Kippur… Stalinist Yiddish poetry… and much more.
This course has no prerequisites.
University Studies cluster: Global Perspectives.
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ENG 330U | Jewish and Israeli Literature
INSTRUCTOR: Michael Weingrad
TIME/DAY(S):
LOCATION: ONLINE course
CRN: 64884
This course looks at the Jewish encounter with modernity through literature. The focus will be on literature produced by East European Jews in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a period of great upheaval reflected in the emerging modern Hebrew and Yiddish literatures of the time. We will read works by such classic modern Jewish authors as Sholem Aleichem, S. Y. Agnon, and H. N. Bialik. In the second half of the course we will sample literature produced after the 1930s, including Israeli literature and literature produced outside of Eastern Europe.
University Studies clusters: Global Perspectives and Popular Culture
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Yityish Aynaw, Miss Israel 2013
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| JST 335U | Sex, Love and Gender in Israel
INSTRUCTOR: Nina Spiegel
TIME/DAY(S): Tues/Thurs 12:00pm - 1:50pm
LOCATION: Fourth Avenue Building | Room 171 (FAB 171)
CRN: 64574
This course examines intersections of gender and nationalism; the role of masculinity in Israeli society; conceptions of femininity, sex, love, beauty, work, and motherhood; and the impact of gender on the Arab-Israeli conflict. In exploring these themes, we will investigate the history and experiences of a diverse array of women in Israel, including Jewish women of European, Middle Eastern, North African, and Ethiopian descent; Christian and Muslim Israeli Arab and Palestinian women; and foreign workers from locations such as Thailand and the Philippines. Topics include the relationship between gender and religion, culture, ethnicity, and politics.
No prerequisites are required.
Note: This course can serve as an elective for the major in Women, gender and Sexuality Studies (WGSS), and is also on the Advisor-approved list for International Studies’ Middle East regional focus.
University Cluster: Gender and Sexualities Studies
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Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross
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| FILM 384U | Topics in American Cinema and Culture: Mamet
INSTRUCTOR: Michael Weingrad
TIME/DAYS: Mondays 6:00pm-9:35pm
LOCATION: Lincoln Hall | 331 (LH 331)
CRN: 61269
Considered by many to be America’s greatest living playwright, and screenwriter and director of numerous films from The Untouchables to Wag the Dog, David Mamet has spent a half century exploring masculinity, desire, knowledge, and the American soul. Let’s see how this Chicago-born, Jewish writer has treated these themes on screen, stage, and page. Films include Glengarry Glen Ross, The Spanish Prisoner, Homicide, Oleanna, Redbelt, and Spartan; plays include The Duck Variations and Speed-the-Plow; writings include The Wicked Son: Anti-Semitism, Self-Hatred, and the Jews.
University Studies Clusters: American Identities and Popular Culture
This course fulfills the BA Fine and Performing Arts requirement
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Perelandra a.k.a. Voyage to Venus by C. S. Lewis
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JST 399 | Fantasy and Faith mini-course (2 credits)
INSTRUCTOR: Michael Weingrad
TIME/DAY(S): FOUR SUNDAYS: 4/5, 4/19, 5/3, 5/17, 1pm-6pm
LOCATION: Parkmill | Room 11 (PKM 11)
CRN: 64572
No storytelling genres today command more passion, more enthusiasm, and more box office revenue than fantasy and science fiction. In part, this is because fantasy and its sister genres are ways of thinking about religious questions. For some, they are even substitutes for traditional religious faith. This course explores the role of religion in fantasy literature, Christian and Jewish fantasy writers, and the ways that fantasy looks for magic and meaning in a modern, disenchanted world. In addition to reading classic fantasy novels by C. S. Lewis and Hope Mirrlees, you will read shorter texts by J. R. R. Tolkien and other writers, look at examples drawn from film and television, learn about current trends in speculative fiction in Israel, and write a final paper on a fantasy novel of your choice that contends with religious narratives and beliefs.
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Holocaust Memorial in Washington Park, Portland Oregon
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| JST/HST 494/594 | Public History Seminar: Museums and Memory in the U.S. and Israel
INSTRUCTOR: Nina Spiegel
TIME/DAY(S): Mon 2:15pm-5:05pm
LOCATION: FMH Room 419
CRN: 65124
How is national memory formed? What is the role of memory in shaping a nation's sense of identity? Incorporating field trips to local museums, this seminar examines the relationship between national history, memory, and museums in Israel and the United States. We will investigate cultural debates that take place over the presentation of national history at public sites. Providing a comparative approach, we will explore the ethos of national memory and the politics of cultural memory.
No prerequisites are required.
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Hebrew Language at PSU
Prerequisites are required for these courses. If you have prior Hebrew language experience and would like to join these classes, please contact the instructor.
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HEB 103: First-Year Hebrew
INSTRUCTOR: Moshe Rachmuth
TIME/DAY(S): Mon/Wed/Fri 2:00-3:05pm
LOCATION: CH 321
CRN: 41482
Introduction to modern Hebrew; emphasis on basic grammar, syntax, noun and verb formation, listening and reading comprehension, translation, writing, and speaking. For nonnative speakers of Hebrew only. This course is part of a sequence of three: HEB 101, HEB 102, HEB 103.
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HEB 203: Second-Year Hebrew
INSTRUCTOR: Sharon Erez-Shai
TIME/DAY(S): Mon/Wed/Fri 10:15-11:20am
LOCATION: UCB 465G
CRN: 44478
HEB 203 emphasizes modern media Hebrew. Translation and writing. Recommended prerequisite: HEB 202. For non-native speakers of Hebrew only. This course is part of a sequence of three: HEB 201, HEB 202, HEB 203
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Excellent learning opportunity
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one-on-one attention from the professors
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Portland State University | Judaic Studies PO Box 751 | Portland, OR 97207-0751 US
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