Jewish Studies Course Schedule & Registration
Jewish Studies 2024-2025 Academic Year
Dear Jewish Studies Students:
I am excited to present this academic year鈥檚 slate of course offerings.
Our veteran faculty members and several new additions to our roster, all top-notch scholars, will be offering a wide variety of courses, from Ethics to Early Modern history and beyond. These courses satisfy a range of requirements for all of our Jewish Studies programs, both online and in person. I hope these courses inspire you to engage your passion for learning and make progress in your graduate program.
Fall, Winter, and Spring courses are offered online in real time and the Summer Seminar takes place in person at 皇冠体育. In all these courses, you will learn together with faculty and your fellow students.
The full year of courses are now available below. If you have questions or would like to discuss your choices for the year, please email Scarlett Andes, Manager of Student & Faculty Services, at sandes@spertus.edu.
I encourage you to make an advising appointment with Scarlett so that we can review your transcript and determine which courses are the best fit for you.
Here鈥檚 to another year of great learning!
Yours,
Dr. Keren E. Fraiman
Dean and Chief Academic Officer
Professor of Jewish Studies
皇冠体育 for Learning and Leadership
Fall 2024 | Weekly Online Courses | September-October 2024
The World of the Rabbis
Taught by Rabbi Dr. Devorah Schoenfeld
Course 3502 | 3 quarter-hour credits
Fulfills MAJS Core, DSJS Text or Elective, and DHL Text or Elective Core Reading Course
8 Sessions | Meets Mondays from 6:30 to 9:00 PM CT
September 9, 16, 23 and 30 | October 7, 14, 21, and 28
We will look at the literature created by the rabbis between (roughly) 200 and 800 CE, the time after the closing of the Biblical canon and the destruction of the Second Temple and the Roman conquest of Judea. This literature, which includes Mishnah, Talmud and Halachic and Aggadic Midrash, was formative in the creation of Judaism as we know it. We will look both at the historical context of how this literature developed and how this literature is used to speak to contemporary Jewish questions.
Jewish Historiography
Taught by Dr. Joshua Shanes
Course 5346 | 3 quarter-hour credits
Fulfills MAJS 2nd-Level Core or Elective, DSJS Core, and DHL Elective Core Reading Course
8 Sessions | Meets Tuesdays from 6:30 to 9:00 PM CT
September 10, 17, and 24 | October 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29
(October 1, 15, and 22 will start at 7:00 PM CT due to faculty availability)
Yosef Yerushalmi described history as the 鈥渁rbiter of Judaism鈥 for modern Jews. How and why have modern Jews engaged history over the last two centuries? What meaning does history have for Jews and Judaism, and how has Jewish historiography reflected their changing position? This course explores a range of Jewish historiographical writing in the modern period. Among the important Jewish historians to be studied will be Heinrich Graetz, Simon Dubnow, and Salo Baron as well as more contemporary scholars such as Yosef Yerushalmi, Paula Hyman, and David Myers.
Course registration for Fall 2024 has closed.
Winter 2025 | Online Seminar Format | January 12-16, 2025
Reading the Bible
Taught by Rabbi Dr. Vernon Kurtz
Course 4219 | 3 quarter-hour credits
Fulfills MAJS Elective or 2nd听Level Core, DSJS Text or Elective, and DHL Text
Seminar Morning Course
9 AM-1 PM CT each day | Meets via Zoom
The Bible is the basis of the tradition of monotheism as well as the main avenue by which Jewish ethics and teachings entered Western civilization. In this course, we will examine different methods of reading the Bible, including inner-biblical interpretation, Midrashic readings, New Testament sources, Philo and medieval commentaries.
We will also study modern theories of Biblical interpretation, such as source criticism, the historical-critical method, literary approaches, and feminist readings of the text. Using our knowledge, we will then read a number of Biblical passages including Cain murdering Abel; Jacob鈥檚 dream and struggle with the angel; Moses hitting the rock; and the concept of kingship in the book of Samuel and the Book of Jonah as examples of how the Bible has remained relevant throughout the ages.
What is Judaism?: An Introduction to Jewish Thought from the Enlightenment to Today
Taught by Rabbi Dr. Scott Aaron
Course 5505 | 3 quarter-hour credits
Fulfills MAJS Elective or 2nd Level Core, DSJS Core (What is Judaism?), and DHL Core (Jewish Thought)
Seminar Afternoon Course
2 PM-6 PM CT each day | Meets via Zoom
Explore the evolution of Jewish thought in a changing world from Spinoza to the present. In this overview course, we will focus on key thinkers from each century and touch on theology, nationalism, Zionism, eschatology, denominationalism, and other areas of philosophical development both in the light of and in opposition to the Enlightenment and the modern world.
