How did the religion and history of the Jewish people change from the Second Temple to the rabbinic period? Explore the history and religion of the Jews during the watershed period in Palestine under Roman rule. Study the Hellenist influence on Judaism, the development of different sects, including the Dead Sea sect, and the emergence of Christianity. Lectures (2 hours a week) focus on the history of the period. Tutorials deal with broad questions such as who is a Jew and universalism and chosenness in Judaism together with a knowledge and understanding of basic Jewish belief and practice. Students will gain insights into the evolution of Judaism from pagan times to the present. At the upper level, students can study Medieval Judaism, Holocaust and Israel.

Do you wish to understand the gradual dispersion of Jews from Palestine? Study this unit to understand the spread of Judaism from Palestine into Africa and Asia. Students will study the story of Muhammed and the rise of Islam; the place of the Jew under Islamic law and the rapid Islamic conquest of much of the known world. They will learn about the dispersed diaspora communities in Babylon and Egypt and the development of Jewish communities in India and China from their early origins to the present day. Lectures focus on the history of the period. The tutorials deal with moral, ethical and philosophical questions relating to Judaism. Discussions will explore the existence and nature of God, prophecy, the Messiah, Torah and the commandments, conversion to Judaism and Jewish attitudes to other faiths.

The story of Jews living under the Crescent (Muslim rule) and the Cross (Christian rule) comprises a vibrant period of Jewish history. The unit explores Jews under Muslim rule in Spain and the experiences of Jews under Christian rule in Germany, France and England in the Medieval period, including the problems of Christian antisemitism and the Crusades. These are seminal periods in the development of Jewish thought, with the contribution of great commentators and philosophers including Moses Maimonides.

This unit is designed to introduce students to the turbulent history of European Jewry, 1750 to 1933. Against the background of far-reaching transformation in almost every aspect of society and culture, the Jew's entry into the modern world will be examined. At the centre stands the process of acculturation, integration, assimilation and Zionism, as well as the responses by non-Jewish society, especially the rise of modern antisemitism.

This unit provides an in-depth study of the Holocaust. Special emphasis will be placed on the development of Nazi ideology, in particular racial antisemitism, and the gradual implementation of this policy towards the Jews and other victim groups from 1933 to 1945. Other themes focus on the responses of the victims and the role of the by-standers, as well as post-war politics of memory and other issues, including Holocaust denial and war crimes prosecution.

Israel's position in the modern Middle East and the wider world from state formation to the present has been shaped by social, political and economic processes. Study these processes in the context of the nature of Israeli society and the major foreign policy decisions taken by Israeli leaders. Topics to be studied include: the genesis and development of Zionism, democracy and religion in Modern Israel, post-Zionism, the role of the Holocaust in Israel, Jerusalem and the settlements.

This course examines the Arab-Israeli conflict from its early twentieth century origins to the present day. We analyse the conflict's origins, the British Mandate, the Arab-Israeli wars; peace process from Camp David to Oslo, the reasons for its failure, and present prospects for peace. You will be encouraged to understand the complexity of this conflict on three levels: the local, between Israel and the Palestinians, the regional, between Israel and the Arab World; and the international, involving the global players.

The Honours program in Jewish Civilization, Thought and Culture consists of: 1. a thesis written under the supervision of one or more members of academic staff 2. A total of two seminars that meet weekly for two hours, with either one seminar each semester, or two seminars in the first semester of the degree. The thesis should be of 20000 words in length. Each seminar requires 5000 words of written work or its equivalent. The thesis is worth 60% of the final Honours mark and each of the seminars is worth 20%. Students will choose two IV Honours options. Students can choose to specialise in either the Classical or Modern period. Their dissertation must be in their area of speciality. Seminars will be offered from the following list in 2014: Classical Period: Biblical Themes (Dr Ari Lobel) Biblical Texts in Hebrew (Assoc Prof Ian Young). Modern Period: The Evolution of Judaism in the New World (Prof Suzanne Rutland) Modern Hebrew Literature (Ms Yona Gilead) For more information, contact Prof Suzanne Rutland, Honours coordinator.

Refer to JCTC4011

Refer to JCTC4011

Refer to JCTC4011