History
HIS 140 Encountering Jewish Civilization I (2 credits)
Prerequisite: None
This course presents a chronological survey of the developments of major components of Jewish life and identity from antiquity through the times of the Crusades. Students will trace the origins and founding of the Jewish community, its emergence into a national identity, and its survival and development as a people in exile in juxtaposition to and through interactions with other cultures and civilizations.
HIS 142 Encountering Jewish Civilization II (2 credits)
Prerequisite: None
This course presents a chronological survey of Jewish History from the period of the Crusades to contemporary times. The course will focus on the events that shaped Jewish communal life and how Judaism developed both in juxtaposition to and through interaction with other cultures and civilizations throughout world history.
HIS 150 History of the Jews (3 credits)
Prerequisite: None
This course is a survey course that covers the gamut of Jewish History from Abraham and Sarah to Ariel Sharon. The course will focus on the historical, political, sociological, and psychological issues that have faced the Jewish people in the various locations and time periods throughout history. The course will discuss how the Jews have interacted with cultures and civilizations in which they have lived. The course will also analyze those individuals, both Jewish and Gentile, that have defined Judaism and the Jewish people throughout the centuries.
HIS 151 Overview of Jewish History until the Modern Era (3 credits)
Prerequisites: None. HIS 150 and HIS 151 may not both be counted for Judaic Studies Concentration credit.
With broad strokes, we will sketch the outlines of Jewish History from Creation until the time of Napoleon. Biblical accounts will set the theme of G-d's manifestation within history; we will follow that theme through the history of the people through the Second Temple period and the Talmudic age, and finally through the Middle Ages and up until the watershed of the Napoleonic epoch.
HIS 152 Overview of Modern Jewish History (3 credits)
Prerequisites: None. HIS 150 or HIS 151 recommended
Napoleon's reordering of Europe let loose the forces of political emancipation and cultural and religious assimilation in the Jewish Community. With the order threatened or shattered, anti-Semitism reappeared in new and more virulent forms; and within the Jewish community, the new realities were met both with new ideologies and a reinvigorated tradition. The emergence of American Jewry, the destruction of Europe and the rise of Israel, will round out this survey.
HIS/HUM 201 The Ancient World (3 credits)
Prerequisite: None
A study of the political history and the development of cultures and civilizations from the time of ancient Mesopotamia through the Middle Ages, using selected works of literature, art, philosophy and history. There is a focus on ideas and values as they emerge across various world cultures.
HIS/HUM 202 The Renaissance and Modern World (3 credits)
Prerequisite: None
A study of the political history and development of cultures and civilizations from the Renaissance through the twentieth century, using selected works of literature, art, philosophy and history. There is a focus on ideas and values as they emerge across various world cultures.
HIS 251 Pre-Holocaust Modern Jewish History 1840-1938 (2 credits)
Prerequisite: None
This course focuses on Jewish life in Eastern Europe and Palestine and the various movements among the Jewish people that existed at the time. The emergence of Yeshivot, Chassidim, the Haskala Movement, Zionism, and the rise to power of the Nazis are all discussed.
HIS 252 American Thought and History (3 credits)
Prerequisite: None
This course covers the history of the United States since 1865. Lectures discuss industrialization, urbanization and emergence of the United States as a world power. Attention is given to intellectual and social developments and to major historical events.
HIS 255 The American Jewish Experience (3 credits)
Prerequisite: none
This course introduces students to the historical development and interaction of the Jewish community in the United States. Themes examined include immigration, assimilation, integration, involvement in politics and social causes, cultural continuity and collective survival. We will also examine historic attitudes and acceptance of Jewish minority and Israel, their historic homeland. Finally, we will explore the American Jewish community's response to important events in the most recent century.
HIS 260 Modern Europe (3 credits)
Prerequisite: none
This course covers the history of Modern Europe, highlighting the foundations of the contemporary world.
HIS 261 Exploring the Holocaust I (2/3 credits)
Prerequisite: None
This course will survey Holocaust History and implications. We will begin with examining the historical, political and sociological causes of the German anti-Jewish campaign and the subsequent creation of the institutions of organized mass murder. We will learn about the Jewish civilization that perished and study the evolution of the idea of the Final Solution and its implementation throughout the communities of Europe, and the reaction of the world. Finally, we will be introduced to resistance and rescue efforts, liberation and the Nuremberg trials.
HIS 262 Exploring the Holocaust II (2/3 credits)
Prerequisite: None
This course examines the Holocaust in its aftermath, assessing the political and moral climate of the world, from the immediate reactions to the magnitude of this tragedy and addressing the plight of the refugees through modern day anti-Semitism. Evidence implicating communal, corporate, financial, governmental and church involvement in abetting the genocide will be presented. We will confront the lasting impact of the Holocaust in the creation of the modern State of Israel, upon the lives of the survivors and their families, and on present day politics and theological/philosophical thought. The Holocaust will be compared with other attempts of racial genocide. We will also confront Holocaust denial, historic revisionism, applications of Holocaust imagery and terminology, trivialization, commemorative and educational efforts.
HIS 263 Directed Study in Holocaust Research (1-3 credits)
Prerequisite: Permission of Instructor
The student will engage in independent and original research in Holocaust History and implications. Topics could include those covered in HIS 261 or HIS 262 (consult course syllabi) or other topical areas. Topics(s) and research methods to be approved by the Instructor in consultation with the Dean of Academic Administration.
HIS 270 United States to 1865 (3 credits)
Prerequisite: None
This course covers American History from the voyages of discovery to 1865, including the Colonial period, the American Revolution, the westward expansion and Reconstruction.
HIS 275 Jewish History - Biblical Period (3 credits)
Prerequisite: None
This course covers the period from creation to the establishment of the Second Temple; it elaborates on the Five Books of Moses, the Prophets of Judaism and its chronicles. A collection of later historical commentaries on these earliest precursors to the nation of Israel and the Jewish people will also be surveyed.
HIS 280 Jewish History - Second Commonwealth (3 credits)
Prerequisite: None
This course covers the period from the establishment of the Second Temple to the completion of the Talmud; it elaborates on Jewish life in Judea and the Diaspora, and on development of the Talmud and Midrash.
HIS 290 Jewish History - Middle Ages (3 credits)
Prerequisite: None
This course covers the history of the Jewish people in the Near East and Europe from the fall of Rome to the expulsion from Spain. Topics include great Jewish personalities and literature; the Jews' relationships with populations in the countries they inhabited; and their role in the medieval economy.
HIS 300 Jews of Eastern Europe (3 credits)
Prerequisite: Junior/Senior Standing
Early history of the Jews in Poland. Topics include the Council of the Four Lands; the Chemielnitsky massacres and their aftermath; the growth of Chassidism; the Yeshivos of Eastern Europe; emancipation, Zionism, and Communism as movements in Eastern European Jewry.
HIS 340 Modern Israel (3 credits)
Prerequisite: Junior/Senior Standing or Permission from the Dean
Topics include aliyah to Eretz Israel in the last century and the history of the modern State of Israel. Emphasis is on political and social issues and foreign relations.
