Jewish Studies (JST) College of Letters & Science

JST 010 — Introduction to Jewish Cultures (4 units)

Course Description: Diverse Jewish cultures created over the past 2,000 years using examples from less-familiar communities such as India, China, and Ethiopia. Topics include the tensions between homeland/diaspora and questions of identity (race, nationality, culture, or religion).

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Term Paper 1 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

JST 101 — Topics in Jewish Thought (4 units)

Course Description: Selected themes in Jewish thought in historical and social perspective. Traces the historical development of topics in Jewish thought such as Messianism, or focuses on one specific historical period, such as modern Jewish thought.

Prerequisite(s): JST 010 or RST 023; or consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Extensive Writing.
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated when topic differs.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

JST 110 — Selected Topics in Jewish Literature (4 units)

Course Description: Literature written about the Jewish experience, treated in its historical and social context. Examines literature written in one language, such as English, Hebrew, or Yiddish, or a theme, such as gender or modern identities, as expressed in different literary traditions.

Prerequisite(s): One lower division literature or Jewish Studies (JST) course or consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Extensive Writing.
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated when topic differs.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

JST 111 — Israeli Writing Since 1960 (4 units)

Course Description: Contemporary Hebrew literature, in translation, in relation to post-independence debates about religious, social, and political identity of the Jewish state; literary reflections of Israeli ethnic diversity and changing gender relations; modern Hebrew poetry and postmodern experiments in fiction.

Prerequisite(s): One course in American or European literature.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Lab 3 hour(s), Extensive Writing 1 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): No credit will be given to students who have completed HUM 119.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

JST 112 — Readings in Jewish Writing & Thought in German Culture (4 units)

Course Description: Historical tradition of Jewish thought in the German cultural context; unique contributions of Jewish writers to culture of the German speaking world; what it means to be "other" in the mainstream culture.

Prerequisite(s): RST 023; or consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper 1 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): No credit will be given to students who have completed HUM 121.
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated 2 time(s) when topic differs.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

JST 116 — Readings in Jewish Writing & Thought in German Culture (4 units)

Course Description: Historical tradition of Jewish thought in the German cultural context; unique contributions of Jewish writers to culture of the German speaking world; what it means to be "other" in the mainstream culture.

Prerequisite(s): RST 023; or consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Credit Limitation(s): No credit will be given to students who have completed HUM 121.
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated 2 time(s) when topic differs.
  • Cross Listing: GER 116.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Oral Skills (OL); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).

JST 120 — Cinema & the American Jewish Experience (4 units)

Course Description: Examination of American cinema to reveal how Jewish identity is expressed and submerged, tracing the relations between religion, identity, race, politics, and art.

Prerequisite(s): JST 010 recommended.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Film Viewing 3 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have completed HUM 122.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Writing Experience (WE).

JST 121 — Oral History & Jewish Life (4 units)

Course Description: Oral history methodologies and application to an in-depth oral history interview about Jewish life. Topics include oral history practices and ethics, immigration, migration, religious practice, ethnic relations, and community organization structures.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper 1 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): No credit given to students who have completed HUM 123.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).