The 2024-2025 course offerings applicable to a Specialist, Major, or Minor degree in Jewish Studies will be posted on the webpage below! Visit the Faculty of Arts and Science Course Timetable to see all course offerings for the 2024-2025 academic year.
The ATCJS has published our 
2024-2025 ATCJS Undergraduate Course Handbook!
Course offerings vary each year, especially for Special Topics Courses. Visit the course archives to see previous editions of the Undergraduate Handbook and to get a better idea of what has been offered in the past, and how you might build your program.
See more details regarding enrolment instructions.
ATTENTION STUDENTS: If you are planning to enrol in CJS444H1-S "Topics in the Stud of Antisemitism", you MUST fill out THIS MICROSOFT FORM to request registration. The course is only open to specific groups during the priority period. See the course listing below for more details.
CJS Courses for 2024/25
CJS200H1 F: Introduction to Jewish Thought
Fall Semester, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Instructors: Sol Goldberg and Michael Rosenthal
It is hard to be a Jew, but the difficulties make for interesting questions. Does God exist? How is God revealed to Moses at Sinai and to the prophets? Are there such things as miracles? Are we free to follow what God commands? What is the nature of faith? If God is good, then why do bad things happen to innocent people? Is faith possible after the Holocaust? What is the role of Israel in modern Jewish life? Who belongs to the Jewish community? How do Jews address inequality and discrimination? How do Jews understand a good and meaningful life? Professors Goldberg and Rosenthal invite students to join them in debating the answers to these questions and others.
Breadth Requirement: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)
CJS201H1 S: Introduction to Jewish Cultures
Spring Semester, Fridays 12:00 - 2:00 pm
Instructors: Team taught by ATCJS Instructors (led by Yigal Nizri)
General introduction to history, literatures and cultures of Jewish people from antiquity to contemporary. A balanced presentation of multi-disciplinary approaches and multi-methodological approaches to Jewish studies, with a special emphasis on Jewish cultural studies and Jewish secularity.
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
CJS290H1 S: Topics in Jewish Studies "Zionism, Anti-Zionism, and Post-Zionism"
Spring Semester, Mondays 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Instructor: Sol Goldberg
Zionism emerged in late nineteenth century Europe (alongside other species of Jewish nationalisms) with a radical proposal to change not only Jews’ social and cultural conditions as an ethno-religious minority, but also their basic self-conception. This proposal, at once a renewal and a repudiation of Jewish tradition, has been debated by Jews inside and outside the movement ever since. Internally, political Zionists, cultural Zionists, religious Zionists, liberal Zionists, revolutionary Zionists, etc. disagreed among themselves about the movements’ ideals and goals as well as about the proper means to their realization, while, externally, ultraorthodox Jews, Reform Jews, and assimilationist Jews all had their reasons to oppose Zionism in general.
In the wake of the Holocaust, most of the world’s remaining Jews acknowledged Zionism’s necessity and took pride in its incredible success in establishing Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. Yet, even then, debates about Zionism’s purposes and principles persisted among Jews both within and beyond the new state’s borders. Recent years have witnessed a dramatic intensification of these debates, as Jewish communities around the world find themselves fractured into Zionist, anti-Zionist, and post-Zionist camps that offer competing narratives and assessments about the past 150 years of Jewish history.
What might Jews mean today when they identify as Zionist, anti-Zionist, or post-Zionist? What reasons do they give to themselves and to other Jews to justify these identities? How do other Jews respond to Jewish identities that contradict their own? This course takes up these questions in an effort to help students understand better these live and heated debates among Zionists, anti-Zionists, and Post-Zionists about Jews’ identity, flourishing, and future.
CJS330H1 F: Who's a Jew? Myth, Theory, and Practice
Fall Semester, Wednesday 2 pm - 4 pm
Instructor: Sol Goldberg
This course introduces students to the host of core concepts in terms of which Jewish identity has been and continues to be defined and debated. Topics include: the difference between insiders and outsiders; collective vs individual identity; the nature of the bond between group members; identification across time, space, and disagreements; social and gendered hierarchies; joining and leaving the group; the identities of outsiders.
CJS200H1 or CJS201H1
Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)
CJS383H1 S: Jews and Power (cross-listed with POL378H1-S)
Spring Semester, Tuesdays 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Instructor: Olga Talal
The rich human fabric comprising contemporary Israeli society is divided along multiple identity-based lines. It is divided nationally (between Jews and Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel), religiously (between religious and secular Jews, Muslims and Christians), and ethnically (between Ashkenazi and Mizrahi Jews). Other salient identity markers separate new immigrants from the older ones and city dwellers from residents of peripheral areas - within state borders and outside them, located in Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. In this course, students will learn about the complex web of cross-cutting identities within Israeli society and how these identities are (re)shaped by power. We will pay special attention to the interrelations of political power, identity politics, and public policy in Israel.
Prerequisite: POL101Y1 or CJS200H1 or CJS201H1
Exclusion: POL383H1
Breadth Requirements: Society and its Institutions (3)
CJS390H1 F: Special Topics in Jewish Studies “Religion and Religiosity in Israel/Palestine” (cross-listed with RLG338H1)
Fall Semester, Thursdays 5:00pm - 7:00 pm
Instructor: Yigal Nizri
Focusing on present-day Israel/Palestine, this interdisciplinary course is intended for students interested in exploring a wide range of theoretical questions and examining their applicability to the study of sites, texts, rituals, and politics in the region. We will address the history of the land's consecration from Jewish, Christian, and Muslim perspectives. Students will analyze specific sites associated with religious congregations and ritual practices, and study them within their local and regional contexts. Looking at the complex relationships between religious-political movements and institutions within Jewish and Muslim societies, we will delve into various attempts to secularize (and theologize) Jewish and Palestinian communities and their discontents. Rather than providing the typical emphasis on conflict, the course is a journey into the history and present of the land and its diverse communities.
Prerequisite: Completion of at least 4.0 credits.
