Undergraduate Program

Come to learn the language of the Hebrew Bible and of sleepless Tel Aviv nights! One of the oldest languages in the world, for several centuries Hebrew was used only as a literary tool until it was revived as a national Jewish language in the late 19th century. Today, Hebrew is the official language of Israel and is studied and spoken by Jews and non-Jews all around the world. Used in everyday life, songs, films, and on the Internet, Hebrew has never been so young!

This course is meant as an introduction to Modern Hebrew and its unique features. Emphasis will be placed on developing the skills necessary for reading, writing, and speaking. You will initially learn the alphabet, how to write and read in both the print and the cursive styles, the phonetics and correct pronunciation, and then basic vocabulary and grammar constructions. By the completion of your first semester of Hebrew, you will be able to perform a variety of communication tasks (such as, introducing yourself and others and providing personal information about provenance, place of residence, work, studies; ordering food, asking for directions, inquiring about the price, and more). The course will cover the textbook Hebrew from Scratch vol. 1 through Lesson 3, and will be supplemented by additional written, audio, and video materials in Hebrew.

NB: This course is intended for students with no previous instruction in the language and for those who have had some unsystematic exposure to it. Students from all backgrounds are welcome!  If you have had some previous exposure to Hebrew you may be eligible to take the continuing beginner level, HEB 102, that will be offered in the spring. Please contact the instructor for being administered a placement test; this will ensure that you are placed at the right level.

Location

(MW 11:50AM - 1:05PM)

Welcome to your second year of modern Hebrew! By completion of this first semester of Hebrew at the intermediate level, you will expand speech interaction in free and authentic informal Hebrew in a variety of everyday situations. Your understanding and use of grammar constructions (particularly of the verb system) will be enhanced and your vocabulary dramatically increased. You will also develop reading skills enabling you to approach texts written in a higher and more formal style than the one used in speaking and be able to effectively use a Hebrew-English-Hebrew dictionary. The course will finish covering the first volume of the textbook Hebrew from Scratch and start covering the second one. A continuation of HEB 103 (HEB 104 - Intermediate Hebrew II) will be offered in the spring.

NB: This course continues the introduction to modern Hebrew begun in Elementary Modern Hebrew I and II (HBRW 101-102). Students with some previous knowledge of Hebrew who seek to begin their Hebrew instruction at this level are required to take a placement test. The test is to be taken prior to registration or at the latest on the first day of classes.

Location

(MW 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

Examination of the texts of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament for Christians) in their religious, historical, and literary contexts. In this course, students will learn the history of the Ancient Israelite people from their origins down through the post-Exilic period. Study of the texts of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) enable us to explore what we can know about Ancient Israelite society and culture, the rise and fall of Israel as a nation-state, religious and theological debates about the role of God in shaping history and the problem of suffering, as well as the writing of the biblical texts and the development of the canon.

Location

(MWF 10:25AM - 11:15AM)

A proficiency-oriented class targeting the further development and alignment of all language skills in bilingual English-Hebrew students.

Location

(MW 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

From biblical times to the present, the visual arts have played, contrary to common opinion, a vital role in the making of Jewish civilization. Judaism has, indeed, a rich tradition of architectural, decorative, liturgical, and pictorial expression, and a history of discourse (and debate) on the role that art and iconography should play in religious life. This course explores the nature and function of the visual arts in Judaism from the standpoints of social and cultural history, and material culture. Through the discussion and contextualization of artifacts from ancient to modern and contemporary time (including ancient mosaics, liturgical objects, illuminated manuscripts, paintings and photography), it will interrogate the definition of Jewish art itself, the forms in which Jews over the century have reacted, as a minority, to surrounding artistic expressions, and the ways in which artists have integrated, reinterpreted, or grappled with aspects of Jewish culture in their works.

Location

(TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

This course will explore "Anti-Semitism" as a historical phenomenon and a rhetorical one from the end of the 18th Century until today, particularly in Germany. We also examine the specific discursive history of anti-Semitic tropes –– with a special focus on the figure of the "enemy of the state." We will engage with a variety of genres of texts (historical documents, legal texts, theoretical / historiographic texts, cultural objects, newspaper articles, fictional narratives, state propaganda) to think about the construction and political exploitation of tropes, and the different forms of state violence they explicitly or implicitly underwrite. Discussion and readings in English, but German minors and majors will have opportunities to work with German language primary materials.

Location

(WF 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

This course explores questions of social justice, representation, and political expression clustered around three major revolutionary moments in 20th century Germany: The German Revolution of 1918, the German Student Movement & German Women’s Movement of 1968, and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Oriented by a careful reading of Marx and Engel's Communist Manifesto, we will consider several revolutionary genres in art and literature (manifestos, essays, pamphlets, posters, political theater, and film). 1918, 1968 and 1989 are historical hinge points (a term I am borrowing from Matt Christman) that bring various emancipatory impulses into relief, and that find formal expression in the revolutionary (socialist, feminist, avant-garde, anti-authoritarian) works we will explore together. Students will also engage in an independent research project throughout the semester, culminating in a class conference. Readings and discussion in English, but if students of German would like to work on German language texts, these can be provided along with alternative assignments where German language practice and translation are included.

Location

(TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

This course provides undergraduate students the opportunity to pursue in-depth, independent exploration of a topic not regularly offered in the curriculum, under the supervision of a faculty member in the form of independent study, practicum, internship or research. The objectives and content are determined in consultation between students and full-time members of the teaching faculty. Responsibilities and expectations vary by course and department. Registration for Independent Study courses needs to be completed through the Internship Registration form ( https://secure1.rochester.edu/registrar/forms/internship-registration-form.php)

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)