Hebrew

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/.

About the Program

Minor

The Department of Near Eastern Studies offers a minor in Hebrew.

Option A is open to students with little or no background in the language. Option B is for students who have completed the equivalent of two years of university-level coursework in the language. For specific information regarding the requirements for each option, please see the Minor Requirements tab on this page.

Students may pursue a major in Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology and Art History and a minor in one of the Department's language programs, even though both are administered by the Department of Near Eastern Studies. However, students may not pursue a major in one of the Near Eastern Studies languages and a minor in another. Students may pursue the major in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures and a minor in Ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern Civilizations. 

Declaring the Minor

After finishing a minor, students are required to submit a Completion of L & S Minor form .

Other Majors and Minors offered by the Department of Near Eastern Studies

Ancient Egyptian Near Eastern Art and Archaeology  (Major only)
Ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern Civilizations  (Minor only)
Arabic  (Minor only)
Persian  (Minor only)
Turkish  (Minor only)

Visit Department Website

Minor Requirements

Students who have a strong interest in an area of study outside their major often decide to complete a minor program. These programs have set requirements and are noted officially on the transcript in the memoranda section, but are not noted on diplomas.

General Guidelines

  1. All courses taken to fulfill the minor requirements below must be taken for graded credit.
  2. A minimum of three of the upper-division courses taken to fulfill the minor requirements must be completed at UC Berkeley.
  3. A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 is required for courses used to fulfill the minor requirements.
  4. Courses used to fulfill the minor requirements may be applied toward the Seven-Course Breadth Requirement, for Letters and Science students.
  5. No more than one upper-division course may be used to simultaneously fulfill requirements for a student's major and minor programs.
  6. All minor requirements must be completed prior to the last day of finals during the semester in which you plan to graduate. If you cannot finish all courses required for the minor by that time, please see a College of Letters and Science adviser.
  7. All minor requirements must be completed within the unit ceiling. (For further information regarding the unit ceiling, please see the College Requirements tab.)

Requirements, Option A

Open to students with no background in the language

Lower-division
HEBREW 1AElementary Hebrew5
HEBREW 1BElementary Hebrew5
HEBREW 20AIntermediate Hebrew5
HEBREW 20BIntermediate Hebrew5
Upper-division
HEBREW 100AAdvanced Hebrew3
HEBREW 100BAdvanced Hebrew3
HEBREW 104AModern Hebrew Literature and Culture3
HEBREW 104BModern Hebrew Literature and Culture3
One 1-semester course in Hebrew culture/history3
Total Units35

Requirements, Option B

Open to students who can demonstrate proficiency at a level equivalent to that expected of students who have successfully completed the elementary and intermediate courses in the language (2 years of university-level coursework)

Upper-division
Five 1-semester courses in Hebrew language or literature 115
Two 1-semester courses in Hebrew culture/history 26
Total Units21
1

 Texts must be in Hebrew.

2

 The undergraduate adviser may approve external department substitution courses for the culture/history requirement.

Courses

Hebrew

HEBREW 1A Elementary Hebrew 5 Units

HEBREW 1B Elementary Hebrew 5 Units

HEBREW 10 Intensive Elementary Hebrew 10 Units

An intensive course in modern Israeli Hebrew. The course covers the basic syntactic and morphological patterns of modern Hebrew through the teaching and practice of communicative and interactive language skills in the four areas of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The course is equivalent to two semesters of Hebrew in the regular academic year.

HEBREW 20A Intermediate Hebrew 5 Units

HEBREW 20B Intermediate Hebrew 5 Units

HEBREW 30 Intermediate Hebrew 10 Units

This course is equivalent to a full year of intermediate Hebrew. It will deepen skills in speaking, understanding, reading, and writing modern Israeli Hebrew.

HEBREW 100A Advanced Hebrew 3 Units

Advanced Hebrew, especially designed for those going on to the study of modern Hebrew literature. Vocabulary building, grammar review, and literary analysis of a sampling of modern texts.

HEBREW 100B Advanced Hebrew 3 Units

Advanced Hebrew, especially designed for those going on to the study of modern Hebrew literature. Vocabulary building, grammar review, and literary analysis of a sampling of modern texts.

HEBREW 102A Postbiblical Hebrew Texts 3 Units

Texts from the rabbinic period (Mishnah, Tosefta, Talmud, and Midrash) and an introduction to the languages of rabbinic texts.