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)
CJS391H1F: Special Topics in Jewish Studies "Soviet Jewish History, Culture, and Diaspora"
Fall Semester, Thursdays 1:00pm - 3:00 pm
Instructor: Anna Shternshis
The course examines history, culture and diaspora of Russian-speaking Jews in the 20th and 21st century. We will discuss how Jews experienced Russian Revolutions of 1917, Stalinism, Soviet Great Terror of 1937, World War II and the Holocaust, post-war challenges, the “Thaw” of the 1960s, “Stagnation of the 1980s”, Dissident movement, Perestroika, collapse of the Soviet Union and the development of post-Soviet diasporas. We will read works by both Soviet Jewish authors, including Vassily Grossman, Shira Gorshman, Isaac Babel, Rivka Levin and post-Soviet ones, such as David Bezmozgis, Lara Vapnyar and Boris Fishman, study artifacts of anti-religious propaganda such as Red Passover Celebration scripts, discuss oral histories of Soviet Jews, read scripts of Yiddish theater performances (in English translation), and scrutinize (and maybe even try) recipes of Soviet Jewish food. No prior knowledge is required, but if you took a course on European history or Jewish history, it will be an asset.
CJS391H1 S: Special Topics in Jewish Studies “Becoming Israel: War, Peace, and the Politics of Israel's Identity" (cross-listed with POL377H1)
Spring Semester, Mondays 9:00am - 11:00 am
Instructor: Olga Talal
This course will focus on Israel's balancing act between two competing objectives, one seeking to fulfill the Zionist vision and entrench "Jewishness" within the state and the other seeking to establish democratic institutions and procedures. Since independence, Israel's official ideology, Zionism, has been shaping the state's economic, political, demographic, and security policies, designed to advance the interests of the Jewish population in Israel. The Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel fall outside the sociological boundaries of the Jewish nation and present a challenge to nation-building. At the same time, Israel's commitment to democratic principles and procedures entails guaranteeing the rights and freedoms of Palestinian Arab citizens. In this course, students will explore the most salient manifestations of the tensions between Israel's commitment to democracy and Zionism, familiarize themselves with the debates about Israel's political regime, institutions, and society, and develop their positions on these divisive debates.
Prerequisite: Completion of at least 4.0 credits.
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)
CJS392H1 F: Special Topics in Jewish Studies: "Women in 20th Century Jewish Philosophy"
Fall Semester, Tuesdays 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Instructor: Caroyln Beard
This class seeks to expand our understanding of the canon of twentieth century Jewish philosophy by studying major movements in the field through the work and writings of women philosophers. In this course, students will read and critically reflect on the writings of twentieth century Jewish women philosophers that address not only issues of gender, but also major questions in twentieth century Jewish thought, including tradition and observance, faith and revelation, and the problem of evil. Students will read thinkers including Emma Goldman, Rosa Luxemburg, Regina Jonas, Edith Stein, Simone Weil, Margarete Susman, Hannah Arendt, and Judith Butler. Students will leave the class with greater familiarity with major thinkers and deeper understanding of major issues in twentieth century Jewish thought.
CJS392H1 S: Special Topics in Jewish Studies: "A Literature is Born: Exploring the Evolution of Modern Yiddish and Hebrew Literature"
Spring Semester, Tuesdays 5:00 - 7:00 pm
Instructor: Miriam Schwartz
Though often studied separately, modern Hebrew and Yiddish literature were "born" at the same time and place. This course will trace their joint development from their emergence (since 1816!) to the present day. Through the course readings we will ask how Yiddish and Hebrew literary circles intersect and engage with each other over time? We will critically explore and challenge fundamental narratives and assumptions about Hebrew and Yiddish literature, examining the nuanced relationships between language, place, and culture. Asking what is the role of languages in shaping one's identity? And what is the role of literature in forming and negotiating national and cultural identities? All reading materials will be provided in English translations.
CJS444H1 S: Topics in the Study of Antisemitism
Spring Semester, Thursdays 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Instructor: Ron Levi and Sol Goldberg
This seminar explores in depth one of the many theoretical or methodological issues that confront scholars of antisemitism. Possible topics include: definitions of antisemitism and their purposes; philosemitism and its conceptual and real connection with antisemitism; Jewish self-hatred; contextualist vs eternalist accounts of antisemitism; classic and contemporary theories of antisemitism.
****This course is only open to the following students:
Priority period:
• Jewish Studies majors, minors, and specialists in their 4th year of study
• Peace, Conflict, and Justice majors and specialists in their 4th year of study
• European Affairs majors and minors in their 4th year of study
After priority period:
• Jewish Studies majors, minors, and specialists in their 3rd year of study
• Peace, Conflict, and Justice majors and specialists in their 3rd year of study
• European Affairs majors and minors in their 3rd year of study
To enrol in this course, you must submit THIS FORM once your course enrolment period opens.
2024-2025 Courses counting towards a Jewish Studies program from affiliated departments
Below are the course offerings for the 2024-2025 academic year.
ANT426H1S Western Views of the Non-West
Spring, Semester, Wednesday 1 pm - 3 pm
Instructor: Ivan Kalmar
The history and present of western concepts and images about the ‘Other’, in anthropological and other scholarship and in popular culture.
Prerequisite: 0.5 credit at the 300-level from Anthropology Group C: Society, Culture, and Language, or Near and Middle Eastern Civilization or Jewish Studies or Diaspora and Transnational Studies or History
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representation(1)
DTS200Y1
Full Year, Wednesday 10 am - 12 pm
Instructor: Anna Shternshis and Andrea Allen
What is the relationship between place and belonging, between territory and memory? How have the experiences of migration and dislocation challenged the modern assumption that the nation-state should be the limit of identification? What effect has the emergence of new media of communication had upon the coherence of cultural and political boundaries? All of these questions and many more form part of the subject matter of Diaspora and Transnational Studies. This introductory course ex-amines the historical and contemporary movements of peoples and the complex issues of identity and experience to which these processes give rise as well as the creative possibilities that flow from movement and being moved. The area of study is comparative and interdisciplinary, drawing from the social sciences, history, the arts and humanities. Accordingly, this course provides the background to the subject area from diverse perspectives and introduces students to a range of key debates in the field, with particular attention to questions of history, globalization, cultural production and the creative imagination.
Exclusion: DTS201H1, DTS202H1
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1) + Society and its Institutions (3)
DTS300H1S Qualitative and Quantitative Reasoning
Spring Semester, Tuesday 10 am - 12 pm
Instructor: A. González Jiménez
Focuses on research design and training in methods from history, geography, anthropology, literary and cultural studies, and other disciplines appropriate to Diaspora and Transnational Studies. Prepares students to undertake primary research required in senior seminars.