Course registration for Winter courses has closed.
Spring 2025 | Weekly Online Courses | February-April 2025
Contemporary Jewish Ethics
Taught by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz
Course 5003 | 3 quarter-hour credits
Fulfills MAJS Elective or 2nd听Level Core, DSJS Core (Jewish Living) or Elective, and DHL Core (Jewish Ethics)
8 Sessions | Meets Tuesdays from 1:30 to 4 PM CT via Zoom
February 25 | March 4, 11, 18, and 25 | April 1, 8, and 15
In this course, we will explore Biblical, Talmudic, Medieval, Modern and Contemporary foundational approaches to Jewish Ethics. We will further examine modern approaches to moral philosophy (deontology, utilitarianism, virtue ethics, etc.) as explored through a Jewish lens. We will also examine various applications as it relates today to business ethics, medical ethics, military ethics, technology, human rights, interpersonal ethics, and theology. Further, we will learn mussar (Jewish approaches to character development as shared through the middot).听By learning Jewish texts, we will open up conversations about how to interweave the full richness of Jewish values to pressing moral issues of our day.
This American Jewish Life
Taught by Dr. Laura Yares
Course 4313 | 3 quarter-hour credits
Fulfills MAJS Core (Contemporary Jewish Experiences), DSJS Elective, and DHL Core (Key Issues in Contemporary Jewry)
8 Sessions | Meets Wednesdays from 6 to 8:30 PM CT via Zoom
February 26 | March 5, 12, 19, and 26 | April 2, 9, and 16
This course will critically examine the contours of American Jewish life, past and present. Together, we will examine the historical trends that have defined American Jewish life, and we will critically investigate some of the ways that they are being reimagined in 2024. Throughout this course, we will reflect upon the many issues that both unite Jews as a minority community in America, as well as divide Jews across a variety of religious, cultural, and political issues.
Course registration for Spring 2025 courses has closed.
Summer Seminar | In Person at 皇冠体育 | June 8-12, 2025
Four course options: Two morning courses and two afternoon courses
Morning Courses:
These courses will meet at the following times: Sunday, June 8: 1pm-4:30pm, Monday-Wednesday 9am-1pm, Thursday 8am-12pm.
Creation and Eternity
Taught by Dr. Erik Dreff
Course 4159 | 3 quarter-hour credits
Fulfills MAJS 2nd Level Core or Elective, DSJS Text or Elective, and DHL Text or Elective Core Reading Course
From the moment the听God of the Hebrew Bible was confronted by the God of Greek Philosophy, Jewish thinkers sought to defend their personal God of History, the One who created the world through will and deliberately chose them, against the sweeping logic of an impersonal infinite First Cause of Existence.听 This course will thus be an exploration of this encounter as it variously occurred throughout听Jewish History,听from the Bible to the 21st Century.
Focusing on key thinkers and texts – Philo of Alexandria, Saadia Gaon, Maimonides, Crescas, Spinoza, and Rosenzweig, this course will come to engage numerous concepts affected听by the many arguments produced in this historic debate, including: the meaning of life, the existence and nature of freewill听and the afterlife, the concept of Law itself, and much more.
Jewish Continuity and Jewish Anxiety: A Sociological Perspective
Taught by Dr. David N. Gottlieb
Course 4364 | 3 quarter-hour credits
Fulfills MAJS Elective, DSJS Elective, and DHL Core (Jewish Community: Historical and Sociological Developments) or Elective Core Reading Course
In this course, students will review and analyze demographic and sociological studies of 20th- and early 21st-century Jewish communal developments, primarily in the US and Canada, to ask: How does sociological theory both illuminate and influence the changes in Jewish communities? What cultural and institutional priorities inflect definitions of Jewish identity? How does sociology reflect and influence anxiety over Jewish continuity?
Students in this course will first acquaint themselves with the most relevant schools of sociological theory 鈥 principally Structural Functionalism, Social Constructivism, and Symbolic Interactionism 鈥 before going on to explore the above questions through course readings and written assignments.
Afternoon Courses:
These courses will meet at the following times: Sunday, June 8: 5pm-7:30pm, Monday-Wednesday 2pm-6pm, Thursday 1pm-5pm.
