This unit presents an overview of prophetic works of the Hebrew Bible, examining literary, socio-political, and religio-historical aspects of the texts, with special emphasis on the theme of Messianism in the biblical prophets.

This unit examines the Biblical Poetic Books such as Psalms, the Song of Songs and Lamentations. The main focus of the course is on how the literary conventions of the genre of Hebrew poetry are used by the poets to set out the theological and philosophical concepts the texts are designed to express. These literary conventions will be studied in the light of other Ancient Near Eastern literature of a similar genre.

This unit examines the relationship between the historical person of Jesus of Nazareth and the literary-theological achievement of the early Christian Gospels (including non-canonical Gospels). Students are encouraged to apply rigorous historical method and careful literary analysis in order to gain a nuanced understanding of how the leader of a Jewish renewal movement became the object of devotion in earliest Christianity. The unit will read Biblical texts in English translation.

This unit of study provides an overview of the New Testament as a literary and theological work, seeking to understand both the early Christian 'story' and the various modes in which it was retold and applied in the first century CE. Students explore the various genres of NT literature, including 'gospel', epistolary forms, parable and apocalyptic. Particular attention is paid to reader-response criticism of the Gospels and intertextuality in the NT epistles. Documents will be read in English translation.

Europe is characterised by a multiplicity of languages and the consciousness of linguistic diversity permeates its societies. We will examine the complexities of language in Europe by examining issues such as multilingualism and diglossia, official vs minority languages, EU language policy, and questions of language and identity. Drawing upon case studies from European contexts, we explore key issues of language usage, such as different interactional styles, aspects of linguistic interaction, and the broader workings of power and politics in language.

Europe: Literature and Dictatorship focuses on aspects of literature, culture, and the public sphere in the twentieth-century socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe. Literature played an important role - both clandestinely and as a public institution - under socialism. However literary texts cannot be separated from wider issues of politics, culture, and society. Hence attention will be paid to the role of the intelligentsias, to censorship, and to problems of dissidence and free expression in authoritarian, closed, and totalitarian societies.

The new millennium witnessed a 'return to religion' in European political, social and cultural life. Europe's Religions explores this development through an examination of the dynamic interaction between the three monotheistic religions in the European context. We focus on the relation between religion and political power that has so deeply contributed to the shaping of European civilisation. Investigating where and how religious and political ideologies meet, the unit illuminates the persistent influence of religious ideas in the contemporary European landscape.

This unit considers key themes in modern and contemporary political thought. It uses primary texts to address topics such as sovereignty, democracy, fascism, liberalism, human rights, politics and religion, violence, and political identity. Authors may include Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Kant, Nietzsche, Marx, J.S. Mill, Tocqueville, Rawls, Arendt, Schmitt, and Foucault.

This unit is an extension of the work done in HBRW1102. It consists of an intensive study of spoken Modern Hebrew with emphasis on communicative skills that enable students to communicate in simple Hebrew for everyday situations. Simple literary texts and language components, which are orientated around relevant themes, are dealt with. A variety of different methods are used to explain grammatical structures, morphology and syntax and to provide examples in their use.

This unit is an extension of the work done in HBRW2603. It uses a communicative approach to language learning. Students' active participation through teamwork, role-playing and other interactive techniques is an essential aspect of all classes. It is expected that by the end of this unit students will be able to take part in simple everyday Hebrew conversation.

This unit picks up from HBRW2604. It covers language skills and knowledge of Level Beit. In addition to consolidating and further developing spoken communication and writing skills, this unit introduces the student to a variety of Modern Hebrew texts such as poems, songs, short stories and newspaper articles as well as some Classical Hebrew texts.

This unit is an extension of the work done in HBRW2605. By the end of the unit, students will be able to converse confidently in everyday Hebrew. As well, this unit is designed to enable students who wish to continue learning Modern Hebrew to make the transition into HBRW2607 and HBRW2608.

The books of the Hebrew Bible are studied in the light of their setting and their literary and linguistic features. The course consists of: set classical texts; and special background area study: Mishnaic Hebrew.

The books of the Hebrew Bible are studied in the light of their setting and composition history. The course consists of: set classical texts, and special background area study: Ancient Inscriptions.

This unit provides senior-level students with the essential linguistic foundation to the study of Hebrew language and literature. It is taught concurrently with the existing Hebrew B-stream.

This unit brings students to a level necessary for the study of Hebrew at an advanced level. It forms a bridge between Hebrew Accelerated C1 and other senior Hebrew units.

For those beginning the study of Syriac this is a preparation for more advanced study of Syriac language and literature. It concentrates on the study of elementary Syriac grammar, prose composition and an introductory study of selections of texts from the Old and New Testament Peshitta.