Prerequisite: Completion of 9.0 credits
Breadth Requirement: The Physical and Mathematical Universes (5)
There are no Jewish Studies courses offered by the European Studies Program in 2024-25.
There are no Jewish Studies courses offered by the Department for English in 2024-25.
GER260Y1Y Elementary Yiddish
Full Year, Monday 10 am - 12 pm and Wednesday 10 am - 11 am
Instructor: TBA
This course introduces Yiddish language, literature, music, theatre, and cinema through interactive multi-media seminars, designed to build proficiency in reading, writing and comprehending. No prior knowledge of Yiddish is required.
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
GER275H1F Marx, Nietzsche, Freud
Fall Semester, Wednesday 3 pm - 5 pm
Instructor: TBA
This is an introductory course to the thought of Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Sigmund Freud and their pioneering contributions to the understanding of the individual and society in modernity. Readings include selections from writings of the early Marx, the Communist Manifesto, and Capital, Nietzsche's critique of culture, academe, and nationalism, and Freud's theory of culture, his views on the psychopathology of everyday life, on the meaning of dreams, symptoms, the return of the repressed, and what it might mean to live in a free society.
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
GER360H1F Intermediate Yiddish
Fall Semester, Tuesday 10 am - 12 pm and Thursday 10 am - 11 am
Instructor: TBA
The course conducted in Yiddish offers a review of basic grammar, stylistics, study of short literary texts.
Exclusion: GER463Y1
Prerequisite: GER260Y1
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
GER361H1F Yiddish Literature in Translation (E)
Fall Semester, Thursday 10 am - 12 pm
Instructor: TBA
An overview of the major figures and tendencies in modern Yiddish literature and culture from the beginning of the 19th century to the present. Readings (in English) of modern Yiddish prose, poetry, drama and cinema.
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
GER460H1S - Advanced Yiddish
Spring Semester, Tuesday 2 pm - 5 pm
Instructor: TBA
This course conducted entirely in Yiddish focuses on advanced reading, writing, vocabulary and conversation, the study of poetry, short fiction, and memoir literature by leading authors. Selected advanced grammatical topics are presented in conjunction with the study of texts.
Exclusion: GER462H1
Prerequisite: GER360H1
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
HIS196H1S Religion and Violence
Spring Semester, Tuesday 11 am - 1 pm
Instructor: Doris Bergen
This seminar explores the roles of religion in extreme violence. Working backward from the 1990s (Rwanda, Yugoslavia), we will consider cases including Guatemala, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Holocaust, Armenians, German Southwest Africa, and genocide of Indigenous peoples in North America. Students will produce a final project based on original research. Restricted to first-year students. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)
HIS208Y1Y History of the Jewish People
Full Year, Wednesday 1 - 3 pm
Instructor: Alan Verskin
An introduction to the history of the Jews throughout the world over the past two thousand years.
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)
HIS242H1F Europe in the 20th Century
Fall Semester, Tuesday 11 am - 1 pm
Instructor: TBA
The evolution of European politics, culture, and society from 1914: the two world wars, Fascism and Nazism, the post-1945 reconstruction and the movement towards European integration.
Exclusion: EUR200Y1/EUR200Y5/FGI200Y5/HIS242H5/HISB94H3
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)
HIS247H1S The Second World War: A Global History
Spring Semester, Monday 11 am - 1 pm
Instructor: Timothy Sayle
This course offers an introduction to the global history of the Second World War. It aims to expose students to historiographical debates regarding the war, the use of primary sources, and the scholarly and intellectual challenges that come with studying an event of this magnitude and horror. In general, students will examine the origins and causes of the conflict, survey the factors that shaped the course of the war, and consider how and why the fighting came to an end when it did. These broad approaches will be supplemented with consideration of specific examples from around the world.
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)
HIS304H1S Topics in Middle East Histories: French Colonialism and the Jews
Spring Semester, Monday 11 am - 1 pm
Instructor: TBA
This course examines the place of Jews—politically, socially, and conceptually—within both metropolitan France and its Middle Eastern and North African colonies in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In an era of liberalism and emancipation at home, the conquest of foreign lands and rule over their diverse peoples raised new questions around minority status and civil and political rights abroad. Jews, as a minority group native both to France and several of its colonies, present a unique case study of for the ways these questions were answered. Readings will include both primary sources and historical scholarship on topics including civil and political emancipation, national belonging, the “civilizing mission,” philanthropy, and antisemitism. Special focus will be paid to French Algeria, at once the only overseas territory in which most Jews attained French citizenship and a central node of Francophone antisemitism.
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)
HIS317H1S 20th Century Germany
Spring Semester, Thursday 1-4 pm
Instructor: Jennifer Jenkins
A survey of modern German history in the twentieth century. Topics include World War I and the postwar settlement, the Weimar Republic, the National Socialist dictatorship, the Holocaust, the division of Germany, the Cold War, German reunification, Germany and the European Union, nationalism, political culture, war and revolution, religious and ethnic minorities and questions of history and memory.
Prerequisite: HIS103Y1/HIS109Y1/(HIS241H1, HIS242H1)/EUR200Y1
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)
HIS338H1F The Holocaust, to 1942
Fall Semester, Friday 10 am - 12 pm
Instructor: Doris Bergen
German state policy towards the Jews in the context of racist ideology, bureaucratic structures, and varying conditions in German-occupied Europe. Second Term considers responses of Jews, European populations and governments, the Allies, churches, and political movements.
Exclusion: HIS388Y1/HIS398Y1/HIS338H5
Prerequisite: Completion of 6.0 FCE.
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)
HIS351H1S The Soviet Union and After
Spring Semester, Tuesday 5 -7 pm
Instructor: TBA
A survey of the history of Twentieth-Century Russia, from the collapse of the Russian Empire and the establishment of the Soviet Union through to the end of the Cold War and the establishment of a new Russian Federation. The social, economic, and political developments of the era are emphasized.
Exclusion: HIS351Y1/ HIS351H5
Prerequisite: HIS250Y1
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)
HIS354H1 Jews of Arab Lands: From the Prophet Muhammad to European Colonialism
Fall Semester, Tuesday 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Instructor: Verskin, Alan
This course introduces the Jewish communities of Arab lands by examining their social, cultural, and political experiences from the Arab conquests to European colonialism. We will examine the sometimes “symbiotic” relationship that existed between Jews and Muslims as well as the factors that threatened it by considering both the history of everyday life and of high culture. Many of Judaism’s formative institutions and literary works were developed in the Middle East and we will explore how they developed in dialogue with Islamic culture. Finally, we will study the impact of Western colonialism and nineteenth-century encounters between “Western” and “Eastern” Jews.
