RELT 10191 Introduction to Judaism 1
RELT10191
Introduction to Judaism
GENERAL INFORMATION
Credit rating 20
Unit Level 1
Contact Hours 33, Semester 2
Teaching Staff Professor Alex Samely
The things you will learn about:
Hebrew Bible and the Talmud
Gender in Judaism
Modern Orthodox practice, Mysticism
Festivals and Sabbath, Jewish art
The role of interpretation and authority
Story-Telling as Theology
Modern Jewish identities
Israel and Zionism
Antisemitism
Orthodoxy, Haredi, Reform, non-religious forms of Judaism
Approaches to the study of a non-Christian “religion”
RELT 10191 Introduction to Judaism 2
Hasidic boy Women carrying the Torah scroll, Carlebach Synagogue New York 1
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
Upon successful completion, you will have learned to:
1) Distinguish critically some of the key trends and stages in the historical development of Judaism
2) to provide a critical account of ways in which there is unity and diversity within Judaism
3) to consider the meaning of some of the key ideas in Judaism, and the texts and practices in which those ideas function
4) To discuss critically how Judaism has related to other cultures
5) And to identify and evaluate various approaches to the academic idea of “religion”
1 https://www.jofa.org/Education/TorahTouching
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TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODS
In the two-hour lecture the main topics and academic methodologies will be introduced and
discussed. Students are expected participate actively during the lectures, which include regular
opportunities for discussions and questions. The readings relating to each lecture topic are
discussed in the seminar of the week. Students are expected to prepare the lecture materials
(available on Blackboard) and the reading in the days before and after the lecture. You will have
an opportunity to introduce the compulsory reading at the seminar, and contribute critically to its discussion. The weekly reading assignments therefore require regular work outside classes and in
advance of the seminars, including close study of assigned texts, note taking, summarizing or
excerpting, as well as the creation of texts in note form. Preparation of the assessed Essay will be
guided by an exercise, formal advice in the lecture and on documents on Blackboard, as well as
feedback on the exercise.
ASSESSMENT METHODS
Assessment task Length Weighting within unit
Draft Introduction to an 500 words formative assessment (feedback)
Essay (no contribution to your mark –
just an opportunity to try out the
task)
Written Essay 1800 words 50%
Written Open Book (should take about 4.5 hours 50%
Examination to complete)
RELT 10191 Introduction to Judaism 4
Indicative Reading
Judith Baskin and Kenneth Seeskin (eds), The Cambridge Guide to Jewish History, Religion, and Culture (2010)
Susannah Heschel (ed.), On Being a Jewish Feminist (1983),
Philip Alexander, Textual Sources for the Study of Judaism (1984);
Nicholas De Lange, An Introduction to Judaism (2000, 20102)
Norman Solomon, Judaism: A Very Short Introduction (1996, 20002)
Alan Unterman, Jews: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices (1981)
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Weekly topics: 7 Authority and interpretation in religious
discourse
1 General introduction and Hebrew Bible 8 Judaism in the encounter with non-Jewish
2 Textual sources of Judaism cultures
3 The birth of Judaism in antiquity 9 Antisemitism in Christian Europe
4 The role of commandments 10 Jewish culture after the Holocaust
5 Gender roles in Judaism 11 Jewish everyday life in nation states
6 The role of interpreting texts 12 Advice for Exam Revision
Summer activities:
You may wish to take a look at Simon Schama’s five-part programme “The Story of the Jews”. Part one:
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x65yi3v
or a book introducing Judaism, for example, Nicholas de Lange, Judaism (Oxford University Press
1987), or: Norman Solomon’s Judaism – A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 1996)
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