Minor in Jewish Studies
Any student enrolled in a college major (other than a major in the Program for the Study of Religion) can receive an interdisciplinary minor in Jewish Culture and Society.
To declare a minor, the student needs to fill out a minor declaration form, which a representative of the Program in Jewish Culture and Society can approve. Professor Bruce Rosenstock is the Program's undergraduate advisor.
For further information on the minor, call 217-333-7978, email jewishculture@illinois.edu, or walk in 109 English during office hours.
Requirements
Eighteen (18) hours in courses pertaining to Jewish Culture and Society. These courses should include:
- One course in the cluster of Religion, chosen from the cluster list below (3 hours)
- One course in the cluster of Culture, chosen from the cluster list below (3 hours)
- One course in the cluster of History, chosen from the cluster list below (3 hours)
- Electives within the minor. Students may choose additional courses from any of the three clusters or can choose from a series of courses in the Language cluster listed below (9 hours)
Of the 18 required hours, two courses (6 hours) must be 300- or 400-level courses.
No more than 6 hours (two courses) may be at the 100-level.
Any course with an emphasis on Jewish culture and society can be applied to the minor with approval from the Program in Jewish Culture and Society.
Independent study courses can also be used for the completion of the minor.
Clusters
Religion:
- PHIL 230. Introduction ot the Philosophy of Religion
- RLST 108. Religion and Society in the West I
- RLST 109. Religion and Society in the West II
- RLST 110. World Religions
- RLST 116. Faith and Self in Global Context
- RLST 120. A History of Judaism
- RLST 130. Jewish Customs and Ceremonies
- RLST 201. Hebrew Bible in English
- RLST 242. The Holocaust: Religious Responses
- RLST 415. Introductory Readings of the Talmud
- RLST 416. Readings in Rabbinic Midrash
- RLST 442. History of Early Judaism
- RLST 443. Ancient Near Eastern Cultures
- RLST 496. Topics in the History of Judaism
- RLST 498. Topics in Biblical Studies
Culture:
- ANTH 161. The Holocaust and Its Meanings
- ANTH 190. American Jewish Culture
- ANTH 275. The World of Jewish Sepharad
- ANTH 290. Jewish Cultures of the World
- CWL 221. Jewish Storytelling: From the Russian Shtetl to New York
- CWL 320. Literary Responses to the Holocaust
- CWL 421. Jewish Life-Writing
- ENG 272. Minority Images in American Film
- ENG 284. Modern Jewish Literature
- ENG 363. Jewish Immigrant Literature
- ENG 460. Literature of American Minorities
- GER 257. Vienna 1900
- GER 260. The Holocaust in Context
- RLST 101. The Bible as Literature
- RLST 201. Hebrew Bible in English
History:
- HIST 135. History of the Islamic Middle East
- HIST 252. The Holocaust
- HIST 261. Introduction to Russian-Jewish Culture
- HIST 268. Jewish History to 1700
- HIST 269. Jewish History since 1700
- HIST 281. Constructing Race in America
- HIST 433. The History of the Jews in the Diaspora
- HIST 437. The Middle East in the Twentieth Century
- HIST 456. Twentieth-Century Germany
- HIST 472. Immigrant America
- PS 347. Government and Politics in the Middle East
- RLST 106. Archaeology of the Bible
- RLST 235. History of Religion in America
- RLST 458. Christians and Jews 1099-1789
Language:
- HEBR 199. Undergraduate Open Seminar
- HEBR 205. Intensive Biblical Hebrew
- HEBR 403. Intermediary Modern Hebrew I
- HEBR 404. Intermediary Modern Hebrew II
- HEBR 405. Advanced Modern Hebrew I
- HEBR 406. Advanced Modern Hebrew II
- HEBR 407. Topics in Hebrew Language and Literature I
- HEBR 408. Topics in Hebrew Language and Literature II
- YDSH 103. Intermediate Yiddish I
- YDSH 104. Intermediate Yiddish II