Pre-requisites: 4.0 credits
Breadth Requirement: Society and Its Institutions (3)
HIS361H1S The Holocaust, from 1942
Spring Semester, Friday 10 am - 12 pm
Instructor: Doris Bergen
Follows on HIS338H1. Themes include: resistance by Jews and non-Jews; local collaboration; the roles of European governments, the Allies, the churches, and other international organizations; the varieties of Jewish responses. We will also focus on postwar repercussions of the Holocaust in areas such as justice, memory and memorialization, popular culture and politics.
Exclusion: HIS338Y1/HIS361H5
Prerequisite: Completion of 6.0 credits and HIS338H1
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)
HIS364H1F From Revolution to Revolution: Hungary Since 1848
Fall Semester, Wednesday 9 - 11 am
Instructor: Robert Austin
This course offers a chronological survey of the history of Hungary from the 1848 revolution until the present. It is ideal for students with little or no knowledge of Hungarian history but who possess an understanding of the main trends of European history in the 19th and 20th centuries. The focus is on the revolutions of 1848-1849, 1918-1919, the 1956 Revolution against Soviet rule and the collapse of communism in 1989. The story has not been invariably heroic, violent and tragic.
Prerequisite: A 100 level HIS course
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)
HIS402H1S Sephardim: The Jews of Spain and their Diasporas
Spring Semester, Tuesday 1 pm - 3 pm
Instructor: Alan Verskin
This course follows the journey of Sephardic Jews from their beginnings in Iberia to their diasporas in the Ottoman Empire and the New World. We begin by studying Jewish life and culture in Iberia itself. We then study the expulsion from Spain and Portugal and how Sephardic Jews managed to reconstruct their communities and maintain their identity in new lands until the Nineteenth Century. Themes discussed include mysticism and messianism, conversos and heresy, and trade and exploration. We will conclude by looking at how Sephardic Jews shaped ideas of modernity that were distinct from those of their Ashkenazi coreligionists.
Prerequisite: 9.0 credits including 1.0 HIS/ JHA/ JHM/ JHN/ JIH/ JSH credit HIS317H1/HIS330H1 or permission of the instructor
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)
NMC104H1F The Biblical World
Fall Semester, Wednesday 3 pm - 4 pm
Instructor: Robert Holmstedt
Examine the history, lands, peoples, religions, literatures and cultures that produced the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. Topics to be covered include an overview of the geography and history of Ancient Israel and Judea, the role of the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek languages, the literary genres reflected in biblical and some contemporary non-biblical texts, and the scholarly methods by which the Bible is studied.
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)
NMC252H1S Hebrew Bible
Spring Semester, Wednesday 3 - 5 pm (ONLINE)
Instructor: Robert Holmstedt
An introduction to the critical study of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and the related literature of ancient Jewish communities (Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Dead Sea Scrolls). English translations used; no knowledge of Hebrew is required.
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
NMC284H1F Judaism and Feminism: Legal Issues from Menstruation to Ordination
Fall Semester, Thursday 11 am - 1 pm
Instructor: TBA
Agitation for change exists in religious practice worldwide in areas of access, status, inclusion, and egalitarianism. Traditional religion is often in conflict with egalitarian modernity. This sometimes results in difficulties with religious identification. This course will explore the interaction between feminism and Judaism. We will examine how Jewish law (halakhah) sometimes conflicts with ideas of egalitarianism particularly in legal disabilities for women such as divorce, lack of access to high-level Torah study, and discrimination in public religious roles. The traditional exemption of women from the obligation of Torah study had great impact on women’s religious responsibility and status. Various movements within Judaism competed in efforts to resolve these difficulties. In this course we will consider to what extent inclusion and egalitarianism have become complementary to traditional Judaism.
Breadth Requirement: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)
NMC331H1F Samson: Lover, Liar, lion-slayer
Fall Semester, Friday 1 pm - 3 pm
Instrucrtor: Jeremy Schipper
For many people, King David is one of the most beloved characters in the Bible. But where did our ideas about David come from? Was he a brilliant poet who wrote many of the Psalms, a youthful champion who defeated the giant Goliath or as a ruthless monarch capable of killing his political opponents? This course will explore attempts to reconstruct the historical David from various biblical texts, comparable ancient literature, and what historians know (and don’t know) about the time in which his story is set. All readings will be in English. No knowledge of Hebrew is required.
Prerequisite: 4.0 credits at the 200-level
Breadth Requirement: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)
NMC450H1S Research Seminar on Ancient Jewish Literature
Spring Semester, Wednesday 12 pm - 3 pm
Instrucrtor: Robert Holmstedt
A seminar focusing on the critical analysis of the Hebrew Bible and related ancient Jewish texts. Literary genre and critical topics will vary according to instructor’s research interests. Focus will be given to developing research skills by working with accepted critical methodologies. Not eligible for CR/NCR option
Pre-requisites: Permission of the instructor
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representation (1)
NML155H1F Elementary Modern Hebrew I
Fall Semester, Monday, Wednesday 11 am - 1 pm
Instructor: Yigal Nizri
See MHB155H1 in Religion.
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representation(1)
NML156H1S Elementary Modern Hebrew II
Spring Semester, Monday and Wednesday 11 am - 1 pm
Instructor: Yigal Nizri
See MHB156H1 in Religion.
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representation(1)
NML250Y1Y Introductory Biblical Hebrew
Full Year, Tuesday and Thursday, 11 am - 1pm
Instructor: Laura Hare
An introduction to biblical Hebrew prose. Grammar and selected texts. For students with no previous knowledge of Hebrew.
Exclusion: Those who have completed Grade 8 Hebrew (or Grade 6 in Israel)
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
NML255H1F Intermediate Modern Hebrew I
Fall Semester, Monday and Wednesday 3 pm - 5 pm
Instructor: Yigal Nizri
Intensive study of written and spoken Hebrew.
Exclusion: Those who have completed Grade 8 Hebrew (or Ulpan level 2 in Israel), MHB255H1
Prerequisite: MHB156H1/ NML156H1
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representation (1)
NML256H1S Intermediate Modern Hebrew II
Spring Semester, Monday and Wednesday 3 pm - 5 pm
Instructor: Yigal Nizri
Continued intensive study of written and spoken Hebrew.
