Sample Syllabi

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Making Scripture Holy

This class addresses the fundamental questions of what makes something Scripture and what makes Scripture holy.  We will explore these topics from a number of different perspectives, looking at the relationship between sacred texts and communities particularly from within Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions.  Beginning with issues ranging from the possibility of changing the wording of scripture to the materiality of sacred works, the first half of the semester will lay the groundwork for thinking about how we construct the category of Scripture.  The second half of the course will build upon these ideas by looking at the ways in which Scripture is interpreted and applied in and between religious communities.

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Ancient Jewish History

A history of the Jews and Judaism in antiquity from Cyrus the Great (539 BCE) to the Muslim conquest (7th cen. CE). This course focuses on the varieties of Judaism in antiquity and the emergence of rabbinic Judaism. Special emphasis is on Hellenization, sectarianism and the crisis precipitated by the destruction of the Jerusalem temple.

Magic, Demons, and Judaism

Judaism is often thought of as a rational religion devoid of, and opposed to, superstition and the occult.  However, throughout Jewish history we find numerous examples of amulets, exorcism, augury, and other magical phenomena typically considered taboo.  In this course we examine a wide range of texts and artifacts from the bible through the middle ages which reveal how Jews positively perceived and interacted with magical practices and the presence of demons.  Drawing upon some of the greatest hits of sociological and anthropological thinkers relevant for the academic study of religion, the first half of this course also introduces students to a variety of scholarly approaches to understanding magic and its relationship to religion and society.  All sources will be in English.

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Approaches to Talmud

In this course we will examine several key legal passages (sugyot) in the Babylonian Talmud from both a traditional and an academic perspective. After identifying important tensions and inconsistencies in each text, we will consider the disparate solutions posed by the early medieval rabbis (Rishonim) and contemporary scholars, and compare their respective approaches. Through these in-depth readings we will highlight how modern assumptions and goals for Talmud study differ from earlier generations and how contemporary approaches allow us to uncover new structures and meanings in the text. Attention will be paid to the comprehension of Aramaic lexical and grammatical forms.  Open to students with prior experience studying the Babylonian Talmud in the original.