HEBREW 102B Postbiblical Hebrew Texts 3 Units

Texts from the rabbinic period (Mishnah, Tosefta, Talmud, and Midrash) and an introduction to the languages of rabbinic texts.

HEBREW 103A Later Rabbinic and Medieval Hebrew Texts 3 Units

Study of midrashic, exegetical, halakhic (legal), poetic, apocalyptic, messianic, or historical texts.

HEBREW 103B Later Rabbinic and Medieval Hebrew Texts 3 Units

Study of midrashic, exegetical, halakhic (legal), poetic, apocalyptic, messianic, or historical texts.

HEBREW 104A Modern Hebrew Literature and Culture 3 Units

A close reading of selected works of modern Hebrew fiction, poetry, and drama in their cultural and historical contexts. Topics vary from year to year and include literature and politics, eros and gender, memory and nationalism, Middle-Eastern and European aspects of Israeli literature and culture.

HEBREW 104B Modern Hebrew Literature and Culture 3 Units

A close reading of selected works of modern Hebrew fiction, poetry, and drama in their cultural and historical contexts. Topics vary from year to year and include literature and politics, eros and gender, memory and nationalism, Middle-Eastern and European aspects of Israeli literature and culture.

HEBREW 105A The Structure of Modern Hebrew 3 Units

An analysis of Hebrew grammar, syntax, semantics, morphology, history of the language, fixed expressions, discourse analysis, contrastive features of Hebrew and English in the context of contemporary linguistic theories.

HEBREW 105B The Structure of Modern Hebrew 3 Units

An analysis of Hebrew grammar, syntax, semantics, morphology, history of the language, fixed expressions, discourse analysis, contrastive features of Hebrew and English in the context of contemporary linguistic theories.

HEBREW 106A Elementary Biblical Hebrew 3 Units

An introduction to the language of the Hebrew Bible.

HEBREW 106B Elementary Biblical Hebrew 3 Units

An introduction to the language of the Hebrew Bible.

HEBREW N106 Elementary Biblical Hebrew 6 Units

An introduction to the language of the Hebrew bible.

HEBREW 107A Biblical Hebrew Texts 3 Units

The tools and procedure of biblical exegesis applied to simple narrative texts.

HEBREW 107B Biblical Hebrew Texts 3 Units

The tools and procedure of biblical exegesis applied to simple narrative texts.

HEBREW 111 Intermediate Biblical Texts 3 Units

A systematic study of the Prophets beginning with Isaiah.

HEBREW 148A The Art and Culture of the Talmud: Advanced Textual Analysis 3 Units

In this course, we will read and analyze closely talmudic texts in the original languages--Hebrew and Aramaic--together with selected medieval commentaries. The primary focus of the course will be on the acquisition of facility in reading the Talmud, comprehension of philological and historical-cultural issues and methods of study, as well as understanding the formative relation of the Talmud to the structures and practices of traditional Jewish cultures.

HEBREW 148B The Art and Culture of the Talmud: Advanced Textual Analysis 3 Units

In this course, we will read and analyze closely talmudic texts in the original languages--Hebrew and Aramaic--together with selected medieval commentaries. The primary focus of the course will be on the acquisition of facility in reading the Talmud, comprehension of philological and historical-cultural issues and methods of study, as well as understanding the formative relation of the Talmud to the structures and practices of traditional Jewish cultures.

HEBREW 190B Special Topics in Hebrew 3 Units

Topics explore special themes and problems in Hebrew language and literature. They often reflect the research interests of the instructor and supplement regular curricular offerings. Specific descriptions of current offerings are available through the department.

HEBREW H195 Senior Honors 2 - 4 Units

Directed study centered upon preparation of an honors thesis.

HEBREW 198 Directed Group Study for Upper Division Students 1 - 4 Units

Instruction in areas not covered by regularly scheduled courses.

HEBREW 199 Supervised Independent Study and Research 1 - 4 Units

Enrollment is restricted by regulations shown in the .

Contact Information

Department of Near Eastern Studies

250 Barrows Hall

Phone: 510-642-3757

nes@berkeley.edu

Visit Department Website

Department Chair and Faculty Adviser

Margaret Larkin, PhD

274 Barrows Hall

Phone: 510-642-4915

larkin@berkeley.edu

Undergraduate Assistant

Rania Shah

250 Barrows Hall

Phone: 510-642-3758

rshah@berkeley.edu

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