About the Program
Director: Allan Nadler, Professor of Religious Studies
Jewish Studies is a rich, interdisciplinary minor that investigates the religion, history, culture, literature, languages and 3,000-year civilization of the Jews. The Jewish Studies minor is available to all students, regardless of religious, ethnic, or educational background. It includes both the theological study of the Jewish religion and the historical study of the Jewish people, from biblical times to the modern era. From the liberation of the Israelite slaves in ancient Egypt to the creation of the modern state of Israel; from Moses, Deborah, and the biblical prophets to Maimonides, Spinoza, Kafka, Peretz, Baalshem Tov, Buber, Golda Meir, and Philip Roth: the varieties of Jewish historical, religious, literary, political, and philosophical expression are critically explored.
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Requirements for the Minor (20 Credits)
Students must complete at least 20 credits in intermediate- and upper-level courses, including at least two core courses (that must include either JWST 12 or 13) and two courses that are Judaically focused. In addition to these requirements, at least one semester of language study of either Hebrew or Yiddish is strongly encouraged. Although Yiddish language instruction is not currently available at Drew, students may receive credit toward the Jewish Studies minor for Yiddish courses taken at another accredited institution.
I. Core Courses (8-12 credits)
JWST 12/The Jewish Experience: An Introduction to Judaism (4) OR JWST 13/Jewish History from Roman Times to the Enlightenment (4)
JWST 30/Selected Topics in Jewish Studies (4)
JWST 112/Seminar in Jewish Studies (4)
MHEB 1/Elementary Modern Hebrew I (4)
MHEB 20/Elementary Modern Hebrew II (4)
MHEB 30/Intermediate Modern Hebrew (4)
II. Judaically Focused Courses (8-12 credits)
See departments or programs for course descriptions.
BHEBW 1/Biblical Hebrew (4)
BHEBW 20/Hebrew Exegesis (4)
JWST 33/Perspectives on the Holocaust (4)
REL 13/Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (4)
REL 41/Sects and Cults in Modern Judaism (4)
REL 45/Issues in Contemporary Jewish Ethics (4)
HIST 70/Modern Jewish History (4)
ENGL 34/Topics in American Ethnic, Immigrant or Regional Literature [when topic applies] (4)
ENGL 140/Topics in Literature [when topic applies] (4)
PSYC 147/Seminar in Social Issues of Psychology [when topic applies] (4)
REL 67/Comparative Fundamentalism (4)
Students may also develop projects in Jewish Studies under INTR 50/Internship Project or INST 150/ Independent Study.
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