Exclusion: Those who have completed Grade 8 Hebrew (or Ulpan level 2 in Israel), MHB256H1
Prerequisite: NML255H1/ MHB255H1
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representation (1)
NML350H1F Intermediate Biblical Hebrew I
Monday, Wednesday 11 am - 1 pm
Instructor: Laura Hare
A continuation of the study of ancient Hebrew grammar and texts. Focus is given to covering a wide variety of genres, e.g., narrative, chronicle, genealogy, oracle, prayer, hymn, and proverb.
Prerequisite: NML250Y1
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
NML351H1S Intermediate Biblical Hebrew II
Monday, Wednesday 11 am - 1 pm
Instructor: TBA
A continuation of the study of ancient Hebrew grammar and texts. Focus is given to covering a wide variety of genres, e.g., narrative, chronicle, genealogy, oracle, prayer, hymn, and proverb.
Prerequisite: NML350H1
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
NML355H1F - Advanced Modern Hebrew I
Monday, Wednesday 6 - 8 pm
Instructor: Yigal Nizri
Advanced intensive study of written and spoken Hebrew.
Exclusion: OAC Hebrew, MHB355H1
Prerequisite: MHB256H1/ NML256H1
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
Fall Semester, Tuesday and Thursday 12 - 1:30 pm
Instructor: Michael Rosenthal
A selection of texts and issues in Jewish philosophy, for example, Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed, Buber's The Prophetic Faith, prophecy and revelation, Divine Command and morality, creation and eternity, the historical dimension of Jewish thought.
Prerequisite: 7.5 FCE (in any field) with at least 1.5 in philosophy
POL377H1S Topics in Comparative Politics I: Becoming Israel: War, Peace and the Politics of Israel's Identity
Spring Semester, Monday 9 am - 11 am
Instructor: Olga Talal
This course will focus on Israel's balancing act between two competing objectives, one seeking to fulfill the Zionist vision and entrench "Jewishness" within the state and the other seeking to establish democratic institutions and procedures. Since independence, Israel's official ideology, Zionism, has been shaping the state's economic, political, demographic, and security policies, designed to advance the interests of the Jewish population in Israel. The Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel fall outside the sociological boundaries of the Jewish nation and present a challenge to nation-building. At the same time, Israel's commitment to democratic principles and procedures entails guaranteeing the rights and freedoms of Palestinian Arab citizens. In this course, students will explore the most salient manifestations of the tensions between Israel's commitment to democracy and Zionism, familiarize themselves with the debates about Israel's political regime, institutions, and society, and develop their positions on these divisive debates.
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)
POL378H1F Topics in Comparative Politics II: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Fall Semester, Tuesday 5 - 7 pm
Instructor: Oded Oron
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most intractable and multifaceted protracted conflicts in modern times with flare-ups of violence between its various actors continuing to claim lives and to threaten wider war. This course will survey the main political junctions in the conflict and will connect them to their reincarnations in contemporary times. We will study all of this, exploring the conflict’s many layers and relating it to broader International Relations and sociological concepts from the emergence of the conflict’s political fault lines during Ottoman times through the establishment of a Jewish state and its continued modern-day development. The course will include cultural products relating to both societies, including movies, clips, songs and forms of art and cultural representations.
Prerequisites: 1.0 credit in POL/ JPA/ JPF/ JPI/ JPR/ JPS/ JRA courses
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)
POL378H1S Topics in Comparative Politics II: Jews and Power
Spring Semester, Tuesday 11 am - 1 pm
Instructor: Olga Talal
The rich human fabric comprising contemporary Israeli society is divided along multiple identity-based lines. It is divided nationally (between Jews and Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel), religiously (between religious and secular Jews, Muslims and Christians), and ethnically (between Ashkenazi and Mizrahi Jews). Other salient identity markers separate new immigrants from the older ones and city dwellers from residents of peripheral areas - within state borders and outside them, located in Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. In this course, students will learn about the complex web of cross-cutting identities within Israeli society and how these identities are (re)shaped by power. We will pay special attention to the interrelations of political power, identity politics, and public policy in Israel.
Prerequisite: 1.0 credit in POL/ JPA/ JPF/ JPI/ JPR/ JPS/ JRA courses
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)
POL485H1S Topics in Political Thought II: Spinoza and the Invention of Liberal Democracy
Spring Semester, Tuesday 4 pm - 6:30 pm
Instructor: Clifford Orwin
In keeping with the Department’s current focus on liberal democracy, we will read the works of its theoretical founder, Spinoza. We will focus on his Theologico-Political Treatise and consider why his invention of liberal democracy was inseparable from his founding of modern Biblical criticism.
Prerequisite: POL200Y1/ or POL200Y5 or (POLC70H3 & POLC71H3)
Breadth Requirement: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)
RLG107H1S “It's the End of the World as We Know It”
Spring Semester, Friday 1 pm - 3 pm
Instructor: TBA
Throughout history, many religious movements have envisioned the end of the world. This course will explore the ways in which different religious movements have prepared for and expected an end time, from fears, symbols, and rituals to failed prophecies and social violence. By examining traditions such as Jewish and Christian apocalyptic texts through to fears of nuclear apocalypse and zombies, the course seeks to understand the ways in which ancient and modern claims of “the end” reflect the aspirations, anxieties, and religious concerns of communities.
Breadth Requirement: Thought, Belief, and Behaviour (2)
RLG202H1F Judaism
Fall Semester, Monday and Wednesday 1 pm - 2 pm
Instructor: Robert Gibbs
An introduction to the religious tradition of the Jews that explores key themes as they change from ancient times to today. The set of themes will include: the Sabbath, Study, Place, Household, Power. Each year will focus on one theme. We will read holy texts, modern literature, history, ethnography, and philosophy, covering each theme in a range of genres and across the diverse span of Jewish experience.