This unit builds on the foundation of Syriac 1. It concentrates on the study of advanced Syriac prose composition and selections of texts from the Old and New Testament Peshitta.

In this unit students will apply advanced linguistic skills to complex biblical and extra-biblical texts. Students will analyse the poetic and linguistic features of the book of Psalms, and will evaluate the historical, social and linguistic background of the Dead Sea (Qumran) Scrolls.

In this unit students will apply advanced linguistic skills to complex biblical and extra-biblical texts. Students will analyse the poetic and linguistic features of biblical poetry outside the Psalms, as well as the linguistic features of Medieval Hebrew used by Jewish Biblical commentators, especially those features that differentiate Medieval from Biblical Hebrew.

This unit of study will provide students with a grounding in the historical context of and reasons for conflict in Israel/Palestine. It will enable them to identify the causes of conflict and attempted avenues for peace, as well as making them aware of the politicised nature of much of the scholarship on the region. The unit commences in the Ottoman period and traces the rival of aspirations of Zionism and Palestinian nationalism, as well as the geopoitical dimensions of the conflict. The unit will enable students to gain detachment from the dominant narratives about the issues so they are equipped to form their own judgements.

Using a number of significant films from across the continent of Europe, the unit examines the way in which films can both create the past and transform existing ideas about the past. The unit examines a range of different kinds of films: "historical" films which set out self-consciously to construct a version of the past as well as those in which film-makers have confronted the contemporary problems of their own society.

What accounts for the spectacular rise of human rights movements and norms from 1945 to the present? This unit investigates the causes and consequences of this radical global transformation in transnational activism, foreign policy and international law. The first portion of the unit explores the early history of natural rights, minority rights, women's rights and humanitarianism. The second portion examines the impact of domestic politics, gender politics and geopolitics on the postwar 'human rights revolution'.

We tend to think of rights as things that all people have held at all times, but they are not. Rights have a history. The idea of individual rights did not exist prior to medieval times and it has been understood in many different ways since. This unit traces the creation and development of the idea of rights, and its historical uses, from medieval times through to the rise of the modern state and into the Enlightenment.

This unit will examine the origins and development of the movements of the New Right that emerged in Europe after World War One paying particular attention to their political, social and cultural manifestations as well as the movements on the left that attempted to confront what was seen as a new political phenomenon. The unit will use primary material of literature, diaries, cinema and photography as well as the more conventional sources of political and historical analysis.

In this unit we aim to come to an historical understanding of genocide in the modern era, that is, in approximately the last 250 years. We do so in a chronological, i.e. historical manner, and thereby seek not only to compare genocides, but determine how they may be related to one another. This unit begins by exploring the concept of genocide and concludes with post-1945 attempts to prevent it, as well as to prosecute its perpetrators under international law.

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.

One of the most traumatic events in Jewish history was the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. Explore the reasons behind the expulsion and the ways in which new centres of Jewish life emerged, especially in Eastern Europe. Light will also be shed on the establishment of Jewish communities in the Netherlands and England on the eve of emancipation when the new ideas of the Enlightenment paved the way for the rise of the modern Jew.

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.

Contemporary Jewish identity is commonly refracted through the prism of two seminal historical eventsùthe Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel. However, at the dawn of the 21st century, closer examination reveals that Jewish identity is today an increasingly diverse and ever changing entity. This unit will probe and explore the reasons for this heterogeneity, identifying and interrogating the intersections between the religious, cultural and political currents shaping today's Jewish identities in diverse communal and state settings.

Honours is an intensive year-long program of advanced study based around research. Honours is undertaken after successful completion of a Bachelor degree and where the overall mark is a minimum credit average (70%). Entry into Honours is selective and work at this level is challenging. Honours is available in most subjects areas taught in the Faculty, and which are listed under Tables A and B in the Handbook. Students will complete a thesis and coursework seminars throughout the year. For further information contact the Honours Coordinator in the department or consult the Handbook entry for the relevant subject area.

Refer to JCTC4011

Refer to JCTC4011

Refer to JCTC4011

Students will investigate typologies of 'religion', distinguishing between 'world religions' and other 'religions' (particularly indigenous religions), and recognise that these classifications resulted from European colonialism and the encounter of Christianity with other religions (in Asia, the Americas, and Africa). Religions with scriptures, priesthoods, and institutions paralleling those of Biblical traditions were privileged over oral cultures and indigenous religions. Students study methods of textual criticism and historical investigation of the 'origins' of religion, from which emerged the discipline of 'religious studies'.