Jewish Studies

University of California, Berkeley

This is an archived copy of the 2014-15 guide. To access the most recent version of the guide, please visit http://guide.berkeley.edu/.

Overview

UC Berkeley has long been a national leader in Jewish Studies, especially notable for the innovative scholarship promoted in its graduate program. The Center for Jewish Studies provides a strong new focus and a vivid presence for the many varied activities associated with Jewish Studies on the Berkeley campus. It oversees the Designated Emphasis in Jewish Studies for graduate students and the undergraduate Minor in Jewish Studies. Additionally, the Center is home to UC Berkeley's two annual endowed lecture series, sponsors conferences and public lectures, offers a congenial setting for graduate student colloquia, and serves as an attractive meeting-place for the many visiting scholars in the field who come to UC Berkeley each year.

Campus Partners

The Berkeley Institute for Jewish Law and Israeli Law, Economy and Society  is an interdisciplinary initiative to expand Jewish and Israel Studies offerings at UC Berkeley coordinated by faculty in Political Science, Sociology, Economics, Comparative Literature, History, and Music as well in the Law, Journalism, and Business Schools.

The Magnes Collection of Jewish Life and Art  was established in 2010 at the Bancroft Library after the transfer of the Judah L. Magnes Museum to the University of California, Berkeley. The Magnes is one of the world's preeminent Jewish collections in a university setting. It offers highly innovative and accessible resources to researchers on campus, enables hands-on learning for students interested in Jewish Studies students, offers a venue for important programming, and provides fellowships for students working on Jewish culture.

The UC Berkeley Judaica collection  supports the research of students involved in the graduate Jewish Studies Designated Emphasis and the undergraduate minor and the instructional activities of faculty and students in a number of interdisciplinary fields. These fields include Near Eastern languages and literature, Talmudic studies, including the Babylonian and Palestinian Talmuds and subsequent texts and commentaries, rabbinic, medieval, and modern Jewish history throughout the world, modern Jewish thought, and comparative literature, including works in Hebrew, Yiddish, English, and other languages.

Undergraduate Program

Jewish Studies : Minor

Graduate Program

Jewish Studies : Designated Emphasis (DE)

The University no longer accepts students to a doctoral Joint Degree Program (with the Graduate Theological Union) in Jewish Studies. Students currently in the program are continuing to work with faculty from both institutions in order to complete their degrees.

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Courses

Jewish Studies

JEWISH 39L Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units

Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.

JEWISH 39M Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units

Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.

JEWISH 39N Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units

Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.

JEWISH 39O Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units

Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.

JEWISH 98 Directed Group Study 1 - 4 Units

Organized group study on topics selected by upper division students under the sponsorship and direction of the Jewish Studies faculty.

JEWISH 101 The Cultural Legacies of the Jews 3 Units

The course is intended to give Jewish studies minors a general introduction to the field through a survey of eight major phases of Jewish cultural experiences. Considered in chronological order and embracing several different relevant disciplines (history, literature, language, popular culture) covering major themes, phases, or periods, the course offers subject matter from the Bible to the modern period. Each of the lecturers will have selected one or two articles or chapters from books relevant to his/her subject for students to read.

JEWISH 120 Special Topics in Jewish Studies 2 - 3 Units

Course will focus on specific areas or topics in Jewish studies through a combination of lectures, term papers, and examinations. Instructors and topics to vary from semester to semester. Consult Jewish Studies website for updated course descriptions.

JEWISH 198 Directed Group Study 1 - 4 Units

Organized group study on topics selected by upper division students under the sponsorship and direction of the Jewish Studies faculty.

JEWISH 200 Advanced Topics in Jewish Studies 4 Units

Graduate seminar will focus on specific areas or topics in Jewish studies through a combination of close reading of texts, student presentation, and informal lectures. Instructors and topics to vary semester to semester. Consult department website for updated course descriptions.

JEWISH 290 Modern Jewish Scholarship: History and Practice 4 Units

This seminar, specifically designed as the ‘integrative course’ for students pursuing the Designated Emphasis in Jewish Studies, will offer an in-depth introduction to some of the central trends and personalities in modern Jewish historiography. We will read (and read about) the founders of modern Jewish historiography, and then explore some contemporary trends in Jewish scholarship, according to the disciplinary affiliations of the students in the class.

In addition to weekly assignments, students will write a 7000-word paper suitable for publication in a scholarly journal.


JEWISH 296 Joint Doctoral Program Dissertation Research and Writing Credit 1 - 12 Units

The course is offered to graduate students in the Joint Doctoral Program in Jewish studies to provide course credit for conducting dissertation research and dissertation writing, only after the student has successfully advanced to candidacy.

JEWISH 299 Individual Study and Research - Jewish Studies 1 - 5 Units

Topics and instructors will vary depending upon area of study. Special individual study for qualified graduate students only. Individual study and research, including fieldwork, in consultation with instructor on subject matter not covered in scheduled course offerings.

JEWISH 602 Joint Doctoral Program Independent Study 1 - 8 Units

The course is offered to graduate students in the Joint Doctoral Program in Jewish studies to provide opportunities for undertaking independent studies prior to advancement to candidacy.

Contact Information

Graduate Group in Jewish Studies

4401 Dwinelle Hall

Phone: 510-664-4138

jewishstudies@berkeley.edu

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Group Chair

Jill Stoner, MArch (Department of Architecture)

jstoner@berkeley.edu

Undergraduate Program Chair

Kenneth A. Bamberger, JD (School of Law)

kbamberger@law.berkeley.edu

Student Affairs Officer

Erica Roberts

cjsprograms@berkeley.edu

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