Exclusion: RLG202H5, RLG202Y1
Breadth Requirement: Thought, Belief, and Behaviour (2)
RLG231H1F Music and Religion: From Bach to Leonard Cohen
Fall Semester, Monday 5 pm - 7 PM
Instructor: Ronald Charles
What is music to religion? This course is an exploration of religion and music from a global perspective. ‘World’ music will be placed in comparative frameworks with various ‘world’ religions in order to understand how music has been and continue to be at the core of religious narratives, rituals, beliefs, and cultural performances
Breadth Requirement: Thought, Belief, and Behaviour (2)
RLG313H1S Love, Sex, Family
Spring Semester, Thursday 3 pm - 5 pm
Instructor: Christina Pasqua
This course equips students to understand the religious roots of modern formations of gender, sexuality, and kinship, focusing in particular on Judaism, Christianity, and New Religious Movements. Topics we will cover include: the transformation of traditional religious structures into the modern “religion of romantic love,” the reshaping of religious practices within the modern nuclear family and its gendered division of labour, the persistent religious entanglements within not only normative but also queer and transgressive gender performances and kinship structures, the political asymmetries within which different religious modernities emerge, and the role of literature in preserving religious enchantment in modernity
Pre-requisites: Completion of 4.0 credits
Breadth Requirement: Society and Its Institutions (3)
RLG321H1F Women and the Hebrew Bible
Fall Semester, Wednesday 9 am - 11 am
Instructor: Nyasha Junior
This course provides a critical examination of the Hebrew Bible (sometimes called the Old Testament) with an emphasis on women characters. It examines the historical and literary contexts of Hebrew Bible texts and engages diverse methods of contemporary biblical scholarship with particular attention to issues of gender. All readings will be in English. No knowledge of Hebrew is required.
Prerequisite: Completion of 4.0 credits
Breadth Requirement: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)
RLG325H1F The Uses and Abuses of the Bible
Fall Semester, Wednesday 5 pm - 7 pm
Instructor: Ronald Charles
From politics to popular culture, the Bible has shaped people and nations for good and for ill. This course introduces the Jewish and Christian Bibles and considers case studies of how biblical texts have been interpreted. The Bible has been used to bolster slavery and white supremacy and to inspire political liberation movements. It has been used to justify annihilation of Indigenous people by Christian colonists yet given hope to Jews that next year in Jerusalem might be better. How can the same “book” be used for such different purposes? This course focuses on the cultural and political consequences of biblical interpretation. An underlying premise is that the Bible is not static but is rather a nomadic text as it is continuously interpreted in ways that sometimes contribute to human flourishing, but also can result in violence, human diminishment, or death.
Breadth Requirement: Thought, Belief, and Behaviour (2)
Pre-requisites: Completion of 4.0 credits
RLG326H1S Roots of Christianity and Judaism
Spring Semester, Monday 1 pm - 3 pm
Instructor: Judith Newman
Judaism and Christianity are both considered “religions of the book” but how are they related to each other? This course considers the origins of that relationship by reading a range of Jewish texts from the 6th century BCE to the 1st century CE, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, in order to illuminate the diverse cultural matrix from which early Christianity and Judaism took shape. A major theme of the course is the formation of scriptures and scriptural interpretation as a factor in shaping distinctive Jewish cultures. Attention is also given to “lived religion” and practices that form individuals and communities
Breadth Requirement: Society and Its Institutions (3)
Pre-requisites: Completion of 4.0 credits
Exclusions: RLG326H5
RLG328H1S Religion, Race, and the Legacy of Cain and Abel
Spring Semester, Friday 10 am - 12 pm
Instructor: Jeremy Schipper
Cain's killing of his brother Abel is one of the best known but least understood stories in the Bible. For thousands of years, interpreters have puzzled over the gaps and ambiguities of the story in order to piece together the how, what, where and why of this violent incident. This course explores the legacies of Cain and Abel across various religious traditions and in art, literature, and popular culture. It considers the surprising roles that this biblical story has played in modern ideas about religion, politics, and race. All readings will be in English. No knowledge of Hebrew is required.
Pre-requisites: Completion of 4.0 credits
Breadth Requirement: Thought, Belief, and Behaviour (2)
RLG338H1F Religion and Religiosity in Israel/Palestine
Fall Semester, Thursday pm 5 - 7 pm
Instructors: Yigal Nizri
Focusing on present-day Israel/Palestine, this interdisciplinary course is intended for students interested in exploring a wide range of theoretical questions and examining their applicability to the study of sites, texts, rituals, and politics in the region. We will address the history of the land's consecration from Jewish, Christian, and Muslim perspectives. Students will analyze specific sites associated with religious congregations and ritual practices, and study them within their local and regional contexts. Looking at the complex relationships between religious-political movements and institutions within Jewish and Muslim societies, we will delve into various attempts to secularize (and theologize) Jewish and Palestinian communities and their discontents. Rather than providing the typical emphasis on conflict, the course is a journey into the history and present of the land and its diverse communities.
Prerequisite: Completion of 4.0 credits
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)
RLG339H1S Religious Ethics: The Jewish Tradition
Spring Semester, Wednesday 11 am - 1 pm
Instructor: Ynon Wygoda
A brief survey of the Jewish biblical and rabbinic traditions; the extension of these teachings and methods of interpretation into the modern period; common and divergent Jewish positions on pressing moral issues today.
Pre-requisites: Completion of 4.0 credits
Breadth Requirement: Society and Its Institutions (3)
Exclusions: CJS390H1-F
RLG342H1F Judaism in the Modern Era
Fall Semester, Monday 3 pm - 5 pm
The development and range of modern Jewish religious thought from Spinoza, Mendelssohn and Krochmal, to Cohen, Rosenzweig and Buber. Responses to the challenges of modernity and fundamental alternatives in modern Judaism
Pre-requisites: Completion of 4.0 credits
Exclusions: RLG342Y1
Breadth Requirement: Thought, Belief, and Behaviour (2)
RLG343H1F Kabbala: A History of Mystical Thought in Judaism
Fall Semester, Wednesday 11 am - 1 pm
Instructor: Kenneth Green
A historical study of the Kabbala and the mystical tradition in Judaism, with emphasis on the ideas of Jewish mystical thinkers and movements.
Prerequisite: Completion of 4.0 credits
Breadth Requirement: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)
RLG388H1F Special Topics I: Antisemitism and Islamophobia: Genealogies of Othering
Fall Semester, Tuesday 1 pm - 3 pm
Instructor: Amira Mittermaier
This course traces entangled histories of religious Othering. Specifically, we look at antisemitism and Islamophobia, and what can be gained by examining them in conjunction. Antisemitism - a term that first came into existence in Germany in the late nineteenth century - refers to prejudice against, or hatred of, Jews. Islamophobia - a term that came into prominence in England at the end of the 1990s - refers to the fear or hatred of Islam/Muslims. What work is done by the labels of "antisemitism" and "Islamophobia" today? How are they being put to work? What are differences and similarities between present-day manifestations? And how can the field of religious studies help us think about the religion-race nexus?
