Session III

Tuesday, June 26–Thursday, July 26, 2012

In honor of Independence Day, there will be no classes on Wednesday, July 4, 2012. Classes will meet instead on Monday, July 9, 2012.

Unless otherwise indicated, Session II and III courses are taught at the graduate level in English, using texts in the original (although translations are generally available), by JTS faculty. Each course earns 3 credits. Session II and III courses meet three days every week (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday), except for holidays.

All Session III courses are open to Summer Learners.

JTH/MED 5460: Kabbalists vs. Philosophers: Re-imagining Jews and Judaism in the Middle Ages
Hartley Lachter, Muhlenberg College; 10:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
Explore the complex relationship between Jewish philosophy and mysticism in the Middle Ages. Questions to be considered will include: What strategic purpose does the claim to esoteric knowledge serve in kabbalistic texts? How does this influence the kabbalists' negative perception of philosophy? What role does the threat of Christian anti-Jewish argumentation play in kabbalistic literature? Do kabbalistic texts evince an anxiety about the Jewish historical condition? How does this inform the kabbalistic notion of the theurgic impact of the performance of the commandments? Is Kabbalah a transformation or affirmation of rabbinic Judaism?

MID/BIB/ANC 5962: Creative Engagement: Judaism and Christianity in the First 5 Centuries
Burton L. Visotzky, 1:30–3:20 p.m.
Readings in the basic texts of Christianity (New Testament, selected Church Fathers) and rabbinic Judaism (Mishnah, Talmud, Midrashim), with focus on the interaction of the two religions. Close text readings on issues of biblical interpretation, polemic, and Verus Israel.

HIS/MJS 5165: Jews and New York City
Jessica Cooperman, Muhlenberg College; 3:30–5:20 p.m.
Explore the history of Jews in New York City from the colonial period to the present. Draw on both primary and secondary sources to consider the ways that Jewish culture and community have developed as part of the life of the city.

EDU/BIB 5133: Methods of Teaching Bible
Alex Sinclair, 4:30–6:20 p.m.
Students will study biblical texts, using recent scholarly insights into biblical history and focusing on Jewish ideas and values. Various methods of teaching Bible to children will be explored and students will have the opportunity to prepare and teach model lessons.

MJS/LIT 5737: Film and Israeli Culture
Miri Talmon-Bohm, Visiting Professor, JTS; 5:30–7:20 p.m.
Examine topics and processes in Israeli society and culture through contemporary Israeli cinema and some television "texts" and explore discourses of collective identity from various periods in cultural Israeli history. Describe changing representations of nationality, the linkage between gender and nationality in the cultural discourse, representations of ethnicity and immigration, negotiations of the Arab-Israeli conflict, as well as discourses of place and their linkage to changing perceptions of nationality, gender, and ethnicity in Israeli cinema and culture.

In The Courtyard