Jewish Studies
Department of Literature
Literature Department Building
Kresge College
(831) 459-4778
humwww.ucsc.edu/Lit/index.html
Program Description
The minor in Jewish studies introduces students to the study of modern Jewish cultures and to the range of disciplines that bear upon the field while supporting students’ work in their own majors. This introduction to Jewish studies is helpful for students who plan to do graduate work in Jewish studies, whether through regular disciplines or in Jewish studies programs and also for students who plan to attend rabbinical schools or find work with Jewish communities. For others with an interest in Jewish topics but without such plans, a minor in Jewish studies offers intellectual enrichment and a focus within the student’s chosen field.
The Jewish studies minor is designed to complement existing majors in the arts, humanities, physical and biological sciences, and social sciences. It is conceived as an interdisciplinary program, and students are urged to plan their program with a faculty adviser. There are significant library resources, including the Baumann Endowment for Classic Jewish Texts, the Neufeld-Levin Holocaust Materials, and the Brose Fund for Visual Arts and Jewish Culture.
This minor offers students the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills in a variety of contexts in various aspects of Jewish culture—with special reference (though not limited) to modern issues. It will help students prepare to move successfully into graduate programs in a variety of disciplines—especially in the humanities, social sciences, and preprofessional programs; and it will provide students with a grounding in materials fundamental to Western culture and liberal education, of value to majors in all divisions. In emphasizing modern aspects, this minor connects with a range of disciplines and programs on the UC Santa Cruz campus that explore the meanings of modernity; at the same time, this minor will help students to develop analytical tools, strategic versatility, and critical literacy.
Requirements for the Minor
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Three lower-division courses; two may be Hebrew language courses (the Biblical Narratives course, Literature 80A, is strongly recommended, as is developing proficiency in Hebrew). Transfer students can petition to have upper-division courses substituted for the lower-division requirements.
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Two courses from the upper-division sequence in literature, Modern Literary Studies 144, Modern Jewish Cultures
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Two additional upper-division courses
Students, especially those who plan to continue their studies in graduate school, may wish to gain proficiency in Yiddish, German, or Spanish, depending on their area of interest. Students who participate in a UC Education Abroad Program (EAP) study year in Jerusalem may petition to apply up to three courses from EAP towards the minor. Petition forms are available in the Literature Department Office.
Fall 2003
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Hebrew 1, Instruction in the Hebrew Language
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Hebrew 4, Intermediate Hebrew
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Hebrew 80, Introduction to Biblical Hebrew
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History 39, Film and Holocaust
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History 190, Bioscience, Nazi “Racial Hygiene,” and the Holocaust
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Modern Literary Studies 144G, Global Jewish Writing: Diasporas Compared
Winter 2004
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Hebrew 2, Instruction in the Hebrew Language
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Hebrew 5, Intermediate Hebrew
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History 32, Spain: 632–1500
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History of Consciousness 243A, Nationalism, Anti-Semitism, and Jewish Resistance in World War II
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Modern Literary Studies 144A, Jewish Diaspora, Ethnicity, and Urban Life
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Modern Literary Studies 144D, Jewish Writers and the American City
Spring 2004
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Hebrew 3, Instruction in the Hebrew Language
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Hebrew 6, Intermediate Hebrew
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History 158, Ethnicity and Community in the Middle Ages
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History 196A, Hitler and Stalin
Sample Student Program
Year 1: Hebrew 1-2-3; Biblical Narratives
Year 2: Hebrew 4-5-6; the Holocaust
Year 3: two Modern Literary Studies 144 courses or EAP courses; if EAP,
take LTMO 144 courses in second year.
Year 4: upper-division courses in literature and history