Pre-requisites: Completion of 4.0 credits
RLG389H1S Special Topics II: Ashes to Ashes: Death in the Jewish Imagination
Spring Semester, Tuesdays 11 am – 1 pm
Instructor: Maya Balakirsky Katz
The course is thematic and does not attempt to present an uninterrupted timeline of Jewish history, but it is organized chronologically around the key moments in history when Jews created, transformed, and invested in new forms of mourning. Each class explores the meanings of an astounding range of artistic and functional objects, rituals, and customs related to dying and death. We will explore such topics as the burial of the Judean kings, second temple funerary rites, burial in Ashkenaz, conceptions of the Afterlife after the Spanish expulsion, the preparation of the body and the grave, the warding off of the Angel of Death, celebrity funerals, artistic representations of the return of the dead through gilgul, dybbuk, the Undead, the Afterlife, and the anticipation of the Messianic Rising of the Dead, and necro-tourism.
Completion of 4.0 credits
RLG433H1S Maimonides and His Modern Interpreters
Spring Semester, Wednesday 3 pm - 5 pm
Instructor: Kenneth Green
An introduction to The Guide of the Perplexed by Moses Maimonides, and to some of the basic themes in Jewish philosophical theology and religion. Among topics to be considered through close textual study of the Guide: divine attributes; biblical interpretation; creation versus eternity; prophecy; providence, theodicy, and evil; wisdom and human perfection. Also to be examined are leading modern interpreters of Maimonides
Pre-requisites: Completion of 9.0 credits
Exclusions: POL421H1
Breadth Requirement: Thought, Belief, and Behaviour (2)
JRN301H1 F Disability in the Hebrew Bible and Related Texts
Fall Semester, Friday 9 am - 11 am
Instructor: Jeremy Schipper
The Hebrew Bible (sometimes called the Old Testament) has influenced ideas about disability in societies across the globe for thousands of years. Yet, notions of disability in the Hebrew Bible may be strikingly different from what we might imagine. This course explores how some biblical texts and related ancient literature conceptualize disability in relation to issues of ethnicity, sexuality, beauty, age, social class, religious expression and so on. We will examine a number of these issues both in their ancient context and in some more recent interpretations of the Hebrew Bible. All readings will be in English. No knowledge of Hebrew is required.
Pre-requisites: Completion of 4.0 credits
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representation (1)
MHB155H1F Elementary Modern Hebrew I
Fall Semester, Monday, Wednesday 11 am - 1 pm
Instructor: Yigal Nizri
This course is designed for students with little or no experience in Hebrew. As such, it offers intensive training in the basics of 4 language skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening. Students will be able to recognize the Hebrew verb system's fundamental structures, learn its primary forms, and acquire the necessary basic vocabulary for everyday conversations. We will focus on reading: easy dialogues, passages without vowels, and short texts in simple Hebrew. Writing: short dialogues and paragraphs. Conversation: simple dialogues and stories. Comprehension: listening to short stories and recorded conversations.
Exclusion: Grade 4 Hebrew (or Grade 2 in Israel)/ NML155H1
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
MHB156H1S Elementary Modern Hebrew II
Spring Semester, Monday, Wednesday 11 am - 1 pm
Instructor: Yigal Nizri
The second half of a two-semester Modern Hebrew course for beginners is intended to strengthen the students’ conversation skills and their reading, writing, and listening comprehension while further developing the cultural context of the language. Materials include simple stories and poems, digital media, film, comics, textbook exercises, and complementary class activities. In addition, students will be expected to deliver presentations in Hebrew and write about a range of topics, demonstrating an ability to acquire new vocabulary using print and digital dictionaries independently.
Exclusion: Grade 4 Hebrew (or Grade 2 in Israel)/ NML156H1
Prerequisites: MHB155H1/ NML155H1 permission of the instructor based on previous language knowledge
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
MHB255H1F Intermediate Modern Hebrew I
Fall Semester, Monday, Wednesday 3 - 5 pm
Instructor: TBA
This course will further enhance students’ Hebrew language skills. With the context of contemporary Israeli and Jewish culture in mind, the course focuses on (1) Reading: unadapted texts and simple articles in regular Hebrew. (2) Writing: the beginning of practical writing on topics discussed in class, writing about personal experiences, and writing structured compositions. (3) Conversation: conversational skills developed by regular participation in class presentations and discussions of current events and cultural issues; role play and participation in dialogues and informal expressions. (4) Comprehension: listening to recorded short stories in easy Hebrew. (5) Grammatical Skills: Completing the syntactic study of verb conjugation in different tenses.
Exclusion: Grade 8 Hebrew (or Ulpan level 2 in Israel)/ NML255Y1
Prerequisites: MHB156H1/ NML156H1 or permission of the instructor based on previous language knowledge
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
MHB256H1S Intermediate Modern Hebrew II
Spring Semester, Monday, Wednesday 3 - 5 pm
Instructor: TBA
This course of Intermediate Hebrew is intended for those who completed the requirements of intermediate Hebrew I. Intermediate Hebrew aims to instill more excellent proficiency, enrich vocabulary, and deepen the student’s understanding of the cultural context of Israeli Hebrew. Subjects include current affairs, Israeli society, and cultural traditions. Added emphasis will be placed on language registers and grammatical and syntactic nuances, with materials ranging from children’s books to television programs. By the end of the semester, students will complete their understanding of the Hebrew verb system and main preposition words.
Exclusion: Grade 8 Hebrew (or Ulpan level 2 in Israel)/ NML255Y1
Prerequisites: MHB255H1/ NML156H1 or permission of the instructor based on previous language knowledge
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
MHB355H1F Advanced Modern Hebrew I
Fall Semester, Monday, Wednesday 2 - 4 pm
Instructor: Yigal Nizri
This advanced-level course is designed to deepen the student’s knowledge of Hebrew in various fields and to increase vocabulary through extensive reading and writing. Areas of focus include (1) Reading: Scientific articles, newspaper editorials, prose, and poetry passages, with emphasis on Israeli culture. (2) Writing: practical writing according to communicative functions and models of persuasion, explanation, etc. In addition, students will be asked to write short essays about a literary text. (3) Conversation: increasing vocabulary in conversations and discussions while emphasizing different language styles. (4) Comprehension: listening to radio programs on an advanced level and viewing regular television programs and YouTube music clips. (5) Grammatical Skills: complementing the student’s linguistic knowledge and handling of irregular forms.
