Study Jewish Culture at Illinois
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Alumni spotlight: Joshua Altshuler
Joshua Altshuler graduated from the University of Illinois with a BA in History and a minor in Jewish Studies. He won the Filler Award in 2016. Currently, Joshua is an Education Fellow for the Institute of Southern Jewish Life and will be traveling to synagogues throughout the south to develop social programming, advance ritual life, and implement the organization's educational curriculum.
Soviet Jewish History
Exploring the history of Jews in the Soviet Union, this course addresses the following questions: How were Jewish identities transformed during the Soviet period? What did it mean to be a Jew in the Soviet Union? How did Soviet Jewry persevere and restore after the collapse of the USSR?
Jewish American and US Minority Literatures in Dialogue
We will encourage comparison across these different contexts while also preserving the distinctions inherent in minority groups. This course fulfills the Literature and the Arts General Education requirement, U.S. Minority Cultures General Education Requirement, the culture cluster for the minor/major in Jewish Studies, and REPCIS requirement for English.
History of Judaism
The course examines the social, political, economic, and intellectual history of the Jews from Abraham to the present-day, with particular attention to Jewish thought and society.
Modern Judaism: Religion, Culture, Politics
What is the relation of Judaism and the individual Jew to the modern world? Is Judaism a religion, a nationality, an ethnicity, or a combination of these? This course explores various answers to these questions by examining various historical and cultural formations of Jewish identity in Europe, the Americas/Caribbean, Asia, and Africa from the 18th century to the present.
Intermediate Modern Hebrew I
Continuation of HEBR 202, with introduction of more advanced grammar, and with emphasis on more fluency in speaking and reading. 5 credit hours. Prerequisite: HEBR 202 or equivalent.
Development of Ancient Cities
Explore the monuments, archaeological remains, and histories illustrating the development of the earliest states and urban centers of the Ancient Mediterranean and Near East, including Uruk, Jerusalem, Carthage, Athens, and Rome.