Early Modern History
Taught by Dr. Shai Zamir
Course 3504 | 3 quarter-hour credits
Fulfills MAJS Core (Early Modern Jewish Experiences), DSJS Elective, and DHL Elective Core Reading Course
The early modern period was a transformative era that shaped many cultural trends and social developments still present in Jewish life today. In this course, we will delve into the key aspects of the Jewish experience between the 15th to the 18th centuries using both historiographical literature and historical records. We will examine the formation of new Jewish communities, particularly following the 1492 expulsion from Spain. We will also explore the new urban organization resulting from the establishment of Jewish quarters in the Italian peninsula and beyond.
Intellectual trends, such as print culture and new forms of mysticism, will be evaluated within the broader context of European influences. In addition to cultural exchange, we will focus on violent conflicts between Jews and Christians, including blood libels and the Spanish Inquisition. Finally, the course will address various facets of Jewish society, from impoverished Jews and court Jews to Jewish 鈥渉eretics鈥 like Spinoza and messianic figures such as Sabbatai Tzvi.
Visual Arts and Holocaust Representation
Taught by Dr. Brett Ashley Kaplan
Course 3355.2 | 3 quarter-hour credits
Fulfills MAJS Elective, DSJS Elective, and DHL Elective Core Reading Course
Registration for the Summer 2025 Seminar has been extended to April 28.
Summer 2025 | Weekly Online Bonus Course | July-September 2025
Classic Works of Israeli Literature
Taught by Dr. Shana Mauer
Course 3270 | 3 quarter-hour credits
Fulfills MAJS Elective, DSJS Text or Elective, and DHL Text or Elective Core Reading Course
8 Sessions | Meets Tuesdays from 12 PM to 2:30 PM CT via Zoom
July 15, 22, and 29 | August 5, 12, 19, and 26 | September 2
In this course, explore rich, multi-layered texts that are classics of the Israeli canon. Written by writers who have been celebrated globally as leading authors, these works tell the story of the Jewish people and of Israel, as well as the struggles and triumphs that have marked the intersection between Jewish and Israeli history. In these stories we will examine questions of national rebirth and Jewish tradition, the plight of immigrants adjusting to an entirely new world and landscape, in addition to the place of Holocaust memory in a Jewish country with an uneasy relationship with the Diaspora. At the same time, we will encounter many of the best stories, narratives, characters and voices from the corpus of Israeli literature.
Course registration for the Summer 2025 bonus course will open in May 2025.
Jewish Studies Course Registration Details
Course registration is for current 皇冠体育 Jewish Studies students. Please review course details before completing your registration.
Before registering for courses, students must be admitted to one of 皇冠体育’s Jewish Studies graduate programs 鈥 or be accepted as non-degree student who meets prerequisite requirements and wishes to enroll in courses for credit.
Course Payment
皇冠体育 welcomes course registration from students with accounts in good standing. This means:
- Student鈥檚 unpaid account balance is less than $2,500 (roughly two courses).
- The most recent payments on past due balances are within the last six months.
Students who do not meet these criteria will need to pay down their balance prior to registering for any additional courses.
Course Costs
For MA in Jewish Studies (MAJS) Students
$400 per quarter-hour credit
($1200 per 3qh course)
For DS in Jewish Studies (DSJS) and Doctor of Hebrew Letters (DHL) Students
$475 per quarter-hour credit
($1425 per 3qh course)
A non-refundable $25 fee is charged on all course registrations forms.
Refund policies vary by course format. Please review the specific policy listed on your course registration form.
Courses auditing can be arranged on a select basis with approval from the Dean. Audited course tuition is $350 per 3qh course.
Course confirmation will be acknowledged by email upon approval of your course registration(s).
Questions
- For questions relating to Jewish Studies courses and registration, please contact Scarlett Andes at sandes@spertus.edu.
- For questions about payment, please contact Spertus Finance Coordinator Judith Wood at jwood@spertus.edu.
Asynchronous Jewish Studies Courses
These asynchronous online courses are offered on an ongoing basis and can be started anytime after a student is admitted. Students work independently and are expected to complete each course within eight weeks.
Introductory Biblical Hebrew I, II, and III
Taught by Dr. Anne Knafl
Courses 1221, 1222, 1223 | 3 courses, 3 quarter-hour credits
MAJS Electives
This three-course sequence introduces students to Biblical Hebrew grammar, vocabulary, and syntax, as well as the scholarly Hebrew Bible, the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. The focus is on introductory grammar, including common verb patterns, essential grammatical features, and basic vocabulary. Students will read passages from the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) as part of their coursework. Many students find it beneficial to take these courses early in their program.
Top image: Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in Washington, DC.