Exclusion: OAC Hebrew/ NML355Y1
Prerequisites: MHB256H1/ NML255Y1 or permission of the instructor based on previous language knowledge
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
MHB356H1S - Advanced Modern Hebrew II
Spring Semester, Monday 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM & Wednesday 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Instructor: Yigal Nizri
Continued advanced intensive study of written and spoken Hebrew.
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
Pre-requisites: MHB355H1/NML355H1 or permission of the instructor based on previous language knowledge
Exclusions: OAC Hebrew/NML356H1
SLA199H1 F Invisible Kingdom, Imaginary Space
Fall Semester, Tuesday 1:00 - 3:00 pm
Instructor: TBA
The Central European Region of Galicia gave rise to a remarkable array of literary representations -- Austrian, Jewish, Polish, and Ukrainian -- animating fantastic creatures, powerful myths, deviant pleasures, and sublime stories. Bruno Schulz created shimmering peacocks, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch seized ecstasy through pain, and Ivan Franko investigated the effects of avarice and social decay.
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
SLA268H1 F Cossacks!
Fall Semester, Wednesday 1:00 - 3:00 pm
Instructor: TBA
How are Cossacks depicted in literary and visual works? Were they the agents of a repressive Russian government, the hirelings of Polish kings, the tormentors of Eastern European Jews, the protectors of Europe from the Ottomans, or the liberators of the Ukrainian nation? We read works from the Jewish, Polish, Russian and Ukrainian cultural traditions.
Exclusion: CCR199H1 (First-Year Seminar: The Cossacks), offered in Winter 2012, Winter 2013, Fall 2013, Fall 2015, Fall 2016, and Fall 2017
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
SLA302H1 S: The Imaginary Jew
Spring Semester, Monday 1 pm - 3 pm
Instructor: TBA
This course examines the genesis and evolution of the image of “the jews,” central to all European cultures, from the theology and psychology of Christian anti-Judaism to their reflection in arts and folklore, and to the survival of the “jewish” vocabulary of difference, in secular form, in post-Christian cultures. Special attention is given to “the jews” of the East European imagination. The final part of the course will explore the experience of Jewish cultural assimilation in European societies, which forced individuals of Jewish extraction to confront the Christian and post-Christian discourse of “jewish” difference. All readings are in English.
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
SLA303H1 F: Literary Imagination and Jewish Identity in Modern Europe
Fall Semester, Thursday 1 pm - 3 pm
Instructor: TBA
An exploration of Central and East European authors writing in different languages but united by Jewish ancestry. We examine the responses of artists and intellectuals of Jewish extraction (Sholem Aleichem, Babel, Bialik, Heine, Kafka, Mandelshtam, Sforim, Zhabotinskii, etc.) to cultural secularization and modernity. Taught in English. Readings in English
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
Spring Semester, Tuesday 11 am - 1 pm
Instructor: Kineret Sadeh
How can people with different worldviews and dissimilar moral visions live together? Liberal philosophers have grappled with this question offering solutions including tolerance, peace, and multiculturalism. However, many people today, particularly in the West, oppose liberalism as a cultural message and a political goal. Robust evidence can be found in the rise of "populist" backlash movements and the sharp polarization between liberals and conservatives. Can Western democracies overcome this crisis? This seminar explores this question from a sociological perspective with Israel as a case study. We will probe the efforts of Israeli activists and professionals to instill non-liberal peace among Jews and Arabs, to bridge the chasm between liberals and conservatives, and to include LGBTs and people with disabilities as equal members of society while surpassing liberal principles. By analyzing their work, we will broaden our understanding of living together differently in the 21st century.
No prerequisite.
Society and Its Institutions (3)
CDN280H1F - Canadian Jewish History
Fall Semester, Thursday 1 pm - 3 pm
Instructor: TBA
This course focuses on initial settlement patterns of Jews in Toronto and elsewhere, community growth including suburbanization, and contemporary challenges such as anti-Semitism and assimilation.
Breadth Requirement: Society and Its Institutions (3)
CDN380H1S - Socio-Cultural Perspective of the Canadian Jewish Community
Spring Semester, Tuesday 11 am - 1 pm
Instructor: TBA
This course examines: the relationship between prominent Canadians who happen to be Jews and those whose works are founded in Jewish identity; the diversity of the community on the basis of religion, language, class, ideology, etc.; contributions to the arts and scholarship; and the role and contribution of Jewish women.
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representation (1)
CRE373H1F - Archives and the Art of Memory
Fall Semester, Wednesday 1 pm - 3pm
Instructor: Anna Shternshis
What is an Archive? What kind of history and culture does it Preserve? Or does it bury things forever? Who gets to be an archivist and who gets to tell the story? How can an archive preserve the stories of marginalized people? Can voices from the archive be brought back to life? In the context of a series of readings, presentations and projects the course focuses on case studies of government-housed and sponsored archives, family archives, archives of cultural institutions, grassroot archival initiatives, and of course digital archives. Each student will have an opportunity to produce an artistic project based on an archival research or create their own imaginary archive.
Prerequisites: 4.0 credits
Breadth Category: Creative and Cultural Representation (1)
Additional Information
Enrol in courses on ACORN. The Faculty of Arts & Science offers more detailed instructions regarding how to enrol and on enrolment periods.
Sessional dates are available on the Faculty of Arts & Science calendar.
See the Arts and Science timetable for courses with tutorials. If there is conflicting information, the Arts & Science timetable takes priority.
Course Archives
The ATCJS Undergraduate Handbook contains all the essential information for the successful and memorable completion of an undergraduate degree with the Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies. In this handbook you will find the contact info for our departmental admin, an outline of the degree programs we offer and their requirements, and all FAS courses being offered that count towards a degree in Jewish Studies in the given academic year.
23-24 ATCJS Undergraduate Course Handbook.
ATCJS Undergraduate Handbook 2021-2022.pdf
ATCJS Undergraduate Handbook 2020/2021 (pdf)