Jewish Women's Studies

Faculty

 Professor 
   Judith Hauptman, Talmud and Rabbinics

 Assistant Professors  
   Anne Lapidus Lerner, Jewish Literature, Program Director
   Shuly Rubin Schwartz, Jewish History 

 Adjunct Assistant Professor 
   Bruce E Nielsen, Ancient Jewish History

Program

Jewish Women's Studies is an interdisciplinary program designed to afford students the opportunity to focus on the history and culture of Jewish women. Students profile Jewish women's texts and experiences, which, until recently, had gone largely unexplored within Jewish scholarship.

Students in the program focus on one historical period while taking courses from among the many departments at The Graduate School. The Jewish Women's Studies program includes a feminist theory requirement and a yearlong women's studies seminar.

Students have the opportunity to study with a world-class faculty and enjoy the rich offerings of the largest program of Judaic Studies in North America. Students develop their critical linguistic and analytical skills for in-depth text study as well as the historical and cultural knowledge to understand their context. The Jewish Women’s Studies MA Program combines feminist and Jewish perspectives, and brings women’s scholarship and experience to bear in all areas of Judaica.

Degrees

Courses

2007-2008

JWS 3514Y Revisioning Biblical Characters: Biblical Characters in Modern Jewish Poetry
JWS 5136Y Perspectives on Gender and Education
JWS 5137X Gender and Religion in Israel
JWS 5171X Images of Women in Jewish Literature
JWS 5326XD Men and Women in Rabbinic Literature
JWS 5513X From Immigrant to Post-Holocaust Writings: American Jewish Literature
JWS 5530Y Men & Women in American Jewish Culture
JWS 5612X The Five Megillot and Jonah
JWS 5622X Jewish Self-Definition in the Modern Era
JWS 5827X The Book of First Kings
JWS 7210X Motherhood under Siege: Hebrew Literature and Ethnography
JWS 7326Y Men and Women in Rabbinic Literature